M
lie
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Phone: 800-790-2498
AnnaG@TheMennonite.org
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Nov. 12, 2014
Colleen McFarland,
Director of Archives and Records Management
Mennonite Church USA
1700 S Main St
Goshen, IN 46526
Dear Colleen,
We are pleased to know that Mennonite Church USA has received a grant to digitize
the print files of Gospel Herald and The Mennonite.
You have our full permission to digitize all issues of The Mennonite and make them
available for free, with full-text access.
Best wishes in this important endeavor.
Sincerely,
Anna Groff
Interim Editor
The Mennonite
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MENIMONITE
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
Inside:
105:01 JANUARY 9, 1990
Ministry from a 3$
$1 building
A little boy
touched the hem
of her garment
Jon (the book
of Jonah)
pRoloquE
In addition to the four of us of The Mennonite
staff wishing you God's blessing for the new
year, I hereby gratefully acknowledge the vital
work of others. Doris Yoder, assisted by
Glenna Schrag, process the never-ending
address and subscription changes here in the
Newton, Kan., office. Dietrich "Dick" Rempel
addresses and solves any complications
regarding mailing, which is done out of
Newton. Rose Retzlaff handles address and
subscription changes in Winnipeg (at 600
Shaftesbury Blvd., R3P 0M4) for the Cana-
dian subscribers.
The backbone of the whole operation is the
278 (out of our total of 372) congregations in
Canada and the United States that have
group subscription plans. I salute the church
secretaries who keep those lists in order and
send the information to Rose in Winnipeg or
Doris in Newton. In Canada 124 congrega-
tions have group plans; the rest are in the
United States. I am content and grateful that
this magazine and our conference give the
49th parallel the respect it is due yet largely
transcend it, as a community of faith should.
Now is the time to get ready for Many Peoples
Sunday, Feb. 10. Coordinator Alberto Quin-
tela encourages you to celebrate it in your
church. He has resource ideas and can be
contacted at 576 S. Robert, St. Paul, MN
55107, (612) 291-0647. Ideas include a speak-
ers bureau, a listing of multiethnic congrega-
tions in our conference, "Vision 2001" (ask him
about it), activities and lesson plans for
children, cross-cultural materials for summer
Bible school.
"Many Peoples Becoming God's People" was
the focus for 8,000 Mennonites at Normal, 111.,
last August. Let us continue to put legs to
those joyful moments, doing it in the name of
Jesus, who reveals himself to us.
An index of the 24 issues of The Mennonite
for 1989 is available for the asking. Please
send a self-addressed business envelope and
(in the United States) a 45-cent stamp. We'll
provide postage for Canadian requests, mts
CONTENTS
Spilled milk: the day my mother taught me about bitterness / 3
Ministry goes forth from a $1 building / 4
Look deep into each other's eyes / 7
A little boy touched the hem of her garment / 8
Two faithful urban congregations / 9
News / 10
MCC workers in the Philippines confront crisis / 10
Shots: bullets or vaccinations in the Philippines / 14
Record / 16
Resources / 18
'Land Runs' and the rest of the story / 20
Letters / 21
Reviews / 22
Raising adult believers / 22
'Sexual property' / 22
Jon / 23
Tell the truth: Are we becoming one people? / 24
Cover: RNS photo by J.D. Schwalm of pastor Tom Bronner in Shelby,
Miss.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 1 3 years of The
Mennonite are also available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College,
North Newton, KS 67117, and from University Microfilms International, 300 N.
Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106.
THE MENNONITE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100.
Editor: Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant:
Angela Rempel; art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the
Associated Church Press, Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a
Mennnonite and Brethren in Christ editors' group). It is an associate member of the
Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretary: Doris Yoder. Business adviser: Dietrich Rempel. Special editions edi-
tors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North Newton, KS 671 1 7; Window to Mission,
Lois Deckert, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 1 4; Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Richard
A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1, Didsbury, AB TOM 0W0; (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2S 1V7: (Central District) Steve
Estes, Box 196, Hopedale, IL61747; (Eastern District) Curtis Bauman, 429 N. Second St., Em-
maus, PA 18049: (Manitoba) Irma Fast Dueck, 693 Ebby Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3M 2G9; (Men-
nonite Conference of Eastern Canada) Margot Fieguth, 99 Veronica Drive, Mississauga, ON
L5G 2B1 ; (Northern District) Winifred Wall, Box 67, Freeman, SD 57029; (Pacific District) Clare
Ann Ruth-Heffelbower, 3198 E. Menlo Ave., Fresno, CA 93710; (Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger,
125 Rawlinson Bay, Regina, SK S4S 6M8; (Western District) Leland Harder, Box 363, North
Newton, KS 67117.
Circulation: 10,896
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build
the Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the
guidance of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly by the
General Conference Mennonite Church, 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS
671 14. Subscription rates: one year, $18 U.S., $21 Canada; two years, $32 U.S.,
$38 Canada; three years, $44 U.S., $52 Canada. Outside North America add $1 6
U.S. per year to U. S. rate for surface mail, $53.32 U.S. for airmail. Single copies:
$2 U.S. Five or more: $1 U.S. each. Paid advertising accepted from Mennonite-
related groups. Second-class postage paid at Newton, Kan., and additional mailing
offices. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMASTER: Send Form 3579 to The Mennonite,
Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. ©1989
2 JANUARY 9, 1990
We carry scars from our child-
hood. They heal over and
sometimes they hardly show
but they're there.
I have one such scar from when I was 8
years old. In the Southwest, where I
grew up, certain places didn't serve
Native Americans. Some put up signs
that said, "No Indians Served." Others
were more subtle; they didn't serve
Indians but didn't put up signs. They
had other little ways of getting the
message across.
One day my mother — who was a
beautiful full-blood Indian with lovely,
long black hair — and I were shopping.
We decided to take a break and go into a
restaurant and get something to drink.
We sat down in a booth with a formica
tabletop and green leather seats. I'll
never forget that booth. I'll always re-
member the name of the restaurant, too,
though I won't mention it here. Mom sat
on one side of the booth, I on the other.
She ordered coffee and I a glass of milk.
The waitress brought my milk, but she
didn't bring my mother's coffee. Instead,
she went over near the cash register and
stood. I walked over to her and said,
"You forgot my mother's coffee." She just
looked at me, didn't say anything, but
didn't bring the coffee either.
We waited a bit. Then my mother
said, "Jo, I think this is one of those
places that won't serve Indian people. I
don't think she's going to bring my
coffee." I remember sitting there looking
at my mother, thinking how beautiful
she was and wondering how anyone
could do this. I was half Indian myself,
though I didn't look it because I was
fairer and had brown hair. And because
of that, I got served and my mother
didn't. I became angry, furious, to be
more accurate.
My mother said she thought we should
go. We got up. As we did, I took my
glass of milk — in those days when you
ordered a glass of milk you got a real
glass and a big glass — slowly poured it
all over the back of both sides of the
booth, across the seats, over the tabletop
and all over the floor. I did as much
damage with one glass of milk as I could.
Then I picked up the water glasses and
did the same thing with them.
By the time I had finished I'd made a
real mess. If they weren't going to serve
my mother, I remember thinking, they
were going to remember they didn't serve
her. I was going to give them a cleanup
job they wouldn't forget.
My mother didn't say anything. She
didn't correct me. She didn't stop me.
She just stood a little distance away and
watched. When I had emptied all the
glasses and made as big a mess as I
could, she said, "Well now, Jo, you have
proved yourself to be just as stupid as
they are."
That stumped me at the time. But in
thinking about it later I realized what
she had taught me. Even when you feel
you are justified, don't respond in kind
when violence has been done to you.
There are other ways to respond.
Since then I have experienced dis-
crimination many times — as a Native
American, as a woman, as a woman in
the church. I have tried, on each
occasion, to remember my mother's
lesson. She was calling me to a different
kind of response, a peaceful, non-violent
one. It's a response, by the way, that is
at the heart of the life and teaching of
Jesus.
That doesn't mean you don't fight for
what you believe in. But to take on the
tactics of ignorance, discrimination and
prejudice poisons you, sours your heart
and embitters your life.
We have had many wonderful spiritual
leaders in the Native American tradi-
tions. Their message has always been
the same: Even though you have
experienced injustice, even though your
land has been taken away and your way
of life destroyed, even though there have
been efforts to actually wipe you out as a
people, do not let your heart become sour
and respond in kind. If you do, those
who made you turn sour will win in the
end.
My mother passed that message on to
me that day. Spilled milk can do nothing
but turn sour. An angry, vengeful heart
will, too. Keep your heart sweet, she was
saying, the way milk in a glass is.
Jose Hobday is a member of the Sisters of
St. Francis of Assisi, Milwaukee.
Reprinted with permission from Praying,
Box 419335, Kansas City, MO 64141.
/
THE MENNONITE 3
V*
This banner hangs in the worship center of the
Dia mond Street building.
Gwen Sensenig, left, tutors a
neighborhood child.
A 30-mile drive from the heart of
wealthy "Mennonite land"
( Lancaster/Bucks/Montgomery
counties, Pa.) is the "American jungle,"
Philadelphia. You go from the richest of
communities to one that compares to the
poorest in the developing world.
Mennonites from Lancaster County
saw the needs in that city in the early
1900s and opened several "mission"
churches. One is Diamond Street Men-
nonite Church, which ministers to the
poverty-stricken North Philadelphia
neighborhood. In the late 1970s the
congregation felt the call for a more
intense community mission, and so
began anew the old dream of a commu-
nity center that would share the Good
News of Jesus through meeting people's
basic needs: clothing, food, health care,
education, employment.
At about the same time several
members learned about a neighboring
building scheduled for demolition. They
wondered if they could get the building
for their community center. They could
if they brought plans for its intended use
within two months. Thus, on the day the
building had originally been scheduled to
be destroyed, the Diamond Street
Mennonite Church became the owner of
a large, structurally sound building, yet
gutted inside, for $1.
Led by a black ministerial team, the
Diamond Street congregation is a
racially mixed (50-50) group of about 130
members that uses the second floor of the
now-in-use Community Center. The
members are from across all economic
walks of life and worship together in a
flexible mixture of styles that affirms
both traditional Mennonite and tradi-
tional black forms. This ability to blend
says to the community that God's Good
News includes reconciliation of all
people: black and white, Jew and
gentile. This message attracts blacks
from the neighboring community,
traditional Mennonites, university and
seminary students, ex-convicts, teachers.
Together they support the congrega-
tional ministry, The Community Center,
which houses services intended espe-
cially for their neighbors. Outreach
programs offered include these:
•The Wholistic Health Center, offering
people a wholistic approach to health
problems. Explains Charles Baynard,
senior pastor, "We view illness not only
as a physical illness but as a mental and
spiritual illness as well. Treating all the
needs of a person is the Christlike way to
heal." The clinic-type center has several
Frances Jackson and Martha Matthews:
Frances is human resource and food coordina-
tor at the Diamond Street Center.
4 JANUARY 9, 1990
Charles Baynard, pastor of Diamond
Street Mennonite Church
volunteer staff people as well as other
paid professionals. Doctors, nurses and
counselors meet with the 150 or so
patients who come for services each
month. Assessments are made to help in
ongoing care.
•Educational seminars, whose major
concern is the rampant teenage preg-
The $1 building: Diamond Street Mennonite
meetinghouse in Philadelphia
nancy rate. Women in the congregation
work together with young mothers,
focusing on family, nutritional and finan-
cial needs. They teach budgeting,
shopping, parenting. They seek ways to
attract people to these seminars.
Baynard says, "The needs in the city
are overwhelming. Yet it is difficult to
get people to participate." What causes
this reluctance? "I'm not sure— some-
thing inbred in the city, perhaps." He
shrugs. "When the crisis hits home —
AIDS, drug abuse or whatever — then
people come, when it may be too late.
How do we get them involved before
tragedy occurs?"
•The youth program. During the
school year tutoring is offered to about 25
children. Volunteers, coordinated by
Barbara Baynard, work with the chil-
dren, ages 6-14.
During the summer Barbara Baynard
oversees a program for about 85 commu-
nity children. Children meet in the
morning for Bible classes, stories and
other educational lessons. Temple
University has given computers to the
youth program. In the afternoon the
children visit historical sites, swim or
participate in other outdoor activities.
Each Friday the students and teachers
have an all-day activity.
•The preschool center. Cheryl Neu-
bert is the new director, succeeding Deb
Mark.
•Individual care and counseling.
These are offered at the center for
victims of drug abuse, violence, crisis
pregnancy, unemployment, illiteracy,
substandard housing, hunger. "Treat the
hurting with Christ's compassion," says
Frances Jackson, the center's human
resource and food coordinator.
Souderton (Pa. ) Food and Hunger
Committee, with Diamond Street
Church, funds Jackson's position and
provides money and food for distribution.
"The grocery bags are a real 'in' for
me," says Jackson. "They are a non-
threatening invitation to bring people
with problems to the Community
Center." Jackson interviews each person
to find out what additional needs he or
she has beyond food. "I treat them like
men and women. When I'm loving and
kind, I see a change in their attitude.
When people feel that someone genuinely
cares, they improve themselves."
Jackson continues, "Often a person is
afraid to go to a shelter or other agency.
I say, Til go with you.' They're surprised
that someone will do that for them."
Much of the work at Diamond Street is
expensive, both in time and money. The
THE MENNONITE 5
Dreams for the building's future
include a gym for use in the youth
ministry, space for a Head Start
program and offices.
Maintenance and construction worker Jon
Porter hugs his "adopted" mom, Wanda
Bryant. Jon is a Mennonite volunteer at
Diamond Street Community Center.
second floor of the building is complete,
but much more needs to be done.
Dreams for the building's future include
a gym for use in the youth ministry,
space for a Head Start program and
offices.
Staffing and funding are constant
struggles. Securing long-term, dedicated
volunteers and staff and dollar resources
are the Community Center's greatest
challenges. The congregation anticipates
ways to fund the center: open a thrift
shop, find grants without federal
restrictions or develop partnerships
with other Mennonite churches and
businesses.
"Funding is the bottom line," says
Charles Baynard. "We Christians are
called to pray for guidance and share our
resources."
In the 1930s two women, Alma Ruth
and Emma Rudy, came from Lancaster
County as the first "permanent" workers
at Diamond Street. They ran Bible
schools, sewing clubs, visitations and
other ministries. While I was visiting
the Community Center, Charles Baynard
and other staff members received word of
Emma Rudy's death. Those who knew
her remembered her significant work at
Diamond Street for many of her 98 years.
"Sister Emma Rudy was a founding
member of Diamond Street Mennonite
Church," says Charles Baynard. "She
challenged us all. Keeping up her
tradition of dedication and faithfulness
to God remains our overall goal at
Diamond Street Mennonite today."
Laurel Schmidt Hertzler, Sellersville,
Pa., is director of publications for Penn
View Christian School, Souderton, Pa.
She and her husband, Ron, and three
children attend Perkasie (Pa.) Mennonite
Church.
6 JANUARY 9, 1990
The setting was unlikely. At a chapel on
a U.S. Army base in West Germany, 60
soldiers, many in camouflage uniforms,
listened closely as Vincent and Rose-
marie Harding, seminary teachers from
Denver, told stories about their friend
Martin Luther King Jr. and the non-
violent freedom movement in the U.S.
South.
The Hardings were on a speaking tour
in West Germany sponsored by
Mennonite Central Committee
(MCC) and the Military Counseling
Network. The tour included U.S.
army bases.
"Birmingham, Ala., was one
of the most stubbornly segre-
gated and brutally racist cities
in the country," said Vincent
and Rosemarie. "It was a
dangerous place for black
people who were strug-
gling for freedom."
"They used to call it
'Bombingham,'" said one
soldier who grew up there.
"Then some folks in
Birmingham had the crazy
idea that black and white
people ought to be able to eat at the same
lunch counter," remembered the Har-
dings. "But when they tried, the police
chief met them with billy clubs, attack
dogs and water cannons. Now, how
many guns did Martin bring into
Birmingham when they started beating
black folks and threatening his life?"
"None," came the immediate answer.
"None? Wouldn't Martin have been
justified in defending himself with guns
in that situation? Why didn't he bring in
the guns?" A discussion ensued. The
Hardings asked, "Didn't they teach you
that you've got to 'fight fire with fire'?"
After a brief pause, one female soldier
grinned and said, "No. You don't fight
fire with fire, you fight fire with water."
For the remaining hour the Hardings
discussed King's arsenal of non-violent
weapons with the roomful of GIs. They
talked about King's outspoken opposition
to the war in Vietnam and his growing
conviction that a profit-oriented United
States is incapable of caring for its poor.
Always the Hardings emphasized that
King was more than a civil lights leader.
He had a vision for a new humanity. He
believed that if we look deep enough into
each other's eyes we will discover that all
men and women are brothers and sisters,
children of the one God.
Many such discussions took place on or
near U.S. military bases during the
Hardings' tour. The Hardings met with
women's groups, leaders of black organi-
zations, a black congregation and high
school classes, as well as with German
Christians and members of the peace
movement in Stuttgart, Frankfurt and
the Hunsriick region.
Roughly 250,000 active duty GIs and
again as many family members are
stationed in West Germany.
Reflecting on the tour, the Hardings
noted that they were impressed by the
interest they found in King's commit-
ment to non-violence and the forthright
and earnest discussions they experienced
on the military bases. While painful
contradictions emerged in some of these
discussions, the Hardings tried to
encourage and support efforts to live
with integrity rather than to judge or
condemn.
"Peace people must be careful about
how they approach these soldiers," the
Hardings said. Few of them have
enlisted because they are warriors; for
many the military was the only job they
could find. "They are not the enemy;
many are here because American civilian
life has failed them; they are caught in a
trap."
The Hardings often concluded a
meeting by brainstorming with their
audience about the constructive 'mis-
sions' that remain today, about alterna-
tives worth committing one's life to. And
so in Frankfurt, in a roomful of GIs, the
community commander and a senior
chaplain discussed Coretta Scott King's
idea of a non- violent army and what it
might look like and the topics one might
study at a peace college. And high school
students talked about working with
children in the cities, cleaning up the
rivers, studying Russian and learning
ways to get along without so many
nuclear missiles.
Vincent and Rosemarie Harding
served as teachers, organizers and
negotiators throughout the South while
directing the Mennonite Voluntary
Service Center in Atlanta from 1961 to
1964. Vincent was a pastor of Woodlawn
Mennonite Church in Chicago from 1957
to 1961.
Andre Gingerich Stoner has lived in West
Germany since 1984. He and his wife,
Cathy Stoner, work there to build bridges
between the German peace movement and
U.S. military personnel and their
families. He is from Harrisonburg, Va.,
and she is from Akron Pa.
THE MENNONITE 7
PERSONAL
Martha Nickel's story
A little boy touched the hem of her garment
Martha Nickel
Edna Froese
All of us are Christ walking around,
and he's using us to reach people,"
says Martha Nickel, former coordinator
of Self-Help Crafts in Saskatchewan. "A
lot of people are pulling at our garments,
just like they did to Jesus,
and we need to give to (-p
them of ourselves, whether
it's in India or anywhere
else."
She explains her work
with Self-Help Crafts from
1981-88 with a story of an
actual tug at the hem of
her garment. In 1977
Nickel, a member of Saska
toon's Nutana Park
Mennonite Church, went
to India to attend a
women's conference. At
her visit to Mother
Teresa's Home for the Des-
titute and Dying, one little
boy, close to death, crawled out to meet
her and tugged at the hem of her skirt.
Overwhelmed by the magnitude of his
need, all Martha could do was touch him.
She knew she was no longer helpless —
from now on she would be part of the
solution to poverty.
No one who has met her, worked with
her or heard her talk about Self-Help
Crafts can forget her enthusiasm and
vision. When she took over as coordina-
tor, primarily individual representatives
sold the crafts; she was the only staff
person in Saskatoon's small Speers
Avenue store, which also served as the
provincial warehouse. Total sales at her
store that year were $13,401; within one
year sales at the store increased 184
percent. When she was forced to retire
because of illness in 1988, the store had
expanded, both in size and sales, last
year selling $133,929 worth of crafts,
while $416,000 worth of crafts were sold
in 10 stores and 1 1 other commercial
locations province-wide.
Her secret? On the surface it appears
to be both her business sense and wealth
of contacts. She was a determined
worker and risk-taker, not afraid to
order new and unusual items; her
intuition must have been good, for the
store was never stuck with products that
wouldn't sell. Through her church
involvements she knew many people and
groups who might be interested in crafts.
Self-Help Crafts grew by word of mouth
through a woman who loved to meet
people.
Fellow workers comment that she
listened well, was
always sensitive to
needs and re-
spected the dignity
of others. As the
shop grew to
involve more staff
and more volun-
teers, she discov-
ered that "it was
best to give them
their own areas, let
them own some-
thing, so they could
feel responsible,
important." That
belief was at the
heart of her
enthusiasm for Self-Help— she had
seen how poverty had reduced human
individuality.
Consequently she saw sales as only
part of her job. The other part was to tell
the Mennonite Central Committee story
whenever and wherever she got the
chance. The crafts were packed up, set
out and repacked many times as she
traveled to churches and mission confer-
ences to talk about Self-Help. Together
with her husband, Menno, she got Self-
Help Crafts into schools, where he used
them to teach children about different
cultures and about the link between our
lifestyles and the life of the poor else-
where.
The world is one world, insists Martha.
Our part in it is to act responsibly as
part of a family.
Now incapacitated by illness, Martha
is being ministered to as she ministered
to others. Ten years ago she was part of
a group that sponsored a Vietnamese
refugee family— a couple and their
children. She helped supply clothes,
arrange for schooling and medical care.
Now a doctor, the husband has been her
anesthetist and monitors her medication.
"I feel safe in his care," she says quietly.
Edna Froese 's address is 1805 Cumber-
land Ave. S., Saskatoon, SKS7H2M6.
The link between our lifestyles and the life of the poor elsewhere: Marthas husband, Menno
Nickel, uses Self-Help Crafts to teach Saskatoons schoolchildren about people of the world
8 JANUARY 9, 1990
TOqEThER
Two faithful urban congregations
The church of three books
In 1914 the General Conference Mennon-
ite Church began a city mission on the
south side of Chicago. By 1918 it had
outgrown not only its first building but
two successive buildings. In September
of that year First Mennonite Church
moved into its new building at 73rd and
Laflin, where it continues its ministry.
After 50 years of serving the white
community the congregation experienced
a dramatic transition: African Ameri-
cans moved into the neighborhood in the
1960s. Church membership had reached
an all-time low when John Burke Jr.
became pastor in October 1972: nine.
The Central District Conference helped
subsidize the church.
Now 85-100 faithful people attend each
Sunday. Burke also emphasizes atten-
dance at midweek services: "People who
don't have time to study and pray do not
qualify for service in the church." He
teaches and models 10 percent "first-
fruits" tithing and says a church needs
three books: the Bible, the hymnbook
and the pocketbook. Off subsidy for a
number of years, the congregation has an
annual budget of about $40,000. Burke
is hired part time, since he is employed
full time by the city of Chicago's depart-
ment of streets and sanitation.
Burke and his wife, Mamie, are part-
ners in ministry. She does much admin-
istrative work and organizes fund-
raisers: fish fries, banquets (for example,
to honor graduates), teas and fashion
shows. She finds jobs for people and
takes a group to the Central District
women's retreat each year.
With its money the church is able to
give away a lot of food, keep its building
maintained and help its young people go
to college.
Music is an important ministry, as
attendees at Normal '89 learned last
August, where one of the church's choirs
performed. Sunday school classes for all
ages use the Foundation Series. Each
year the church gives a program of
African American history.
John Burke's first goal for First
Mennonite Church is evangelism. The
church does this by bringing family and
friends. (One person has brought 10
people.)
Second, he says, "As a peace church,
we cannot accept the shedding of
innocent blood and the lack of funds to
meet human need. We have to alleviate
poverty if we're going to tell people that
God exists."
Third, he says, the church must
continue its witness in the community
against homelessness, racial prejudice,
drug abuse and vandalism.
Fourth, enlarge the church building all
the way to the alley to create a larger
sanctuary with more choir space and
Christian education rooms. Pauline
Kennel, 15 Tilipi Court, Schaumburg, IL
60193, former coordinator of Chicago
Area Mennonites
Seventy-five years of ministry: First Mennonite Church at 73rd and Laflin in Chicago
Loosen up the
membership process
Lee Heights Community Church, on
the southeast end of Cleveland, ministers
to an all-black neighborhood. Some of
our members live in the area. Thirty-two
years ago most of them did.
"Where black and white blend in
Christ." "An equal opportunity faith
family." These slogans of my congrega-
tion are its theme. We are inclusive. We
look, talk and think differently.
Although my church participates in
activities of the Ohio Conference, it is not
principally a Mennonite church. It
began when 30 residents of this area,
including co-pastors Vern and Helen
Miller, canvassed the neighborhood to
invite people to the new church. Our
Ask the people of the
community what they need
most and then provide it.
constitution says that members need
only be followers of Christ; denomina-
tional affiliations are a personal choice.
A feeling of understanding and accep-
tance on the part of the pastor and
others continues to draw people. We feel
ownership of the church. Members
choose the direction of the church:
worship style, leadership and ministries.
Vern recommends loosening up the
membership process of emerging congre-
gations so this does not become a barrier
to new members. Ask people of the
community what they need most, he
says, and then provide it.
Lee Heights Church owns a retire-
ment home ( jointly sponsored by a min-
isterial alliance of several neighborhood
churches), a hunger center and a day-
care center. We have a prison ministry
and offer counseling services. During
summer we conduct Bible school and day
camp for children. Our future plans
include enlarged prayer and study
groups, helping more people find jobs,
developing a community center and
doubling the current membership.
Regina Shands Stoltzfus, 20103 Butter-
nut Lane, Warrensville Heights, OH
44128
THE MENNONITE 9
#2C Pontius' Puddle
YOOR PROSLErA , PONT IOC IS THAT
LIKE THE LAODICEANS OF THE
EARLY CUORCH, VOO ROM
LOKEWARM WHEM G-OD WOOLD
PREFER YOO TO &OSU HOT OR COLD;
X'D CHANGE, SOT 1
DON'T KNOW WHETHER
TO CALL N\y PASTOR
or PLorASER.
NEWS
MCC workers in the Philippines confront crisis
Pagadian City, Philippines
(MCC)— The number of internal
refugees in the Philippines is
increasing. The Mennonite
Central Committee Philippines
team has agreed on three
responses. First, emergency
aid is needed to alleviate
immediate food and medical
needs of victims. Second,
when evacuees return to their
homes, they need assistance
to rebuild homes and purchase
seeds and livestock. Third,
international pressure must be
brought to bear on the Philip-
pines government to respect
the human rights of its citizens.
The "total war" policy of the
current government violates the
Geneva Convention Protocol II,
which protects victims of non-
international armed conflicts.
As Christians, the MCC team
believes that the basic human
rights of people must be
recognized.
For decades the Armed
Forces of the Philippines has
used the strategy of "drying up
the pond so the fish can no
longer survive." In the Philip-
pines, the "fish" are the New
People's Army— the armed
wing of the Communist Party of
the Philippines — and various
factions of Muslim soldiers.
These groups often live in
remote hinterlands that they
share with such groups as tribal
Filipinos, Muslim and peasant
farmers.
"Drying up the pond" occurs
when men, women and
children must flee their homes
and farms. Working animals
are often slaughtered and
livestock are butchered for
food. Crops are destroyed,
valuables are stolen and
homes are razed. Repeated
Huge bomb in Colombia rattles missionaries
Bogota, Colombia— The
explosion here at 7:30 a.m. on
Dec. 6, 1989, of a 500-kilo
(more than 1 , 000-pound) bomb
"was the biggest yet," reports
Robert "Jack" Suderman,
Mennonite missionary. Though
it was about 60 blocks from the
Sudermans' apartment, their
"windows, doors, curtains
shook like an earthquake."
Irene Suderman was
accompanying their son
Andrew to his ride at the
moment of the explosion and
thought it was about two blocks
away, so great was the impact.
Everything within a four-block
area was destroyed, including
the main target, the Security
Division building. Windows
were blown out in a 50-block
radius, which included the
Mennonite Center and the
home of Hector and Mary
Becker Valencia.
"The targets," continues Jack
Suderman, "are less carefully
designed not to kill the inno-
cent. Where this will all stop
nobody knows. The govern-
ment [of Colombia] is more
determined than ever not to
negotiate with the extraditables
[in the 'drug war']. Things are
tense around here." •
operations in an area frustrate
civilian attempts to re-establish
farms and home life.
Civilians are truly victimized.
Any armed group passing their
homes demands food and
shelter. Regardless of their
personal allegiance, they are
forced to share their hospitality
with their armed visitors.
HALAD, a non-governmental
organization providing relief
and rehabilitation for evacuees,
reported that "until recently
[there was] no difficulty getting
in to evacuation centers to give
food and medical relief. Now,
however, [it is] more and more
difficult to gain access to
evacuees because the military
refuses to allow any outsider
into evacuation areas."
Sources now estimate that
more than 200,000 families
throughout the country are
internal refugees. Since 50
percent of the population is
under 18, the majority of the
refugees are children. Clair
Ewert, MCC Philippines,
member of North Star Mennon-
ite Church in Drake, Sask.
The Mennonite Center in Bogota, Colombia
Manager of operations. Cross
Wind Conference Center, Hesston,
Kan., operated by the South
Central Mennonite Conference.
Apply by Jan. 20 to Ted Stuckey,
205 Spruce St., Hesston, KS
67062, or call (316) 327-2700
10 JANUARY 9, 1990
Frank Duerksen, an orthopedic surgeon
at Winnipeg's Health Sciences Centre
hospital, heads an informal network of
doctors, nurses and other medical
professionals in Winnipeg who regularly
collect discarded medical supplies for
Kilometre 81 , a Mennonite church-
operated hospital in Paraguay for people
with leprosy. The seventh shipment of
supplies left the Mennonite Central
Committee warehouse in Winnipeg in
November 1989. The supplies included
an operating table, respirators, surgical
instruments, bandages, sutures, gloves
and other items.
NEWS
A Dialogue on Abortion held Nov. 3,
1989, at Conrad Grebel College, Waterloo,
Ont, included personal perspectives.
Sponsored by the college's Institute of
Peace and Conflict Studies and Mennonite
Central Committee Canada's Women's
Concerns program, the dialogue included a
historical perspective by William Janzen of
MCCC's Ottawa office. John Reimer,
Conservative Member of Parliament for
Kitchener, Ont., took strong exception to
the vague wording regarding health
dangers to women in Canada's proposed
abortion legislation. Lawyer Margaret
Janzen expressed disappointment that the
new legislation did not appear substantially
different from the previous law.
Marriage encounters are being held Jan.
19-21 at Spokane, Wash., Jan. 19-21 at
Napoleon, Ohio, Feb. 2-4 at Wilsonville,
Ont., Feb. 2-4 at McPherson, Kan., Feb. 9-
1 1 at Ottawa, Feb. 1 6-1 8 at Camp Menno
Haven, III., Feb. 23-25 at Bird-in-Hand, Pa.
Engaged encounters are being held Jan.
19-21 at Lebanon, Pa., and Feb. 9-11 at
Bird-in-Hand, Pa. Contact Mennonite and
Brethren Marriage Encounter, Box 347,
Newton, KS 671 1 4, (31 6) 283-51 00.
Second of seven clinics
emerges in Soviet Armenia
Akron, Pa. (MCC)— The foun-
dation for a second medical
clinic was poured in October
1989 in Soviet Armenia, where
Mennonite Central Committee
and Adventist Development
and Relief Agency are working
cooperatively in earthquake re-
construction efforts.
MCC and ADRA plan to build
seven outpatient clinics in the
needed materials.
MCC and ADRA volunteers
have also begun construction
of a children's rehabilitation
center in Yerevan, outside the
earthquake zone. In the Soviet
republics of Armenia and
Azerbaijan, however, trains
carrying much-needed fuel,
food and building supplies
through Azerbaijan into
Loren Hostetter (right), MCC worker from Harrisonburg, Va., and an
Armenian worker, Carnile Avakian, work at the site of the MCC/
ADRA children's rehabilitation center in Yerevan.
Spitak region of Armenia, an
area where hundreds of
thousands were left homeless
and without access to medical
facilities after the December
1988 earthquake.
The first two medical clinic
projects are going well, reports
Loren Hostetter, MCC volun-
teer. People in nearby Russian
work camps are providing food
and lodging and helping to get
Armenia were blocked during
the recent tensions there.
Despite the frustrations, "our
team is committed to working
together to make the best of
this difficult task, for the benefit
of the people of Armenia and to
the glory of God," says Lowell
Detweiler. Detweiler, Mennon-
ite Disaster Service (MDS)
coordinator, spent September
20-Oct. 16, 1989, in Armenia
helping to get the project under
way.
Total budget for MCC work in
Armenia is about $865,000;
ADRA has committed $350,000
to the project. Designated
contributions to MCC and major
grants from the American
Friends Service Committee,
Lutheran World Relief and
Dutch Interchurch Aid total
about $800,000 to date. MCC
hopes to raise the $65,000
balance in the next months.
Six MCC personnel serving
in Armenia were joined by two
additional workers in November
1 989: Henry Gerbrandt of
Winnipeg and Heinrich Bergen
of Regina. MCC plans to send
more personnel in the coming
months. Interested German- or
Russian-speaking people with
construction skills should
contact MCC: (717) 859-1151
in the United States, (204) 261-
0329 in Canada.
Mennonites
continue
exodus to
West Germany
Wetzlar, West Germany
(MCC)— Dramatic changes in
the German Democratic
Republic (East Germany) have
catapulted Eastern Europe to
the center of attention.
Political reform in the Soviet
Union, while not as dramatic, is
no less significant. Open
borders and relaxed emigration
regulations impact those of
Mennonite background.
"Mennonitische Umsidelerbe-
treuung" (MUB) formed in 1972
to assist those of Mennonite
background in resettlement in
West Germany, estimates that
some 40,000 people of
Mennonite background have
arrived in West Germany from
the Soviet Union.
Half of these "Umsiedler"
have come within the past two
years, about 15,000 in 1989.
MUB says that these figures
are conservative; the magni-
tude makes it impossible to
contact all who arrive.
Predictions are difficult.
Hans von Niessen, director of
MUB, and a committee of
recent arrivals say around
80,000 Mennonites are still in
the Soviet Union. If conditions
remains as they are, 90 percent
of these people may emigrate.
West Germany's inundation
with emigrants from Poland,
East Germany and Romania is
causing a critical housing
situation. Efforts of North
American Mennonites to work
with Mennonites in the Soviet
Union are destined to be short
lived as the exodus continues.
James Schellenberg, MCC
West Germany
Spruce Lake Retreat, a Mennon-
ite retreat center in the Pocono
Mts. of Pennsylvania, is now hiring
two persons for areas of kitchen,
dining room and housekeeping.
Singles or a couple. Salaried,
year-round position. Housing
provided.
Contact Paul Beiler, Spruce Lake
Retreat, Route 1, Box 605,
Canadensis, PA 18325, (717) 595-
7505.
THE MENNONITE 11
Approximately 120 people attended the
dedication service for a new Mennonite
church building in Goiania, Brazil, Sept. 16,
1989. Missionary Ron Daku preached a
sermon which emphasized the importance
of following Jesus. The church has 10
members.
Representatives of Mennonite and
Mennonite Brethren congregations in Latin
America and of Mennonite mission and
service agencies in North America set a
goal to establish 50 new Anabaptist con-
gregations in Mexico City by the year 2000.
With a population of over 22 million, Mexico
City is the largest city in the Western
Hemisphere. It is expected to be the
largest city in the world by the year 2000,
with 35 million people. The six Mennonite
congregations in Mexico City will form a
united missions committee to develop
church-planting strategy. Glendon Klaas-
sen represented the Commission on
Overseas Mission at the meetings in
Mexico City Oct. 30-Nov. 4, 1989.
Representatives from 10 Mennonite
institutions met Dec. 4, 1989, in Newton,
Kan., to discuss how they might coordinate
their fund-raising efforts. The General Con-
ference's planned giving office organized
the meeting because of complaints from
constituents about the number of concur-
rent fund-raising campaigns. The repre-
sentatives decided to try to coordinate their
efforts in the future by (1) holding educa-
tional meetings for Mennonite fund-raisers,
(2) sharing information about fund-raising '
schedules, (3) promoting Mennonite
causes, (4) emphasizing and coordinating
stewardship training along with fund-raisina
efforts.
NEWS
Young Colombian church
grows and changes locale
Armenia, Colombia (GCMC)—
Members of the Armenia
Mennonite Church dedicated
their new meetinghouse Oct. 1 ,
1989. Cesar and Patricia Moya
talked about their years of lead-
ership at the Armenia Church.
During the first couple of years
there were "several times when
we felt like throwing in the
towel, when the two of us were
the only ones gathered on a
Sunday morning," recalled
Cesar. The Moyas are
originally from the Ibague
Mennonite Church. They
support themselves with jobs in
teaching and veterinary
science.
Many members shared their
appreciation for the Moyas'
commitment to the group. "If it
wasn't for Cesar and Patricia's
love and dedication, I wouldn't
be here today," said one young
woman. Others shared the
changes in their lives since
they found God's love and
acceptance within the congre-
gation. Then singing "How
Great and Wonderful Are Your
Works," all gave thanks for
God's faithfulness during the
three years they met in a small,
rented house.
Tim and Mary Lou
Schmucker, Tavistock, Ont.,
arrived in Armenia Oct. 7, after
a year of language training, to
assist the Moyas in worship,
discipleship ministries and
biblical and theological training.
They are mission workers with
the Commission on Overseas
Mission of the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church.
"With the Schmuckers' arrival
and our move to a new build-
ing, our congregation has
moved into a new stage of life
with members expressing a
deeper commitment and
numerous new people starting
to attend," said the Moyas.
Bolivian
Mennonite
congregation
builds new
meetingplace
Santa Cruz, Bolivia (GCMC/
MBM)— Heroes del Chaco
Mennonite Church here began
construction of a new building
on land purchased in 1988.
Since moving out of a local
school building earlier, the
congregation had been
meeting under the shade of a
large fruit tree on its land. On a
September 1989 workday, a
lean-to roof was built using
Dedication service in Barrio Granada: Cesar Moya and Liliana
Ocampo lead the singing.
Conference of Mennonites in
British Columbia seeks confer-
ence minister/administrator
About 60 percent of the duties will
be pastor/church related, and the
balance will be conference
administration.
Send inquiries to: Jake Tilitzky,
Chairman, Conference of Mennon-
ites in B.C., Box 2204, Clearbrook,
BC V2T 3X8.
The position is available in the
summer of 1990.
1 Please forward application by
March 1.
Worship service in Heroes del
Chaco under a new roof
funds church members raised
at a local bazaar. The walls,
the floor and the woodwork wil
be completed over a period of
Position available: provincial
director of youth and young
adult ministries
Duties:
•Support local congregational
youth ministries;
•Work with Manitoba Mennonite
youth organization;
•Resource youth meetings,
retreats, workshops;
•Plan and organize university
campus and young adult
ministries;
•Administrative work for Educa-
tional Ministries Commission.
Qualifications. Theological
training and youth ministry
experience.
Position available: May 1
Deadline for applications:
Feb. 1
Send resume to: Educational
Ministries Commission, Confer-
ence of Mennonites in Manitoba,
c/o 83 Rutgers Bay, Winnipeg, MB
R3T 3C9.
12 JANUARY 9, 1990
First Mennonite Church of Champaign-
Urbana, III., has published a history of its
25 years as a congregation. Edited by
Gordon V. Oyer, the book contains over
100 pages of text and 20 pages of photos.
Others involved in the writing, besides
Oyer, were Mary Sprunger, Paul Meyer
Reimer, Bob Massanari and Clark Breeze.
David Haury served as a consultant during
his stay in the community. The book is
available from the church for $9. Write 912
W. Springfield, Urbana, IL 61801 .
"I'm the man who broke your door last
December," wrote a young man to a
Winnipeg family recently. "I was lost and
cold and looking for some place to get
warm.... What I did was really dumb and I'm
sorry if I scared you." The letter of apology
came as the result of one of the 217
successful mediations conducted by the
Mennonite Central Committee Manitoba-
supported Mediations Services in Win-
nipeg. The family had been frightened by
the experience, especially since they had
suffered a previous break-in. During a
meeting with the father, the young man
expressed regret, paid for the damage and
agreed to write a letter of apology to the
children.
"Making neighbors out of strangers.
That is the heart of where the church must
be," Peggy Owen Clark told pastors and
church leaders gathered Nov. 15, 1989, at
Oaklawn, a Mennonite mental health center
in Elkhart, Ind. "We are so used to being a
fellowship of friends that we have not
developed the hospitality or inclusiveness
of church life," said Clark, a regional
minister in the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ).
NEWS
time as the finances allow.
The Heroes del Chaco
congregation is located in a
rapidly developing area on the
outskirts of Santa Cruz, one of
the fastest-growing cities in
South America. Stephen "Tig"
and Karen Intagliata have been
involved in community develop-
ment and church planting
there, together with Mennonite
Central Committee workers,
since 1985. The Intagliatas
work in Bolivia with Mennonite
Board of Missions; they are
supported by the Commission
on Overseas Mission of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church. MCC Bolivia country
directors Tim and Faith H.
Penner also worship there.
The congregation has also
begun building a Sunday
school room to accommodate
the 20-30 children that attend
each Sunday. Adult and youth
attendance averages about 25.
Other current developments
include the formation of a
pastoral team and a children's
club, which has begun as an
outreach to an area several
miles away from the church.
The Heroes del Chaco
congregation celebrated its first
anniversary in April 1989. It is
part of the 100-member
Bolivian Mennonite Church,
which consists of three rural
and two urban congregations.
Refugees simply ask to go home
Akron, Pa. (MCC) — More than 1,200 residents of a refugee camp in
Colomoncagua, Honduras, repatriated to their homeland in Northern
Morazon, El Salvador, Nov. 18, 1989.
"The tranquil refugees, of all ages, marched up to a military
checkpoint carrying Salvadoran flags, jugs of water and their few
personal belongings," reports Mennonite Central Committee worker
Phil Borkholder of Centreville, Mich. "They peacefully asked the
Honduran army to drop their guns and permit them to repatriate
without any problems...."
Following the early morning confrontation with the Honduran
military, the repatriation occurred without incident. It was the first
group of 8,400 refugees in the UN-operated camp to leave. Nine
years earlier the people fled massacres and indiscriminate bombing
by the Salvadoran military.
New Year's resolution:
□ This year I will remember the person in my
life who is blind or has a hard time reading.
□ I will help this person keep informed about
our conference.
□ I will help provide The Mennonite on
cassette for this person.
"Ed says that The Mennonite-on-
cassette tapes keep him informed
about what is going on in the General
Conference churches. Because he is
blind and has muscular distrophy he
appreciates the tapes very much.
The Men's Brotherhood of our church
[Bethel Mennonite Church, Fortuna,
Mo.] has been getting Ed the tapes
for several years."
Dorothy Baumgartner
[Zl Yes, I wish to subscribe to The Mennonite on cassette for
$60 (U.S.) per year (24, 90-minute tapes).
Send the tapes to:
Name
Address
Send the bill to:
Name
Address
Return to: Gordon Houser, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114.
THE MENNONITE 13
The Commission on Overseas Mission
of the General Conference Mennonite
Church has the following missionary
openings: Bible teachers in southern Africa
and Zaire; evangelism and church-planting
workers in Africa, Asia and Latin America;
schoolteachers in Burkina Faso, China,
Zaire; theology professors in India, Korea
and Lesotho; public health personnel in
Botswana; nurses and physicians in Zaire;
dorm parents in Burkina Faso and Zaire;
and an accountant in Zaire. For more
information contact COM, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114.
Instead of bringing participants to
Tokyo as in past years, the Japan Anabap-
tist Center sent a speaker and his 1 ,000
slides north and south to the far reaches of
Japan for the fourth annual All Japan
Mennonite/Brethren in Christ Seminar. Jan
Gleysteen, artist, Mennonite church
historian and photographer, served as
resource person for the event, which took
place throughout the country in Mennonite,
Brethren in Christ and Hutterian churches.
In 28 days he visited 20 churches and
made some 30 presentations in a trip that
covered over 5,000 miles, mostly by rail.
All the Mennonite-related groups in Japan
cooperated in making the countrywide
seminar possible.
Mennonite Voluntary Service has the
following urgent openings: child-care
worker, Interval House, Saskatoon; crisis
support worker for domestic abuse
organization, Beatrice, Neb.; staff person
for an overnight emergency shelter, Fort
Collins, Colo.; interviewer/intake worker for
an organization that provides low to
moderate housing opportunities; an
advocate for the Community Unemployed
Help Centre, Winnipeg. MVS is a program
of the Commission on Home Ministries of
the General Conference Mennonite
Church. For more information contact
MVS, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14
NEWS COMMENTARY ~
Shots: bullets or vaccinations in the Philippines?
A rifle bullet costs about three
pesos (15 cents) in the
Philippines. So does a
vaccination for one child
against major preventable killer
diseases. The first can kill
when fired from an M-16, the
standard issue gun for the
Philippines Armed Forces. The
second can save a child's life
when injected from a syringe.
Bullets have taken a terrible
toll on the Filipino people. The
war between the Philippine
military, backed with U.S.
money and equipment, and the
outlawed New People's Army
guerrillas spirals daily to new
heights of violence.
A more silent war also rages
in the Philippines; again its
victims are mainly children.
UNICEF's most recent State of
the World's Children estimates
that the 155,000 Filipino
children under the age of 5 who
died in 1989 were mainly
victims of inadequate nutrition
and health care. The huge $29
billion (U.S.) debt owed by the
Philippines to international
lending agencies and bank
creditors in the First World has
been cited as a major cause of
the hunger, violence and death
of these children.
Two respected U.S. econo-
mists now researching the
Philippines, Robin Broad and
John Cavanagh, calculate that
9,200 children per year, or one
every hour, could be saved
from a premature death if the
Philippine government were to
limit debt payments to 20
percent of export earnings and
give only a proportionate share
of the savings to the health
department's budget. In 1989,
44 percent of the total govern-
ment budget is being paid to
foreign creditors.
While the debt crisis is
clearly a factor in the numbers
of young children who die from
hunger and disease, war is
also fueled in part by the
extreme poverty the debt has
created. Armed conflict here is
often billed as an ideological
struggle between communism
and democracy, but President
Corazon Aquino has admitted
that the real catalyst for the
armed insurgency is poverty.
At a time when the country
Filipina children wash clothes. The "silent war" of the debt crisis
harms mainly children. In 1989, 155,000 children under the age of 5
died in the Philippines.
desperately needs money to
provide basic social and
economic services for the 70
percent of the population mired
beneath the poverty line, the
debt will instead drain $7 billion
Church is persecuted in the Philippines
Example #1 : "Scared, I speeded up and
down Broadway. Three vehicles of armed,
non-uniformed men chased me and fired
shots, one of which hit the gas tank of my
car. I turned left at 17th Street, but the car
skidded; I hit the fence of a house and got
stuck. I got out, and armed men pointed
their guns at me, telling me to raise my
hands high. They frisked me but did not
identify themselves." Alforque, longtime
friend of Mennonite Central Committee
workers in the Philippines.
Example #2: Father Malalay was con-
ducting Bible studies at the house of Rufino
Rivera, 69, a lay church worker and town
counselor. Children ran in screaming that
drunken soldiers were harassing them.
Father Malalay and Rivera went out and
found two "civilian intelligence assets" and
one soldier. Father Malalay asked the
soldier what was happening.
The soldier shouted at the priest. Rivera tried to
calm him down and said, "Don't harm him, he is a
priest." The soldier shot and killed Father Malalay
with his M-14. As Rivera tried to take the gun
away, the soldier shot and killed him, too.
The three men then shot into the air shouting
that they were being attacked by anti-government
NPA rebels.
Example #3: Vizminda Gran, 44, pastor for the
United Church of Christ of the Philippines, and her
husband, Luvion, 40, were killed on May 1, 1989,
in Baliangao, Misamis Occidental. Local police
blame the killing on "right-wing vigilantes."
Gran had been branded by right-wingers as a
"communist supporter" for her involvement in
various church-initiated human rights activities
since the Marcos years.
Church workers call on Christians around the
world to "be with us with courage in defense of life
wherever it is being trampled upon or being
annihilated." Joy Hofer, MCC Philippines
14 JANUARY 9, 1990
"It's a miracle that my grandmother Broken Foot Woman could
forgive the whites who caused her so much grief," said Ted
Risingsun at the October 1989 meetings of Mennonite Indian
Leaders Council on the Cheyenne reservation in Oklahoma. "She
could forgive them because she died a Christian. As a 4-year-old
she was carried by her older sister out of Fort Robinson [Neb.]
when the Cheyenne forcibly held there by the U.S. Army broke out
in desperation. Soldiers shot and killed that older sister while the
group was escaping. Before she died she told little Broken Foot
Woman, 'You saw which way the others went. Follow them'— this
in deep snow. My grandmother survived the hard journey back to
Montana and the gunshot that had grazed her head in the escape.
My people were only going home.. ..So you see what God can do."
Abortion is condemned as sin in a
declaration approved recently by the
combined church councils of the Verband
deutscher Mennoniten-Gemeinden (Union
of Mennonite Churches in Germany). The
Verband is a conference of churches,
mostly in southern Germany, with total
membership of 1 ,628. {Bruecke)
Risingsun
COMMENTARY
from the Philippine economy
over the next three years. The
money will flow into First World
banks. Much of the borrowed
money has never benefited the
people for whom it was meant.
Morgan Guarantee Trust, one
of the U.S. creditors, has
estimated that up to $12 billion
of the money they and others
lent to the Philippines was
stolen by former dictator
Ferdinand Marcos.
Clearly the debt crisis is no
longer a problem for only
economists and experts to
discuss. The links between
war-related violence, child
death through hunger and
illness, and the crushing
burden of the debt have
propelled the issue into the
moral and ethical arena.
Churches in Canada and the
United States can address
these aspects by studying the
social costs of the debt crisis
and offering creative perspec-
tives that have been lacking.
Churches in the Philippines
have invoked biblical texts such
as the Year of Jubilee in
Leviticus to offer fresh perspec-
tive on the debt. When the
debt becomes a socially
crushing burden, say church
leaders, it becomes immoral
and unjust and should be
canceled. "Failure of a
government to do this would
cause unrest and rebellion, like
the ill-fated Kingdom of
Solomon," says the Church-
Based Consumers Movement.
For countless victims that
warning is too late. Dale
Hildebrand, Mennonite Central
Committee worker in the
Philippines
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THE MENNONITE 15
The family of an Israeli soldier shot in the
head by a Palestinian gunman recently
agreed to donate the Israeli's heart to
another Palestinian. After a four-hour
transplant operation at Jerusalem's
Hadassah Medical Center, Hannah
Khader, 54, was in stable condition with the
heart of 40-year-old Sgt. Zeev Traum
beating in his chest.
RECOR<J
Russ and Gail Toevs, General Confer-
ence missionaries in Orodara, Burkina
Faso, reported in a September 1989 letter
that Christians there helped Ngoloko, the
head sacrificer in the village. The previous
Christmas Ngoloko had decided to become
a Christian, then returned to his traditional
religion several months later. Short of food
and money, he could not afford to hire
workers for his fields. Christians offered to
help but explained that they were not trying
to entice him back into Christianity. "God is
the one who calls people to become
Christians." The Toevses write, "Ngoloko
was moved by the group's work.. ..He said
that his wife had told him he had made a
big mistake in leaving Christianity."
The Washington office of Mennonite
Central Committee Peace Section will offer
a Washington Seminar April 1-3. The
objective, says seminar director Delton
Franz, "is to become better acquainted with
important issues before [the U.S.] Con-
gress and to develop meaningful ways to
constructively influence the decision-
making process." For more information
contact Chris Buller, 754 Random Court,
Box 6, Hesston, KS 67062. A maximum'
number of 55 participants will be allowed.
Deadline for registration is March 1.
caIencJar
worIcers
Feb. 7-10 — Conference of
Mennonites in Canada Council
of Boards, Winnipeg
Feb. 10 — Many Peoples
Sunday
Feb. 16-17 — Conference of
Mennonites in Alberta, First
Church, Calgary
Feb. 16-17— Conference of
Mennonites in British Columbia,
Gospel Fellowship, Kelowna
Feb. 23-24— Conference of
Mennonites in Manitoba,
Sargent Avenue Church,
Winnipeg
Feb. 23-24— Conference of
Mennonites in Saskatchewan,
Mount Royal Church,
Saskatoon
March 2-6— Council of Com-
missions, First Church,
Newton, Kan.
March 22-24— Central
District Conference, Bluffton
(Ohio) College
March 23-25— Mennonite
Conference of Eastern Can-
ada, Niagara United Church,
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
May 3-5— Eastern District
Conference, Grace Church,
Lansdale, Pa.
June 14-17— Northern
District Conference, Salem-
Zion Church, Freeman, S.D.
June 21-24— Pacific District
Conference, First Church,
Reedley, Calif.
July 6-10— Conference of
Mennonites in Canada,
Edmonton
July 24-29— Mennonite
World Conference, Winnipeg
Eva Beidler, a Mennonite
watercolorist from Hyattsville,
Md., was the speaker for Art
'89 at The People's Place,
Intercourse, Pa., which opened
a multimedia art exhibit about
peace on display from Nov. 10,
1989, to Jan. 6.
Herman BontragerwlW leave
his position as executive
secretary of the Mennonite
Central Committee Peace
Office this year.
Michelle and Steven Burger,
First Church, Upland, Calif., are
beginning three-year MCC
assignments in Port Fouad,
Egypt, as English teachers.
Ernest Dyck, Winnipeg, went
to Guadeloupe on Dec. 9,
1989. He will become project
coordinator for Hurricane Hugo
reconstruction.
Henry Enns, Fort Garry
Church, Winnipeg, received a
Citation Award from the
Canadian Association of
Occupational Therapists. Enns
is director of MCC's disabled
persons concerns.
Albert H. Epp, senior pastor
at Bethesda Church, Hender-
son, Neb., since 1981, will not
accept another term beyond
this June. He will devote
several years to the writing of
discipleship materials.
Floyd Fisher, Busby, Mont.,
is chairing the Mennonite
Indian Leaders Council on an
interim basis, succeeding
Elmer Myron, Phoenix, Ariz.
Monica Friesen, Sterling
Burgers
Beidler
M. Friesen
Lepp
Fellowship, Winnipeg, is
beginning a MCC assignment
in Winnipeg as an administra-
tive assistant for Mediation
Services.
Anne Harder, First Church,
Edmonton, has been elected to
chair the MCC Alberta board,
succeeding Gerhard Bartel.
Mary Harder is a new
member of Der Bote commit-
tee. Other committee members
are Dick Epp, Saskatoon;
Albert Wiens, Herschel, Sask.;
and Lawrence Klippenstein,
Winnipeg.
Marcus Heinrichs, West
Abbotsford Church, Clearbrook,
B.C., is beginning a two-year
assignment in Akron, Pa., as a
printer in the MCC printing and
mailing services department.
His parents are Alfred and
Anne Heinrichs.
Barbara Willems Hoover,
F. Kathler S. Kathler
associate
secretary of the
MCC Peace
Office, will
leave that
position this
year.
Jean-Luc
Husser and
Etienne
Peterschmidt,
Mennonites from France, were
appointed by Caisse de
Secours to serve in Guade-
loupe for Hurricane Hugo re-
construction projects.
Fred and Susan Kathler, First
Church, Burns Lake, B.C., are
beginning a two-year MCC
assignment in Reedley, Calif.,
with the Material Resources
program.
Peter Kehler has resigned as
conference minister for the
Conference of Mennonites in
British Columbia effective this
summer.
David Lepp, Harrow (Ont.)
Church, is beginning a two-year
MCC assignment in Washing-
ton at Sojourner's Neighbor-
hood Center, working in
computer literacy and business
development His parents are
Henry and Marina Lepp.
J.B. Miller, Sarasota, Fla., is
16 JANUARY 9, 1990
The Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant
near Denver has begun "a major curtail-
ment" of plutonium processing while safety
conditions are improved, plant officials said
Nov. 29. Plutonium is used in detonators
for nuclear weapons. U.S. Energy Secre-
tary James Watkins visited the plant Dec. 1
for the first time. He said he "will demand
and insure that higher environmental and
safety standards are imposed before
nuclear operations resume." The plant has
been plagued with deficient safety stan-
dards for years, various authorities have
charged. (National Catholic Reporter)
A study and service program is being
offered in Colombia June 30-Aug. 20 for
about 10 young adults. The program is
sponsored by the Commission on Over-
seas Mission of the General Conference.
Participants will spend the first four weeks
in a workshop designed to raise awareness
about Latin America. The following three
weeks will be spent in a work project for the
Colombian Mennonite Church. Cost is
$588 (U.S.) plus airfare to Bogota, Colom-
bia. COM contributes $350 (U.S.) toward
each participant's costs. For more informa-
tion contact Bruno or Wanda Derksen
Bergen, COM, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114, (316) 283-5100.
"A Cup of Cold Water" is the theme of the
Mennonite Disaster Service all-unit meeting
to be held Feb. 9-10 at the Hilton Hotel in
Eugene, Ore. Tentatively scheduled as
keynote speaker at the meeting is Senator
Mark Hatfield. For more information
contact Donna Brubaker, 28050 Liberty
Road, Sweet Home, OR 97386, (503) 367-
5224.
RECORd
B. Pauls
P. Pauls
Preheim
Schmidt
Stahly
Stolifer
the new board chairman of
Mennonite Mutual Aid, replac-
ing Arthur Jost, Reedley, Calif.
Stephen Murphy, Grain of
Wheat Community Church,
Winnipeg, is beginning a two-
year MCC assignment in
Winnipeg doing community
work.
Abe and Nettie Neufeld,
Steinbach, Man., are serving
as interim pastors at Bethany
Church, Watrous, Sask.
Doreen and Hugo Neufeld
have been appointed mission
ministers for the Mennonite
Conference of Eastern Can-
ada, effective in July.
Letty and Timothy Ngo are
the pastoral couple at the new
Chinese congregation in
Edmonton.
Ben and Pat Pauls, Altona
(Man.) Church, began a three-
month North America Assign-
ment on Nov. 21 , 1989. They
are Commission on Overseas
Mission workers in San
Lorenzo, Paraguay, at the
Mennonite Theological Center
of Asuncion (CEMTA).
Vern Preheim, Faith Church,
Newton, Kan., general secre-
tary of the General Conference
Mennonite Church, will be part
of an ecumenical delegation
going to Nicaragua to observe
the elections. He will leave
Feb. 21 and return March 1 .
Rudy A. Regehr and Juliana
Tarn, both of Winnipeg, are
editors of the Chinese Mennon-
ite Newsletter, published by
the North American Chinese
Mennonite Council.
Jose Humberto dos Reis is
the first pastor at the Garavelo
Church in Goiania, Brazil,
where terminating COM
missionaries Ron and Marlene
Daku did evangelistic work.
Renee Sauder has resigned
as associate pastor at Bethel
College Church, North Newton,
Kan., effective June 30. She
will have served seven years in
this position.
Donald L. Schmidt, First
Church, Newton, Kan., is a new
member of the Mennonite
Mutual Aid board, replacing
William Friesen, North Newton,
Kan. Schmidt represents the
General Conference Mennonite
Church.
JeroldA. Stahly, Bethel
Church, Lancaster, Pa., is
beginning a three-year MCC
assignment in Omdurman,
Sudan, as a lecturer in environ-
mental studies with Omdurman
Ahlia University. His parents
are Delmar and Luella Stahly,
Akron.
Lois Stolifer, Inman (Kan.)
Church, has completed her
M. Wenger
E. Wenger
term of service with COM in
Hualien, Taiwan. She gave
leadership to the nurses at
Mennonite Christian Hospital
since 1984.
Verney Unruh, First Church,
Newton, Kan., will attend the
January meeting of the Asia
Mennonite Conference in
Semarang, Java, (Indonesia.)
He is Asia secretary for COM.
Perer Voran is interim pastor
at Turpin (Okla.) Church,
beginning this month.
King Hung Wan is part-time
pastor-in-training at Chinese
Church, Winnipeg, working with
pastor David Tarn.
Esther and Malcolm Wenger,
Shalom Church, Newton, Kan.,
left Jan. 1 to spend three
months with Hopi congrega-
tions in Arizona, leading
evening classes in Bible and
church history.
Women in Mission of the
General Conference has
awarded $500 scholarships to
the following students at
Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind.:
Lynelle Bergen, Charleswood
Church, Winnipeg; Catherine
Couillard, Faith Church,
Minneapolis; Marion Dueck,
Zion Church, Swift Current,
Sask.; Charlene Epp, Bethel
Church, Marion, S.D.; Eileen
Klassen Hamm, Aberdeen
(Sask.) Church; and Doreen
Neufeld, Welcome Inn Church,
Hamilton, Ont.
— compiled by Angela Rempel
Crossroads is an introduction
service for Mennonite, Brethren in
Christ, and Church of the Brethren.
We advertise only in their
publications.
If you seek a friend who shares
your interest, we have many to
choose from. Some have met the
one they married through us. Of
course we can't make any guaran-
tees, but at only $100.00 for two
years, isn't it worth the risk?
How will you find out if you don't
join? For information, write to
Crossroads, Box 32, N. Tona-
wanda, NY14120.
West Abbotsford Mennonite
Church invites inquiries for the
position of senior pastor as part of
a ministerial team. We are a
congregation of 240 in the central
Fraser Valley. Interest and skills
are expected in preaching and
teaching, counseling and crisis
visitation, and outreach and church
growth.
Send inquiries or resumes to:
Alvin G. Ens, 29521 Taylor Rd.,
Mt. Lehman, B.C., VOX 1V0 (604)
856-1348.
THE MENNONITE 17
Vancouver Chinese Mennonite Church is
promoting the repayment of its $12,000
mortgage by its 12th anniversary, in 1990.
By borrowing from church members at no
interest the congregation is saving about
$1,000 a month.
Wolfgang Krausz, a member of the
German Mennonite Peace Committee, was
sentenced by a local court in Schwabish-
Gmund, West Germany, to 20 days in jail
for his role in the blockade of a missile
project. In his defense Krausz said that the
weapons of mass destruction posed a
deadly danger to humanity and to the entire
creation of God. He said that construction
work in such a project is not a normal,
neutral activity, just as construction work for
the gas chambers during the Third Reich
was not a neutral activity. The judge did
not accept his arguments.
Tim Sprunger, General Conference
missionary in Hong Kong, wrote in an
October 1989 letter, "We have chosen the
name 'Mong Yan Tong' ('Hope Mennonite
Church')." In painting the church's newly
purchased building, members found an old
can of what looked like Japanese latex
paint, then found that it disappeared as it
dried. It turned out to be Elmer's Glue.
"How could I know?" Sprunger wrote.
"None of us reads Japanese."
RESOURCES
Becoming God's People, a
new brochure put out by
Mennonite Indian Leaders
Council, is available free from
the Commission on Home
Ministries, Box 347, Newton,
KS 67114-0347.
"We no longer view theology
as a system of divinely
revealed truth. Instead we see
theology as a discipline that
reflects on the truth," say
authors Aten F. Johnson and
Robert Webber in What
Christians Believe: A Biblical
and Historical Summary
(Zondervan, 1989, $19.95).
The Sociological
Perspective: A Value-
Committed Approach, edited by
Michael R. Leming, Raymond
G. DeVries and Brendan F.J.
Furnish (Zondervan, 1989,
$14.95), presents a series of
14 essays on topics covered in
introductory sociology courses.
The Mennonite Brethren
Church in Canada began in
Winkler, Man., in 1888. From
Faith to Faith: The History of
the Manitoba Mennonite
Brethren Church by William
Neufeld (Kindred Press, 1989
$15.95, $19.95 in Canada)
includes photographs.
Children Around the World
by various authors (Eerdmans,
1988, $7.95 each) is a series of
eight children's books written to
introduce young readers to the
fascinating and diverse
lifestyles of children in other
lands and cultures.
Another series of eight
books, Outstanding Women
of the Bible by Marlee Alex
(Eerdmans,
■r . 1988, $7.95
~t(1x:^J^ each),
presents
the classic
stories of
young
women and
girls of Bible
: times,
illustrated in
full color by
some of Europe's best chil-
dren's book artists.
The sometimes tragic story
of Christian mission among the
Ayoreo people of Paraguay's
Chaco is recounted in the book
Die Ayoreos— unsere
Nachbarn (The Ayoreos— Our
Neighbors), edited by David
Hein. (For information write
Mennonite World Conference,
465 Gundersen Drive, Carol
Stream, IL 60188.)
On Fire for Christ: Stories
of Anabaptist Martyrs retold
from Martyrs Mirror by Dave
and Neta Jackson (Herald
Press, 1989, $8.95, $10.95 in
Canada) retells true stories of
15 Anabaptist martyrs.
A series of troubling events
culminating in the tragic death
of her baby granddaughter in
the summer of 1971 shook the
foundations of Catherine
Marshall's faith and plummeted
her into a malaise of the spirit.
In Light in My Darkest Night
(Revell, 1989, $12.95) she
reveais the full scope of her
spiritual struggle.
Anywhere with You by
Vernell Klassen Miller (Herald
Press, 1989, $8.95, $10.95 in
Canada) is a true missionary
adventure story about a young
woman who dreams of
changing the world but who
with her husband meets
unanticipated hardship and
failure.
After 50 years of watching
"pastors wage private war on
mediocrity," Richard S. Taylor
in Principles of Pastoral
Success (Zondervan, 1989,
$8.95) sets out to diagnose
common causes of failure and
subperformance and prescribe
advice on ministry success.
Life in a Glass House: The
Minister's Family in Its Unique
Social Context by Cameron
Lee and Jack Balswick
(Zondervan, 1989, $14.95)
explains the relational and
psychological dynamics of a
minister's family that both
shapes and is shaped by its
particular congregation.
Michael J. Hostetler, in his
Assistant minister required for
congregation of approximately 300
members in the Niagara Peninsula.
Bethany Mennonite Church
invites applications with resume,
including training and experience.
The successful applicant will serve
in conjunction with the pastor, with
emphasis on youth and young
adult ministry.
For further information, direct
inquiries to Anna Andres, secre-
tary, Pastoral Search Committee,
Route 1, Niagara-on-the-Lake ON
LOS 1J0.
book Illustrating the Sermon
(Zondervan, 1989, $5.95),
shows speakers how to refine
intuitive abilities to choose
illustrations, find, file and
retrieve illustrations, choose a
book of quotations, edit
anecdotes, evaluate statistics
and analyze sermons in seven
steps.
Liberating News: A Theol-
ogy of Contextual Evangeliza-
tion by Orlando E. Costas
(Eerdmans, 1989, $12.95)
approaches the topic of
contextual evangelization from
the standpoint of "the poor, the
powerless and the oppressed"
and is "written against the
streams of the larger ecumeni-
cal church."
Two new commentaries on
the Gospel of Mark are The
Role of Disbelief in Mark: A
New Approach to the Second
Gospel by Mary R. Thompson
(Paulist Press, 1989, $9.95)
and A Brief Commentary on
the Gospel of Mark by John J.
Kilgallen (Paulist Press, 1989,
$14.95).
—compiled by Gordon Houser
Faculty member in pastoral care
and counseling, Eastern
Mennonite Seminary. Requires a
doctorate in an appropriate field
and significant experience in
church ministry. Experience in
pastoral care and teaching is
preferred. Women and minorities
are encouraged to apply.
Send resume to George R. Brunk
III, Eastern Mennonite Seminary,
Harrisonburg, VA 22801.
18 JANUARY 9, 1990
'Land Runs' and the rest of the story
Esther Bohn Groves
Bang! At the sound of a fired gun, a
row of schoolchildren in pioneer
costumes, some pulling play wagons
outfitted like Conestogas, raced across a
school ballfield to stake a claim.
They were re-enacting Oklahoma's
first land run. Indians at Guthrie, Okla.,
former capital of Indian Territory, were
asked to contribute songs and dances in
feathered costumes to the centennial
anniversary of that land run. They
declined.
Ralph Beard of El Reno, Okla., editor
of the Cheyenne-Arapaho Bulletin, said,
"Whites asking Native Americans to
celebrate land runs is like Indians asking
whites to celebrate Custer's last stand at
the Battle of the Little Big Horn."
What Native Americans in Oklahoma
remember more is what preceded Okla-
homa's five land runs from 1889 to 1901.
Whether Cherokee or not, they call it the
Trail of Tears.
In the 1820s, Cherokees living in the
southeastern United States had begun to
farm and live in log cabins. They had
their own constitutional republic and
were beginning to develop their own
literature in the Cherokee alphabet that
Sequoya (17707-1843) introduced. But
when gold was discovered in their
territory, whites wanted the Cherokees
out.
A "treaty" was signed by a small
minority (the U.S. signed 370 worthless
treaties with tribes between 1778 and
1868), and most of the Cherokee Nation
was rounded up at gunpoint in 1838 and
marched to Indian Territory, now
Oklahoma. One out of four died on the
way from cold, hunger, dysentery and
Mennonites were there: From Mrs. J.H. Sch
buildings in El Reno, taken "in 1889 or 1890.
other diseases— the Trail of Tears. Yet
the resilient Cherokee established a
three-branch government at Tahlequah,
Okla., their capital, and set up schools.
The federal government moved other
tribes to Indian Territory. (Read the list
of Oklahoma towns in the back of a road
atlas. Many are names of tribes.) Still
the pressure for land continued as
immigrants arrived and new generations
wanted to homestead.
To get at reservation land the govern-
ment issued Native Americans 160 acres,
even though most had no farm back-
ground, and opened leftover land for
runs. "An April 19, 1892, land run
brought homesteaders into Cheyenne-
Arapaho land," says Lawrence Hart, a
Mennonite who is a Cheyenne chief.
The biggest of the land runs was the
midt, Gotebo, Okla., comes this photo of the first
Dreams for Native Ministries
We dream of a time when the barriers
to cross-cultural communication will
be overcome.
We dream of the formation of more
Native fellowship groups for worship,
study and mutual support.
We dream of strong Native churches
that take an active part in the life of
the conference.
We dream of educational programs
at church institutions to develop lead-
ership for the Native church.
We dream of a more regular theo-
logical exchange between Mennonite
and Native Christians.
We dream of Native Christians
taking a more equitable place at the
board, staff and administrative levels
of Native Ministries.
We dream of Native Ministries as a
Native organization that incorporates
the spiritual strength of both Mennon-
ite and Native traditions.
We dream of the Mennonite church
in the forefront of justice as Canadian
society reworks its history. John and
Vera Funk, executive secretaries,
Native Ministries, Conference of
Mennonites in Canada, 600 Shaft-
esbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4
Cherokee Strip Run on Sept. 16, 1893.
Some 100,000 prospective settlers lined
up on the Kansas-Oklahoma border for
the rush south to 40,000 claims. By the
time Oklahoma became a state in 1907,
the basis for the Native American way of
life was gone.
Instead of re-enacting a land run,
Elgin School near Lawton, Okla., which
has some Indian faculty members and
students from 11 tribes, used the
occasion to educate. Native American
dignitaries and culture were part of the
program.
The year 1992 will mark the centen-
nial of the Cheyenne-Arapaho land run
and the quincentennial of Columbus' dis-
covery of the Americas. Hart says that
Indian educators are working on a
history of Oklahoma that will include
new material about western Oklahoma
for use as a school text. Neglect, both
intentional and unintentional, has kept
Native Americans from realizing their
heritage. Neglect has kept whites from
the knowledge of how Indians ended up
in the ghetto while whites prospered. A
history of these past events can help us
all prepare for and celebrate 1992 more
wisely.
Esther Bohn Groves
is a member of
Turpin (Okla.)
Mennonite Church.
20 JANUARY 9, 1990
Utters
One at a time, yes
I like the way you feature one important
issue at a time. Marie Ratzlaff, Box 613,
Henderson, NE 68371
Careful reading
I feel out of touch with the rest of the
Mennonite community and I read The
Mennonite carefully to try to keep up.
Ronald Sawatzky, 2200 South Ave. B,
Apt. A-107, Yuma, AZ 85364
Stewardship questions
"Bring ye all the tithes into the store-
house" (Malachi 3:10). Does "storehouse"
mean your home church? What happens
after the money is in the church treas-
ury? Is the money dispensed prayer-
fully? Have wills ever been recom-
mended or mentioned in a sermon on
stewardship? Most of us would avoid
mentioning this touchy question for fear
of giving offense or marring our social
status. I confess to sins of omission.
C.B. Friesen, 415 E. First St., Newton,
KS 67114
Goodwill correction
The five men from Aberdeen [Editorial,
Dec. 12] did work on the building at First
Mennonite, Phoenix, Ariz. However, it
was the original church building, not the
recent addition. [They were] invited
back to the dedication of the new wing.
Their work in Phoenix has been appreci-
ated and remembered. Thank you for
giving their work the publicity it
deserves. Al Whaley, pastor, First
Mennonite Church, 1612 W. Northern
Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85021
Editor's note: Frank Hiebert, Aberdeen,
Idaho, adds the name of Herbert Huether
as one who worked hard on the Phoenix
church building. Thanks for these
corrections.
Ownership
We pray for you and your work regularly.
It makes us feel a part of the publication.
Lubin and Tillie Jantzen, 612 W. Ninth,
Newton, KS 67114
About letters: We use all letters submit-
ted for publication. Longer letters will be
shortened. Unsigned correspondence will
not be published, though we may with-
hold names for valid reasons. Editor
American History
from Another Angle
The Mennonite Experience in
America Series
"In the last two or three decades writers of American history have looked more
and more to people's religious beliefs, identities, and motivations. There they have
found new explanations for economic or political behavior, family and
neighborhood life, ethnicity, and other matters. In doing so, they have begun to
look at the U.S. nation and its history, far more than previously, through the eyes
of minorities and of the powerless. These trends are a new opportunity to tell of
particular religious groups. The Mennonite Experience in America Series tells its
story within the setting of the American nation, and in turn suggests what its story
tells about that nation."— Theron F. Schlabach, series editor
New!
Vision, Doctrine, War: Mennonite
Identity and Organization in America
James C. Juhnke explores the story of Mennonites and
Amish in America from 1890 to 1930. He reveals how
Mennonites responded to the challenges of war and to
doctrinal and cultural changes.
In the four decades covered in this book, the American
Mennonites nearly doubled in membership. Encounters
with Protestant revivalism, organizational techniques,
modernism, and World War I affected each group
differently. This book tells of those encounters and the
changes that followed. Volume 3.
Paper, $19.95, in Canada $24.95
Also available:
Land, Piety, Pcoplehood: The
Establishment of Mennonite
Communities in America, 1683-1870
Paper, $17.95, in Canada $22.50
Peace, Faith, Nation: Mennonites
and Amish in Nineteenth-Century
America
Paper, $19.95, in Canada 24.95
Vision,
Doctrine,
War
Peace, Faith,
Nation
Herald Press books are available through your local bookstore or write to Herald
Press (include 10% for shipping).
Illl
Herald Press
Dept. MEN
616 Walnut Avenue
Scottdale, PA 15683-1999
Herald Press
Dept. MEN
490 Dutton Drive
Waterloo, ON N2L 6H7
THE MENNONITE 21
REVIEWS
»ooks
Raising adult believers
Parenting for the '90s by Philip
Osborne (Good Books, 1989, 300 pages)
Reviewed by Clare Schumm, Box 1245,
Elkhart, IN 46515-1245
Phil Osborne, a longtime psychology
professor at Hesston (Kan.) College, took
on a desperately needed task in writing
this book. Recognizing the need to
evaluate and integrate the various
schools of thought current today,
Osborne brings together significant
concepts of current
theories of parent
education, plus ad-
ditional insights of
his own, into a
meaningful
framework that
will make sense to
parents and profes-
sionals alike.
Osborne draws
on the learnings
from the strengths
of behaviorism in
the '60s, P.E.T.
(Parent Effective-
ness Training) in the '70s and religious
authoritarianism and family systems in
the '80s. He shows that the usual ways
to effective parenting taught in the last
several decades tend to lean to one side
or the other.
The real strength of the book is the
alternative perspective to parenting that
Osborne calls the adult-believers per-
spective. This focuses on the parents
rather than the child. Adults have
children, and the hope of parents is that
their children will grow up to be adult
believers like themselves.
Osborne emphasizes that parental
concern for children goes beyond teach-
ing them what behaviors are socially
proper or improper. The larger concern
is the gradual induction of the child into
a lifestyle of Christian discipleship.
He offers a "balanced parenting"
paradigm at the beginning of the book
that serves as a benchmark for communi-
cation between the author and reader.
Most parents will find the topics of
practical parenting covered in the middle
chapters most helpful. The stories about
his own life as a parent enriches his
presentation of the theoretical and
historical models for parenting and
parent education.
Study questions for each chapter make
it helpful for academic study, support
groups or any parent who reads it. I
highly recommend this book for all
parents to be and parents with any age
children. It helps parents gain perspec-
tive on the requirements of parenting, an
outlook that will enable them to make
wise choices from the profusion of advice
before them.
'Sexual property'
Dirt, Greed, and Sex: Sexual Ethics
in the New Testament and Their Im-
plications for Today by L. William
Countryman (Fortress Press, 1988, 290
pages)
Reviewed by John Linscheid, 6101 Boyer,
Third Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19138
L. William Countryman wants Chris-
tians to base sexual morality on the Bible
rather than on naive assumptions about
the Bible. To that
end he scrutinizes
the sexual moral
rules of the New
Testament era and
discovers their
roots in Old
Testament con-
cerns for physical
purity and for
family property.
Jesus and his
followers rejected
physical purity
I.. \Mlliuni Couiilmiiiin
Dirt
Greed
SSex
SKM VI.I-TIIH.MXTIIK
codes. They assumed that purity of the
heart— not physical purity regulated by
ritual laws— affected one's relationship
with God. That didn't mean that Jesus
and his followers eliminated sexual
morality. But they reformulated— and
transformed— it in response to under-
standing of "sexual property."
For example, in ancient times the wife
was the sexual property of the husband
rather than a member of his family. By
prohibiting divorce, Jesus gave the
woman equal claim on her husband-
thus ending the advantage men had in
marriage. (Which is why the disciples in
Matthew 19:10 conclude that it's no
longer beneficial to marry.)
Countryman contends that modern
American Christians live with an
assumed purity code that reads back into
the Bible our assumptions about the
reasons for certain sexual regulations.
We consider certain sexual practices
"dirty," so we assume falsely that the
reason such practices were prohibited in
biblical times was due to a similar
distaste for them. In fact, many were
expressions of regulations designed to
protect patriarchal prerogatives and to
provide for legitimate family heirs and
labor.
Countryman suggests that our purity
codes function just as the demand for
circumcision did in Paul's day— as a
barrier of "law" preventing entrance for
some into the Christian community.
Countryman calls on Christians to
abandon this modern purity code and to
adopt instead a biblical morality pat-
terned after the type of response that
Jesus and his followers made to sexual
property rules of that day.
The last chapter outlines the principles
that can be derived from New Testament
regulations of "sexual property." Here
Countryman also sketches some of the
implications he derives for moral
regulations of sexual relationships in our
day. For example, he notes that rape of a
woman in ancient times was chiefly
considered a violation against the man to
whom she belonged. He shows how
adapting New Testament understand-
ings of sexual property to our age should
make us consider rape the most serious
sexual sin.
Not all readers will like Countryman's
principles and applications. Yet the
greatest value of his study lies not in his
conclusions but in his examination of the
basis for sexual morals in the Bible. He
makes us come to terms with the fact
that the rationale we often give for
sexual prohibitions are not particularly
biblical. He confronts us with the
cultural gap that divides our world from
the New Testament world and that
makes it so difficult for us to understand
the intent of first-century writers.
At times I felt Countryman failed to
fully explore the possible interpretations
of particular passages. He failed to
consider the revolutionary implications
of injunctions to mutual submission
between husband and wife in Colossians.
(He preferred to simply see Paul as
backing off from Jesus' more thorough
emancipation of women.) When the
basis for a sexual law was ambiguous, he
usually rejected out of hand the sugges-
tions of other scholars that the vestiges
of purity law might be operating— even
among Christians who rejected the law
as a barrier to salvation.
Yet though I may quibble with details,
I wholeheartedly endorse his final
principle. Sexuality must be constantly
and clearly related to the reign of God
rather than be seen as an end in itself.
22 JANUARY 9, 1990
Text: the book of Jonah
Jon
Alvin G. Ens
And so," said our pastor, "on New Year's Eve, instead of our
regular service, we ask all of you to make a commitment
to friendship evangelism, to tell the congregation your specific
goals for outreach into our community in the next year."
I saw that Jon was shaking his head. Earlier he had been
vocal in opposing this idea. Jon lives in a multiethnic neigh-
borhood. From his personal experiences he knew how it would
not work. These foreigners were outsiders. They cared nothing
for the church. Their lifestyles and habits and traditions were
different. Some of them were downright wicked.
Nevertheless, our pastor had made the announcement.
All of us were scared or inexperienced or unsure, but we
agreed to try it.
New Year's Eve came. Attendance was small, but the spirit
was good. Most of us had some friend or group that we thought
Two vessels
Alice Cameron Bostrom
Emerald bubbles disturbed the waters
as great jaws
broke the surface of the sea.
A lone man swept past
the tooth-like baleen,
head over heels
to the bowels of the deep.
Slowly, the blow-hole closed
like a wink from the eye of God
The whale,
a willing vessel
bearing Jonah on his cruise.
Alice Cameron Bostrom 's address is 3825 Kentucky Ave. N,
Minneapolis, MN 55427.
we could relate to during the next year. I looked around for
Jon. He was absent. I wasn't surprised.
Later I heard that Jon went to his office's New Year's Eve
party instead of to church. I heard that people had invited him
to join in, but Jon just moped about. I guess some high-spirited
or maybe slightly drunk person decided he was a party-pooper
and literally threw him out.
It turns out that Jon got into his car and drove straight out of
town and into the mountains, as far away from home as
possible. It was the dead of winter, but I suppose Jon didn't
care. Sometimes there are avalanches or snowslides in those
mountains. A big one fell that night, followed by a major
winter storm for the next two days.
Jon's wife reported him missing the next day, but no one
knew where to look. It wasn't until the highway crews cleared
out the debris from the avalanche on the third day that Jon's
car was found buried. Miraculously Jon was pulled from the
wreckage alive and whole except for frostbite.
Jon told us about it later. He had been convicted to also do
his thing for friendship evangelism. He felt a specific call to
reach the people on his block but had resisted the urging with
every excuse he could muster. That's why he had gone to the
office party instead of the New Year's Eve church service. The
rebuff there prompted him to run even farther.
During those three days under the avalanche he prayed, and
now he was ready to join the outreach effort.
Jon watched and waited and formed judgments about his
neighbors— the "godless lot," as he called them. But we con-
vinced him that his job was not to worry about their response
but just to tell them.
During the week before Easter Jon made his move. The
death of Christ would be his theme. He started Thursday right
after work and went door to door to every house on his block. It
took him three days. His message was the same: Sin put
Jesus on the cross; judgment follows if one neglects Jesus' plan
of reclamation. At each household he left the pamphlet our
church had developed to hand out.
Jon's conscience was now eased. But he didn't expect any
response.
On Easter Sunday our church is always a bit fuller than
usual, though we've never run out of space. Imagine our
surprise when strange people started coming in. I counted 57
of them, nearly all from Jon's block. And where was Jon? By
the time he came the ushers were placing chairs in the aisle.
Jon had to sit in the aisle, with his wife in the chair behind
him. I heard that the neighborhood had been buzzing, and the
consensus was that Jon made sense. They felt their need for a
religion like his.
I could see that Jon was upset. People on the bench beside
him were whispering, and the area smelled of tobacco and
foreign food. He didn't get a hymn book to sing from, but then
he didn't seem in the mood for singing.
Our pastor led a fine worship service. He acknowledged the
new life possible for all and invited all to return again the next
week. When we got up to leave, Jon remained in his chair,
glowering. ,
At the next week's planning session Jon told us he couldn t
figure God out, nor the church's response to these foreigners.
He felt that the church was compromising with the world and
weakening its faith and doctrine by
encouraging the attendance of people with
such different backgrounds and practices.
Alvin G. Ens, 29521 Taylor Road, Route 1,
Mount Lehman, BC VOX 1V0, teaches
English and Bible at Mennonite Educa-
tional Institute, Clearbrook, B.C., and is a
member of West Abbotsford Mennonite
Church.
THE MENNONITE 23
NEWS 01 002? 031 313
LIBRAE
ASSQH «IENM BIBLICAL S EH
3003 3EMHAM AVE
ELKHART I VI 46 517
EdiTORIAl
Tell the truth: Are we becoming one people?
We in the United States pause (Jan. 15) to mark
the birth of the great non- violent civil rights
leader and Baptist pastor Martin Luther King Jr.
Across our conference we are invited to prepare now for
Feb. 10, to set aside that Sunday as Many Peoples Day.
But I am concerned that we may be misleading other
Christians who may be looking at us. Are we really
MPBGP (Many Peoples Becoming God's People)?
Let me start close by. This week's cover and that of
the previous issue feature an African American and
South Africans. A casual observer could surmise from
this that the 65,000 or so of us General Conference folks
are far advanced in integrating the black and white
races of people. In truth, we have done this integrating
by fits and starts and have a long way to go.
Many of you have seen the conference video/slide set
(well put together by Ardie Schroeder Goering of
Goessel, Kan.) that was prepared for our triennial
sessions in Normal, 111., last August. It is now getting
good mileage among our congregations. If you haven't
seen it and want to, contact Dave Linscheid, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100. The piece is entitled
"People of the General Conference: Walking Together in
the Light." A casual observer would conclude from it,
however, that about 90 percent of us "GC" Mennonites
are (for lack of a better phrase) "people of color" and that
about 10 percent are "white." In truth, the opposite is
more like it.
But you have to start somewhere, right? I'm im-
pressed that when we have been obedient to the gospel
of Christ to "welcome the stranger" (sometimes refu-
gees) we have gained in our desire to "become one
people."
On page 8 of this issue is such a story, that of Martha
and Menno Nickel of Saskatoon. The doctor who is now
head of the Pain Control Clinic, where Martha is a
cancer patient, is the father in the first Vietnamese
refugee family that Martha and Menno helped sponsor
in Saskatoon and then assist through his university
training. Menno writes, "He is ever so concerned to give
Martha the best of help." God's love is made flesh
through people. Even the casual reader would see truth
in this story.
Another story is that of Ed and Sara Stoesz, Altona,
Man., who spent four months in Zaire a couple of years
ago under Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission but at their
own expense. They fixed machines, rewired, repaired
an elevator, painted and cleaned, mainly at the print
shop in Kinshasa. Just as stunning is the fact that folks
in their congregation sent them 60 letters in three
months. I see this as MPBGP going more than one
direction.
Pearl Janzen reports that the Many Peoples concept is
being born at First Mennonite Church, Reedley, Calif,
one of our older congregations (founded in 1904) with a
declining membership. More than half of the town is
Hispanic, so, she says, "that has been our focus. A
handful of individuals, feeling totally inadequate, took a
small step with the blessing of the deacons and church
council." They worked through mission festivals,
inviting the Hispanic leaders of our conference, using
the "Neighbors Near and Far" curriculum, including a
"Posada" (re-enactment of Mary and Joseph's journey)
in the children's Christmas program, and offering a
Spanish/English Bible study for the past three years.
Finally, let these three Japanese young people tell you
the truth. We and they are part of each other. They
paused for photographer and missionary Mary Derksen,
modeling the T-shirts designed by the Japanese Men-
nonite youth committee for the young people to wear at
last May's interchurch sports day. Their names?
Shinya Kawagoe, Chika Sato and Chiyo Sato (left to
right). Remember them. They are pronounced just the
way they are written. MPBGP. Remember it. Muriel
T. Stackley
MENNONITE
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
Reach out:
Come as strangers.
leave as friends
105:2 JANUARY 23, 1990
side:
Carlos: with God
Do the poor feel
welcome in
your church?
Let's start more
guest houses
CONTENTS
pRoloquE
There is a new thing under the winter sun:
telemarketing The Mennonite. Dorothy Franz
Swan came forward last November with the
idea of phoning people in our conference, en-
couraging them to subscribe. The department
to which I am accountable is eager to increase
subscriptions. To date Dorothy has spent part
of a dozen evenings calling folks. If you live in
Beatrice, Neb., or Meno or Enid, Okla., or
Wichita, Kan., you may have spoken with her.
An unexpected spinoff of Dorothy's phone
calls is that several people have asked for
prayer, for a variety of needs. Dorothy records
these. They are read, prayed over and placed
in a box in our office chapel here at 722 Main,
Newton, Kan. The whole office staff gathers
each Wednesday morning for chapel, and a
prayer group is forming to come together for a
prayer time prior to chapel. I see this as just
as important as the new subscriptions.
On page 45 is another prayer request, in a
letter from Brian Arbuckle. This morning
(Jan. 5) I got the Arbuckle phone number and
spoke with his wife, Gwen. She reports that
Brian was indeed sent to Panama on Dec. 20,
1989, that he was on the front line at first and
now has an administrative job. "At this
point," she said, "we don't know when he will
be returning but trust it will be before May."
Read his letter. Honor his request for prayer.
It's a way to reach out.
The next issue, dated Feb. 13, will focus on
coping with disabilities, mts
Carlos, up there in front with God / 27
(Almost) seven good years in Bolivia / 28
Do the poor feel welcome in your church? / 30
Let's start more guest houses like IGH / 33
News / 34
Palestinian Christians reject violence / 34
Mennonite farmers voice many questions / 36
Refugees knock on our doors / 39
Record / 40
Resources / 41
Nobel laureates and hard questions / 44
Letters / 45
Reviews / 45
Re: Holy Spirit / 45
The uses of power / 46
Money management / 46
Discipleship: the goal of church growth / 47
After the fax / 48
Cover: Photo by Carolyn Prieb
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 13 years of The
Mennonite are also available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College
North Newton, KS 67117, and from University Microfilms International 300 N
Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106.
(ffi) tIie mennonite
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100
Editor: Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant-
Angela Rempel; art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the
Associated Church Press, Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a
Mennnonite and Brethren in Christ editors' group). It is an associate member of the
Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretary: Doris Yoder. Business adviser: Dietrich Rempel. Special editions edi-
tors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North Newton, KS 671 1 7- Window to Mission
Lois Deckert, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 1 4: Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries Richard
A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1, Didsbury, AB TOM 0W0- (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2S 1V7; (Central District) Steve
Estes, Box 196, Hopedale, IL61747; (Eastern District) Curtis Bauman, 429 N. Second St Em-
maus, PA 1 8049; (Manitoba) Irma Fast Dueck, 693 Ebby Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3M 2G9; (Men-
nonite Conference of Eastern Canada) Margot Fieguth, 99 Veronica Drive, Mississauga ON
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Ann Ruth-Heffelbower, 31 98 E. Menlo Ave., Fresno, CA 9371 0; (Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger
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Circulation: 10,896
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build
the Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the
guidance of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly by the
General Conference Mennonite Church, 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS
671 14. Subscription rates: one year, $18 U.S., $21 Canada; two years, $32 U.S
$38 Canada; three years, $44 U.S., $52 Canada. Outside North America add $1 6
U.S. per year to U. S. rate for surface mail, $53.32 U.S. for airmail. Single copies:
$2 U.S. Five or more: $1 U.S. each. Paid advertising accepted from Mennonite-
related groups. Second-class postage paid at Newton, Kan., and additional mailing
offices. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMASTER: Send Form 3579 to The Mennonite
Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. ©1989
26 JANUARY 23, 1990
Reach out
Carlos, up
there in front
with God
Julius Belser
Carlos died this morning, and our house-
hold family is sad. Folks from our con-
gregation have been stopping by all day
to share in our sorrow.
Yesterday Carlos' face lit up with a
smile when I wheeled my 81-year-old dad
into his room in the hospital. Carlos was
hurting and just a bit disoriented, but he
made a gallant effort to cheer Dad (who
has Parkinson's Disease ) with his big-
talk banter. Carlos encouraged Dad all
seven months of his stay with us, joking
about how many dollars were added to
the bill every time he held Dad's chair or
passed the toast.
I look out on our patio, where Carlos
sat daily feeding the squirrels and birds.
This morning a squirrel sat right outside
our screen door as though he didn't trust
our word that Carlos was gone and we
had no peanuts.
Next Sunday would have been Carlos'
birthday. We were looking forward to
our household celebration. These
celebrative meals, cards, gifts, treasur-
ing-each-other times were especially
great for Carlos. On his birthday last
month Grandpa got a water pistol as a
Carlos feeds a squirrel on our patio:
Today one sat there as though it didn't trust
our word that Carlos was gone and we had
no peanuts. '
gift, and to roars of laughter all around
Carlos dared him to shoot out the
candles. Carlos chose his gifts carefully.
He gave Grandpa a plaque that said,
"Every Family Needs a Grandpa."
I found a little packet called "God's
Papers" among Carlos' belongings. In it
he did his "fearless moral inventory" for
Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics
Anonymous. His life as an addict was
truly horrendous. The Lord's deliverance
about four years ago was miraculous.
Life since then was opening up to him:
going to college, becoming a substance-
abuse counselor. But during his time as
an addict he shared a needle with
someone who had AIDS. For a while he
felt that God had let him down when in
the midst of this fresh hope in life he
learned that he too had AIDS.
After severe bouts with meningitis,
Carlos recovered enough that he didn't
need hospitalization. He was shocked to
learn that the Christian agency where he
had lived was no longer open to him now
that he had AIDS. One of the chaplains
called me to see if there'd be a home for
Carlos in our congregation. We talked
about forming a ministry to house AIDS
victims. But Hilda Carper, who coordi-
nates the Evanston shelter for the
homeless, reminded me of how isolated
AIDS victims usually become, and
immediately we considered inviting
Carlos to become part of our household
family.
We did a careful check with medical
authorities and discovered that AIDS is
communicated through direct sexual
contact or through the blood via needles.
With our regular household sanitation
there would be no danger to us. Our
household family had other needs, but
there seemed a special givenness in
Carlos' need, and we had a small room
available. Little did we realize how im-
portant Carlos would be to us.
We thought of possible fear in our
church. It seemed more important to
quietly welcome Carlos in our household
than to have long discussions. We have
since used some good public health
videos in our congregation.
When we were ready as a household to
welcome Carlos, we still had to meet
him, and he meet us to see if we would fit
together even on an exploratory basis.
So we arranged a visit. From our first
handshake we got the sense of an open,
forthright seeker. His way of asking
questions and the refreshing directness
of his street style was a good addition to
our more laid back, cautious relational
style.
On the way home from the hospital
that first day, Carlos realized that he
THE MENNONITE 27
Reach out
Ingrid Schultz ministered to—
and received the ministry of—
Bolivian women
David Ediger
Just then Ingrid rode up on her bicycle,
drillers, but all the men had excuses.
She volunteered to find workers to help the well-
(Almost)
seven good
years in
Bolivia
Faith Hershberger Penner
The well drillers were frustrated.
The people of El Carmen, Bolivia,
had hired them to come to their
small town across the Rio Grande River,
promising to provide three or four
villagers to help each day. But no
community men appeared that day, so
when the well drillers hit a hard layer,
they were ready to pack up and leave. '
Just then Ingrid Schultz rode up on
her bicycle, her cheeks underneath a
straw sombrero flushed from sun and
heat. She quickly volunteered to find
some workers to help the well drillers by
stomping mud to use in the drilling.
But every man in the community
offered an excuse. Discouraged, Ingrid
went to El Carmen's mayor to enlist his
help. He was not home, but his wife,
Dona Juana, quickly volunteered. "Can't
the women help?" she asked.
At first the drillers did not think
women could help, but they agreed to let
them try. Soon Ingrid had rounded up
10 women, one a grandmother and
Carlos, up there in front with God
had lost his wallet and could not cash his
check or get medicine without his green
card. So we went right over to the Public
Aid office and experienced the long waits
and reasons why he couldn't get a green
card on Friday afternoon. But with per-
sistence we got a substitute card in three
hours.
I ponder what God did with Carlos and
with us. I talked to Carlos' former wife,
his daughter and sister, and I try to
imagine their pain over the years, being
wounded and tricked often over the 20
years of Carlos' addiction. But those
closest to Carlos also recognized the
refreshing change in his life in the last
three or four years.
Carlos often mourned the wasted
years, but he also treasured the last few
years and months. To God the important
thing is not the number of sad years
minus the number of happy ones. God
gave Carlos a refreshing end to a painful
life— a gracious gift to Carlos and to all
of us. Though hard for us, God also gave
Carlos a quick, relatively painless death,
for which we are grateful. In the parable
of the laborers in the vineyard, those
laborers who worked only one hour
received the same as those who worked
all day. "So the last will be first and the
first last," reports Matthew in his
Gospel. In God's heart I have no ques-
tion but that Carlos has an up-front
place.
Julius Belser is one of
the leaders of Reba
Place Church, Box
6017, Evanston, IL
60204, which affiliates
with the Mennonite
Church and the Church
of the Brethren.
28 JANUARY 23, 1990
others with small children. They and
Ingrid, their bodies wet with sweat and
streaked with mud, stomped the clay,
laughing as they worked together. "With
camaraderie," says Ingrid, "all these
women on this hot day stomped mud.
Women know how to work together and
enjoy doing it." At the end of the day the
women received accolades from the well
drillers and the following morning a full
roster of men turned up to help.
Ingrid first came to Bolivia (for
Mennonite Central Committee) in 1978
to teach grade school in a bamboo
classroom with a dirt floor. After
completing a 2 1/2-year term, she worked
in MCC Canada offices in Winnipeg.
In 1985 Ingrid returned to Bolivia and
coordinated MCC work in the rural
Berlin region of Bolivia, about 62 miles
(100 kilometers) northeast of Santa
Cruz. She worked with about 10 volun-
teers and community leaders.
That first year in Berlin was hard.
"The MCCers were a diverse group," says
Ingrid. "Before unit meetings I got
headaches, and afterward I sometimes
cried. When volunteers' houses in Barrio
Lindo caved in and I tried to work with
community leaders to get them rebuilt, I
could feel them thinking, 'Who is this
woman anyway?'"
From the beginning, however, Ingrid
says she felt like she was "coming home"
to Bolivia. "I valued the chance to visit
with neighbors and get involved in
church." And she gradually grew
comfortable with her new job.
The experience "made me realize how
campesinas (rural women) feel when
they are put in leadership positions,"
says Ingrid. "Bolivian women in literacy
classes always say, 'I can't' or, 'This is
something I can't do.' I felt the same
way. but these are things we women can
do."
In her four years in El Carmen, Ingrid
saw herself and the women change. In
Bolivian communities, where decisions
are usually made by consensus, women
At first Ingrid says she
felt guilty because she
was having fun while
people back home in
British Columbia thought
she was suffering.
traditionally do not have a vote. At one
meeting in El Carmen, when a woman
tried to speak for her absent husband, a
man stood and told her that "women
don't count." Another woman, Doha
Sofia, stood and said, "When there's work
to be done, women count."
At the next community meeting, the
women announced that if their opinions
did not count, then they were not going
to cook for the community's Independ-
ence Day celebration. Their opinions are
now heard at community meetings.
On another occasion women were
preparing a meal for an evangelistic
meeting and baptism, to be led by
visiting pastors. When the pastors did
not come, some suggested calling off the
service. Dofia Eva, a literacy student
and wife of one church leader, looked up
from the pot of rice she was stirring and
said, "I thought we were all ministers of
Christ."
So the people, including the women,
went ahead with the service at the river.
The women tied reeds around their
polleras (full skirts) so they would not
balloon up in the water and a church lay
leader baptized 12 people, saying, "As
humble servants of Christ we baptize
you."
Ingrid says she also learned from her
neighbors about service. During her first
MCC term, Ingrid says, she felt guilty
because she was having fun while people
in her home church assumed that she
was suffering. During the past four
years, she says, her feelings have "gone
beyond" enjoyment. "I spent Good
Friday praying and fasting."
Although a lot of their day is spent
gathering firewood and carrying water,
Ingrid says, Bolivian women are gracious
hostesses and find joy in community.
"The women have the ability to draw
together and support their neighbors.
The presence of joy in the midst of
suffering and even death, and their
ability to share what they have, contin-
ues to amaze me."
Faith Hershberger Penner works for
Mennonite Central Committee in Bolivia.
Ingrid Schultz, member of Sherbrooke
Mennonite Church, Vancouver, B.C., is
now a student at Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, 3003 Benham Ave.,
Elkhart, IN 46517.
THE MENNONITE 29
Reach out
Eddy Ha ll
Their clothes are worn. Their
haircuts do-it-yourself jobs.
Yours is a middle-income congre-
gation, so you wonder: Will this new
family [let's call them Ray and Sandra
Thompson] feel welcome?
Your concerns are soon put to rest.
The members of their Sunday school
class go out of their way to be friendly.
The family comes back. When the class
has a hayride, several people personally
invite them to come along.
You are delighted when the Thomp-
sons take their baby forward for dedica-
tion. They must be feeling at home.
Then, a couple of weeks later, they quit
coming.
What went wrong? Did they not feel
welcome after all?
No, as a matter of fact, they didn't.
The family who came and stayed awhile
and left were friends of my wife, Melody,
and me, friends who came to church with
us at our invitation.
Of course, I appreciated our class-
mates' efforts to make our friends, who
were obviously poor, feel welcome. Their
friendliness was genuine. But friendli-
ness wasn't enough. To truly make the
Thompsons feel welcome would have
taken something more — a new way of
seeing.
Our family began to learn this new
way of seeing in 1979 upon return to
Oklahoma after three years away. I
began work as a free-lance writer, a job
that yields high personal rewards but
low and irregular income. We attended
the same middle-class church we had
attended before, where we had felt so at
home. But after attending every Sunday
for a year, we still didn't feel a part.
Why?
The difference was that we were now
poor. We now saw an obstacle course of
barriers — all unintentional.
We had never noticed most of these
barriers before. Looking back we could
see how we ourselves had raised similar
barriers as youth leaders in that very
Do the poor
feel welcome
in your
church?
church. Only when we saw the church
through the eyes of the poor did these
barriers become visible.
Barrier #1: A price tag on Christian
fellowship
On the evening of our Sunday school
class hayride, Ray Thompson was at our
house, anguishing over whether to take
his family. He wanted desperately to
make friends. But the hayride would
cost them $4.50 — and they had no milk
for their three children.
We would gladly have taken them as
our guests, but we had less money than
they had. Our family couldn't even
consider going.
The time for the hayrack to leave the
church came and went, and still Ray
debated. He still had time to drive to the
farm and meet the class there, though to
go now would cost a couple of dollars
more for gas. In the end, Ray stayed
home that night and bought milk for his
children.
The next month our Sunday school
class had a social within walking
distance of our home. No gas expense.
Admission was just $1 for our whole
family. Maybe this time we could go, be
included.
But no, it came during a time when
our only regular income was the $70 a
week my wife was earning from a part-
time Christmas job. During those six
weeks we had less than $15 a week to
spend on groceries. One dollar was a lot.
We stayed home and used the dollar for
baby formula.
This is why, after a year back at our
old home church, we still felt like
outsiders. Our Sunday school class had
frequent socials where we could have
renewed our friendships, but three-
fourths of them cost money for admis-
sion, child care or both.
The leaders of a women's Bible study
my wife attended found some creative
ways to eliminate financial barriers to
participation. The church provided free
Friendliness
isn't enough
child care during the Bible study. Once a
month, when the small groups ate lunch
together, the women brought brown bag
lunches rather than going to a restau-
rant. To take care of the only remaining
financial barrier, the $10 fee for materi-
als, program leaders announced that
scholarships were available on request.
Good as far as it went, it raised another
barrier.
Barrier #2: Offers of help that hurt
In our society, being poor carries a
stigma. Even though Jesus blessed the
poor and warned the wealthy, the world's
attitude of honoring wealth carries over
into many churches. To admit to being
poor, even in church, is usually humiliat-
ing. To admit you can't pay even $10 for
a Bible study notebook is a humiliation
few will volunteer for.
To get around this, some groups
eliminate fees in favor of suggested
donations. This is better, but still less
than ideal. When I haven't been able to
give the full amount of a suggested
donation, I have sometimes come away
feeling guilty or even second-class. The
challenge, then, is to find ways to share
that communicate love and affirm
dignity.
Our present congregation does an
excellent job of this. While expenses for
this year's all-church retreat were
covered on a donation basis, no one
mentioned a "suggested donation."
Instead, the literature mentioned the
approximate cost per person but empha-
sized that everyone's participation was
wanted. The result: participation was
almost as high as Sunday morning
worship attendance, and donations
covered all expenses.
Barrier #3: Practices that say, You
don't belong
Visiting a predominantly middle-
income congregation is a cross-cultural —
and therefore often uncomfortable —
experience for a low-income family. To
30 JANUARY 23, 1990
Even though
Jesus blessed
the poor and
warned the
wealthy, the
world's attitude
of honoring
wealth carries
over into many
churches.
make the poor feel welcome, a middle-
income congregation must become aware
of cultural differences and adopt prac-
tices that embrace cultural diversity.
Three aspects of culture — dress, architec-
ture and social customs — can illustrate
this principle.
On the Sunday the Thompsons
dedicated their baby we were also
dedicating our first child. As I dressed
for church that morning, I debated:
Should I wear a suit to fit in with most of
the other fathers who would be standing
before the congregation? Or should I
wear a sport shirt in case Ray didn't
have a coat and tie? I compromised; I
wore a sweater.
Ray showed up without coat or tie.
Sandra wore the same dress she had
worn the previous six Sundays — no
doubt her only Sunday dress. I could
imagine how conspicuous they felt. I
hoped what I was wearing made them
feel a little less so. But to make them
feel truly comfortable, not just one, but
many in the congregation would need to
consciously dress not for success but for
comfort — the social comfort of other.
Does this mean banning coats and ties
from church? Hardly. That would only
make more affluent visitors feel out of
place. But when visitors can look around
on Sunday morning and find both blue
jeans and suits, then no matter how rich
or poor they are, they won't feel conspicu-
ous because of their dress.
What about church facilities? Can
your building make poeple feel more or
less welcome? Phineas Bresee, a turn-of-
the-century pastor and advocate for the
poor, thought so. "We want places so
plain," he wrote, "that every board will
say welcome to the poorest."
When a middle-income congregation in
Kansas City found itself in a neighbor-
hood fast becoming low income, it
decided to not relocate. It reached out to
the changing neighborhood and at first
enjoyed only limited success.
When they needed new facilities, they
THE MENNONITE 31
Making the poor feel
welcome takes more than
friendliness and
good intentions.
replaced their traditional sanctuary with
a sanctinasium — a multipurpose facility
where they worshiped on Sundays and
played basketball and ate potluck
dinners during the week. To their
surprise, more neighborhood people
started coming. A gymnasium was
better than gothic arches and stained
glass windows. It was more a part of
their culture. The building said, "You
are welcome."
Of course, you can't change church
architecture overnight. But you can, the
next time your church buys, builds, rents
or remodels a building, make it a point to
ask, Will the facility we're considering
welcome the poor?
Finally, how can the social customs of
a congregation hinder fellowship?
Once after a move our family spent
several months looking for a home
church. We began attending one affluent
suburban congregation shortly before the
annual women's luncheon. Judging from
the description in the church bulletin
and the place settings displayed in the
church lobby, it was to be quite a formal
affair. The price of one ticket was more
than I had ever spent on a single meal —
more, in fact, than we usually spent for
our entire family to eat out.
One woman, trying to make my wife
feel welcome, not only invited her to the
luncheon but suggested she decorate one
of the tables. This required china,
crystal and silver for 10, a round linen
tablecloth and a centerpiece. She didn't
know, of course, that our "china" con-
sisted of five mismatched plastic plates,
that our "crystal" consisted of plastic
tumblers picked up at the dime store to
get us by until we could afford to move
our household goods. Her attempt to
make my wife feel welcome had just the
opposite effect.
The women planning the luncheon
evidently had no idea that they were
saying to my wife and others, "This
luncheon was not planned with you in
mind."
Put out the welcome mat
Making the poor feel welcome takes
more than friendliness and good inten-
tions. It requires learning to see through
their eyes, to examine every aspect of
church life through the lens of whether it
tends to include or exclude them. To
learn to see this way, the church will
need to involve the poor in decisions that
shape the life of the church body. We
will need to become their students,
learning from them how to shape policies
with cultural sensitivity.
With their help, congregations can find
ways to remove the price tags on Chris-
tian fellowship, to avoid offers of help
that hurt and to modify cultural prac-
tices that say to the poor, You don't
belong.
As poor and non-poor come together,
our life together will demonstrate to the
world the gospel's power to break down
the walls that divide us, its power to
make us one.
Eddy Hall's address
is Box 365, Goessel,
KS 67053. He is a
free-lance writer and
editor for the
Commission on
Education.
32 JANUARY 23, 1990
TOqETllER
Come as strangers, leave as friends
Let's start more guest houses like IGH
Gladys E. Harder
Mother Teresa has said, "The greatest
poverty in the world today is poverty of
the spirit expressing itself in loneliness."
The International Guest House (IGH)
in Washington meets this need by pro-
viding a "home for those away from
home." IGH functions directly under the
Hyattsville Mennonite
Church of Hyattsville, Md.
This church has a dual
membership, both in our
conference and in the
Mennonite Church. IGH
offers bed and breakfast.
Since 1976 approximately
30,000 guests from about
150 countries have stayed
there. The atmosphere is
homelike. Guest after guest
has commented on how at
home they have felt. Inter-
national goodwill is culti-
vated and felt at IGH. Most
are internationals; many
are Buddhists or Muslims.
They come as strangers and
they leave as friends.
The guests hear the Word
of God at the breakfast
table. Each guest is offered
a copy of the New Testa-
ment with Psalms and
Proverbs as a gift from the
guesthouse. A rack for
Christian books is in the
foyer. IGH bears witness to the Chris-
tian faith gently. My husband and I
experienced openness among the guests
in their interest in the Christian faith.
A Frenchman wrote the following to
IGH: "I had forgotten that the faith
could change the atmosphere of a normal
house into a very friendly house. You
are building the 'peace' that our interna-
tional society needs. Thank you for
existing."
Stephen, a 16-year old from California
wrote, "It's wonderful how people from
all over the world can cut the strings of
tension that accompany military conflict
and economic change and sit together as
human beings under one God... only at
the International Guest House."
A brain surgeon from Algeria wrote,
"It has been a very good experience. If
there were more of these international
guest houses and people got to know
each other more, maybe the world will
have less war and more peace, more
happiness."
Charles from England wrote, "Thank
you for helping make my stay in Wash-
ington one of the happiest I have experi-
enced. The warmth and friendliness of
Guest after guest asked us if there was
not another international guest house
like this one located somewhere else.
Many said, "We have traveled far and
have never found another place like
this."
Annabelle Kratz, chairperson of the
Sowing seeds of Christian faith worldwide: Breakfast time at the International Guest House,
the International Guest House will
remain forever in my memory. I hope
one day I will return. It is a wonderful
reflection on Mennonites, about whom I
had not heard previously."
IGH is self-sustaining. A staff of five
people are in voluntary service under the
Mennonite Church: IGH functions as a
non-profit organization and sends about
$1,000 to the Mennonite Church every
month.
A deep concern has been growing
within me. Could it be that as Mennon-
ites have borne witness of the Christian
faith throughout the world with mission
and educational programs and through
Mennonite Central Committee that the
time has come for us to extend another
arm of witness and service by establish-
ing international guest houses in various
capitals of the world? I believe that the
time has come.
IGH board, received this letter from a
former guest: "I am writing to you to tell
you that I am now a Christian. I also
want you to know that the seeds for my
Christian faith were sown in my life
while I was a guest at the International
Guest House 10 years ago."
Let us not miss this marvelous
opportunity.
Gladys E. Harder's address is Box 15, Route
1, Mountain Lake, MN
56159. She and her
husband, Leo, worked
at the International
Guest House for a year
and a half. For infor-
mation about IGH,
contact Annabelle
Kratz, 13495 Brighton
Dam Road, Clarksville,
MD 21029-1406, (301)
596-9057.
THE MENNONITE 33
The sixth annual urban issues retreat
will be held March 30-April 1 at Little River
Christian Camp, Glide, Ore. The guest
speaker will be Steve Penner of Mennonite
Central Committee West Coast. He will
speak on "Urban Churches and MCC." For
more information write Mary Stueben,
Seattle Mennonite Church, 225 N. 70th,
Seattle, WA 98103.
PowerChurch Plus is the best church
administration software, according to the
Council of Mennonite Computer Users.
CMCU, at its semiannual meeting in
October in Elkhart, Ind., recommended this
computer program for Mennonite congrega-
tions to use. CMCU also agreed to support
MennoLink, the computer conferfencing
and electronic mail system, on a continuing
basis. The computer ethics committee
presented a list of issues it plans to
address: privacy and secondary uses of
information, copying of software and the
use of clones, personal use of office
computers, appropriate use of resources,
knowledge as power and "hacking."
The Olive Branch Self-Help Crafts gift
shop in Winnipeg is like dozens of other
Self-Help stores across Canada. But the
Olive Branch has added a new line of
products. The store is now an outlet for
moccasins and leatherwork earrings
produced by craftsmen at the Stony
Mountain Penitentiary, a medium security
prison located outside of Winnipeg.
NEWS
10,000 residents oppose Israeli occupation
Palestinian Christians reject violence
Akron, Pa. (MCC)— Ever since
the Palestinian uprising began
two years ago, one primarily
Christian town, Beit Sahour
(population 10,000) on the
edge of Bethlehem, has
remained non-violent. Its
citizens use civil disobedience
to oppose the Israeli military
occupation.
Non-violent resistance takes
different forms, reports Linda
Stucky, Mennonite Central
Committee worker from
Southside Mennonite Fellow-
ship, Elkhart, Ind. Residents
have planted gardens to supply
their own food. They opened a
nursery, but the military forced
them to close. When Israeli
authorities closed schools in
the occupied territories in Feb-
ruary 1988, people in Beit
Sahour taught their children at
home.
In May 1988 residents began
refusing to pay taxes to the
Israeli occupiers. Tax money
should go for roads, health and
local services, they said. But
the occupiers were supplying
none of these services.
Instead they used taxes to fund
the military occupation.
Residents adopted the slogan
"No taxation without represen-
tation."
The authorities responded
with nightly curfews, mass
arrests and a strong troop
presence in the town. But
residents still did
not pay their taxes
For six weeks in
September and
October 1989,
Israeli troops
sealed off the
town. They seized
property and
belongings from
businessmen and
families who had
not paid taxes.
Tax officials went
from house to
house humiliating
and beating
people, according
to a September
account in the
Jerusalem Post.
Israeli tax
officials confis-
cated without trial
several million
dollars worth of
property. The tax
siege has now
been lifted, but Beit
Sahour residents
still refuse to pay taxes.
Stucky writes of an incident
in which Israeli troops threat-
ened Palestinian children from
Beit Sahour. On Sept. 16,
1989, soldiers stopped a
school bus when the children
yelled nationalist slogans.
Most of the children, all
between 4 and 1 1 , were under
8 years old.
Typical of what's left of many homes in the
Middle East is this one in Burj el Barajneh.
Soldiers forced the bus driver
to drive to an army camp where
10 Israeli soldiers surrounded
the bus, made the children get
off and made the older children
get on their knees. Younger
children were crying and some
wet and soiled themselves in
their fear. The soldiers told
parents who came to ask to
take their children home to go
away or their children would be
shot.
The soldiers held the children
for two hours, then told them
they would be put in prison if
they ever shouted nationalist
slogans again. Eventually,
when the mayor of Beit Sahour
arrived at the camp and
intervened, the soldiers
released the children.
Despite Israeli government
harassment, Beit Sahour
residents have maintained
contacts with Israeli citizens.
Some meet with a Jewish
group from Jerusalem, accord-
ing to the Jerusalem Post.
Muslim, Jewish and Christian
religious leaders and members
of the Knesset (Israeli parlia-
ment) and Palestinians and
Israelis from the peace
movement were invited to a
prayer for peace in Beit Sahour
when the tax raids ended.
"I am excited because these
people have chosen to oppose
the occupation in a peaceful
way," writes Stucky. "Their
response to the occupation is
both empowering and power-
ful." Non-violent resistance has
brought people together to
oppose injustice and care for
each other, she says. "It is
important for us Mennonites to
encourage and pray for those
using peaceful means to
challenge injustice." Ardelle E.
Stauffer
34 JANUARY 23, 1990
The new 39,000-square-f oot home of
Steinbach (Man.) Mennonite Church,
constructed at a cost of $2.25 million, was
dedicated Oct. 14-15, 1989. In his mes-
sage of dedication, pastor Paul Dyck
suggested that "a building is to a church
what a work glove is to a hand." The
previous Sunday the congregation honored
Abe and Nettie Neufeld for their 40 years of
pastoral ministry.
"When Stones Cry Out" is the theme for
Lenten Desert Experience IX, Feb. 28-April
15, sponsored by Nevada Desert Experi-
ence, Box 4487, Las Vegas, NV 89127,
(702) 646-481 14. Among the Lenten
weekends of prayer, action and reflection is
one for Friends, Brethren and Mennonites,
March 16-18, which will use the "Justice,
Peace and the Integrity of Creation" focus
of the World Council of Churches to
consider the Nevada Test Site and the
proposed national high-level radioactive
waste repository at Yucca Mountain in
Nevada. Holy Week-Holy Walk-Holy
Wake, April 8-15, will include a walking
pilgrimage beginning on Palm Sunday from
Las Vegas to the test site (65 miles).
Delbert Gratz, emeritus librarian at Bluffton
(Ohio) College, is directing a Mennonite
Heritage Study Tour to Switzerland June
26-July 17. Approximate round-trip cost
from Chicago and other midwestern air-
ports is $2,450. For an additional fee, par-
ticipants may arrange to receive academic
credit. Registration deadline is March 30.
For more information contact Delbert Gratz,
Route 2, Box 89, Bluffton, OH 45817.
NEWS
CLARA is Latin America's new
Anabaptist resource center
Montevideo, Uruguay (GCMC)
— Twenty-two representatives
from 1 1 countries in Latin
America and North America
gave birth to CLARA at a
meeting here Nov. 25-28,
1989.
"The Latin American Anabap-
tist Center (CLARA) is a joint
effort of church and individuals
for the purpose of coordinating,
publishing and informing about
Anabaptist practice and
thought in the light of the Word
of God and Latin American
realities," states the general
objective adopted by the
representatives.
Bolivia, Brazil, Canada,
Chile, Colombia, Guatemala,
Mexico, Paraguay, Puerto Rico,
the United States and Uruguay
are the countries that are par-
ticipating in this venture to
date. General Conference
Mennonite Church missionary
Robert "Jack" Suderman is the
part-time director of the center,
which has its office in Bogota,
Colombia.
"It does not escape our
thoughts that the symbolic
value of opening CLARA at a
time of increased violence is
quite significant," said Suder-
man, referring to the recent
drug-related violence in
Colombia. "There is a need to
model an alternative that
makes some sense. No doubt
the center is a small step
toward a long-term solution."
Funds from membership fees
and A Call to Kingdom Commit-
ments, the General Conference
development plan, are helping
support the center. Represen-
tatives have been appointed to
both a national and a regional
board. Glendon Klaassen
Make friends,
say the children
Bluffton, Ohio— A group of 185
children in third through eighth
grades and 53 adults learned
about peace through music,
literature and sharing here at
Bluffton College's Lion and
Lamb Peace Arts Center, Nov.
3-5, 1989.
The music committee of the
Central District conference, the
Lion and the Lamb Peace Arts
Center and the Bluffton College
music department sponsored
the weekend retreat, called
"Making Friends Through Story
and Song."
Children from Indiana,
Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylva-
nia arrived on Friday afternoon
for introductions and games.
Overnight 146 stayed on
campus, while 39 stayed in
local homes.
Helen Kemp, children's choir
director, clinician and com-
poser, led choir rehearsals on
Saturday morning. She also
led a workshop session for
adults who lead children's
choirs.
Professional storyteller
Marcia Lane told stories on
Saturday afternoon and taught
the children a song in Zulu, a
South African dialect.
Helen Kemp, right, leads 185 children in rehearsal at the Lion and
Lamb Peace Arts Center at Bluffton College.
Saturday activities included
recreation, movies and
workshop sessions. The
children folded 1 ,042 paper
cranes, which will be hung at
the Children's Peace Monu-
ment in Hiroshima, Japan.
Sunday's worship service
included singing, a slide
presentation and a meditation
by Joyce Schumacher.
The paper cranes were
presented at Sunday after-
noon's concluding concert, at
which the children sang nine
songs. They filed out at the end
of the concert singing "Go Now
in Peace." Kate Gundy
New congregation
worships in Madison, Wis.
An Anabaptist fellowship that met monthly for a number of years
has now grown into a congregation and installed its first pastor.
J. Melvin Janzen, formerly of Sioux Falls, S.D., is "pastor/church
planter'' of Madison Mennonite Church, as of Oct. 22, 1989. Facing
the camera (below) are Leila Shenk, Clarice Kratz, Andrew Sandvold,
Melvin Janzen, Conrad Wetzel, Gary Martin and Lawrence Kratz.
The Kratzes are pastors of Maple Avenue Mennonite Church,
Waukesha, Wis. Wetzel and Martin represented the Central District
and Illinois Mennonite conferences. Shenk and Sandvold are
members of the congregation's church life committee. First steps
as a new congregation included a weekend retreat in November
1989 with veteran church planters Leonard and Joan Wiebe, Aurora,
Colo., and establishing a covenant relationship with Freeport (III.)
Mennonite Church as a cosponsoring congregation. Madison
Mennonite Church plans to "blossom" at Easter time by publically
declaring its intentions and purpose as a congregation.
"If we have to die out, we want Mennon-
ites to own the building," said a Lutheran
pastor to Myron Schrag, pastor at Faith
Mennonite Church, Minneapolis. Faith
Church members will share a building with
members of Ebenezer Lutheran Church,
the current occupants, until the Lutheran
church ceases to exist. A Vietnamese
Alliance Church has bought the original
Faith Church building. All three churches
had a service together on Thanksgiving
eve.
Mennonite Voluntary Service workers
Duane Beane and Joan Gerig observed
United Nations Human Rights Day by
joining the Boycott Shell Choir in front of
the South African Consulate in Chicago on
Dec. 9, 1989. The group called attention to
human rights abuses in South Africa and
called for Chicagoans to join the Shell Oil
Boycott as a way to demand an end to the
apartheid system in South Africa. The
group focused on Shell because it is one of
the most important suppliers of crucial
materials to the South African government
and the apartheid economy. Since South
Africa has no oil of its own, the military and
police depend on oil from companies like
Shell to fuel their machinery.
NEWS
Mennonite farmers voice
many questions, few answers
from materialism and make it
easier to share with others,
participants said.
In three meditations, Katie
Funk Wiebe, associate
professor of English at Tabor
College in Hillsboro, Kan.,
reminded the group of the link
between Mennonites' faith and
their closeness to the land.
Workshops covered topics
ranging from "Biotechnology
Open discussion of financial
problems could have an
evangelistic impact on rural
congregations.
ingly attractive to many people,
Wiebe said.
Congressman Glickman
sharply criticized former U.S.
President Reagan's policy of
deregulation. "The eight years
of Ronald Reagan produced a
love affair with the purest free
market, in many cases with the
very rich and powerful who
were not interested in what was
good for the country," he said.
Glickman said
that the changes
occurring in com-
munist nations
could lead to U.S.
military-spending
cuts. "Virtually half
the dollars we
McPherson, Kan. (Meeting-
house)— The 1 14 Mennonite
farmers and other concerned
people who attended the
Heartland Faith and Farming
Conference here in November
1989 know that farming has
never been easy. But they
have not given up. They love
the land, as Mennonites have
for centuries.
They seek solutions to the
demise of family farms and the
shrinking of rural towns. They
search for ways that people in
rural Mennonite congregations
can support one another as
communities of faith.
Questions outnumbered
answers, but the 1 14 look to
the future with hope. Keynote
speaker, U.S. Representative
Dan Glickman, (D-Kan.)
expressed that optimism.
"I see the day," he said,
"when there will be a repopula-
tion of rural America. For the
first time in 30 years we have
stopped losing people. The
last two years actually have
seen some migration to small
towns in this country."
But recovery will not happen
without change, participants
agreed. The worst years of the
farm crisis may have passed,
but persistent problems
continue to cast a cloud of
uncertainty over rural life.
"It's not a farm crisis, it's a
chronic problem," said Jerry
Jost, sustainable farming
coordinator for the Kansas
Rural Center in Whiting.
"We're continuing to lose
farmers, and we're seeing a
greater difference between the
prosperous farmers and those
who aren't doing very well."
By the year 2000, Jost said,
if present trends continue, 75
percent of U.S. farm production
will have fallen into the hands
of only 50,000 farmers.
Rural economic recovery will
require creative solutions on
the farm and in the small town,
workshop leaders said. In the
same way, spiritual recovery,
making congregations places
where people support each
other in all areas of life,
requires new approaches.
One of the greatest needs is
for people in Mennonite
churches to overcome the
taboo of not talking about
money, said participants in a
panel discussion. Congrega-
tions must be communities in
which people can openly
discuss financial problems and
help those in need.
This could have an evangel-
istic impact, panel members
said. "When people know that
we care about their whole life,
people will join us, and we will
have a new vitality," said Stan
Pankratz of Mountain Lake,
Minn. "We need to listen to
one another."
Consensus emerged that
openness on issues of wealth
and poverty could lead to a
more caring attitude for those in
need. We must not follow
society's view that one's wealth
is a measure of one's worth. A
simple lifestyle can liberate us
and Farming in the Future" to
"The Art of Neighboring: an
Expression of Faith."
With fewer family farms, rural
towns feel an economic crunch.
In a workshop on "Supporting/
Maintaining the Small Town,"
Carol Wiebe, Hillsboro, said
that communities must take
action quickly and creatively to
stay alive.
"Some small towns in
Kansas are virtually dead, they
just haven't had a funeral yet,"
Wiebe said. "You cannot
maintain your status quo by
doing nothing. The good old
days are gone."
Towns must promote
themselves, she said. Tourism
can have a big impact on a
small town's economy. "Sell
the diamonds in your own back
yard," she said.
The quality of life in a small
town, as opposed to the
growing crime and drug
problems in cities, is increas-
spend for our
defense is geared toward
Moscow. If Moscow's threat
has changed, then our defense
will change as well, and we
have to reduce those
expenditures."
The conference was spon-
sored by Mennonite Central
Committee Central States. Paul
Schrag, assistant editor,
Mennonite Weekly Review
Assistant minister required for
congregation of approximately 300
members in the Niagara Peninsula.
Bethany Mennonite Church
invites applications with resume,
including training and experience.
The successful applicant will serve
in conjunction with the pastor, with
emphasis on youth and young
adult ministry.
For further information, direct
inquiries to Anna Andres, secre-
tary, Pastoral Search Committee,
Route 1, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
LOS 1J0.
36 JANUARY 23, 1990
mm
* SB
THE MENNONITE
wiNoow to iviissioN
EdiTioN
JANUARY 23, 1990
The opEN wiNdow
The note in our church mailbox was short and to the point. "We love your son but
he is too noisy in church," it began. It went on to say that the crying was louder
than the pastor, and hinted that we should make use of the nursery. It was
unsigned.
I broke out in tears. How could anyone be so cruel? Surely they couldn't expect
a two-year-old to sit quietly during the service. His father had taken him out— but
apparently not soon enough.
I felt hurt, angry, belittled. I resented some unknown person telling us how to
raise our child. And the cowardly act of not signing the note only made it worse.
I looked at my little boy, sorry that he had offended, but sorrier that someone
would rather not see him in church. I hoped that he and all children would always
feel welcome in God's house.
I thought of the anonymous critic and felt sorry for the person(s) with such an
intolerant attitude. Had they forgotten the difficulties of early parenthood? I
prayed for forgiveness for them and for myself in my resentment of them.
And I searched my own heart. I too have hurt people by my words without
realizing what I was doing. For these times, I also asked forgiveness.
Time heals wounds. We've learned lessons in sensitivity and handling conflict.
This issue of Window to Mission talks of coming face-to-face with injustice. How
we confront wrongs in our life: is it courageously, face-to-face? Do we care about
the injustices in the world, big or small? Amy Dueckman
COVER
In a world of injustice, every tribe and nation needs to know the dignity of being
children of God.
CONTENTS
Coffee Beans 3
South Africa: Face to Face with
Injustice 4
Toys for Peace 6
Face to Face with Injustice:
Summary— Program IV 8
A Cup of Sharing 9
Window on the World 10
Looking In, Looking Out 11
COE Prisms 12
A Woman in Mission 13
The Office Window 14
Contributors, Credits, Forecast. . . .15
Window Shopping 16
Published by Women in Mission of the Gen-
eral Conference Mennonite Church. Box
347, Newton, KS 67114
Editor: Lois Deckert
Coordinator: Sara Regier
Office Secretary: Doris Schmidt
W-2 THE MENNONITE
Stained white hands grow tougher
in this foreign place
plucking, sorting red from green
knees and branches bending
next to fingers brown and nimble
Nearby shoulders wear a plastic sack in
morning drizzle, caterpillars
crawling up my raincoat sleeves,
and I pick.
Aching muscles moan for comfort
dry throat begs for Diet Coke
Bulging-bellied children barefoot
mamas bear tired arms and breasts
Normal noontime beans and rice
announcing every endless day,
and I eat.
Long black gun and olive drab
making men of little boys
Standing still in night-time air
secure our right to live
Floor boards feel the weight of
caffeinated restlessness,
and I know
my broadened vision fills no empty stomachs
I extinguish a strawberry scented candle
and I sleep.
Liz Yoder
Reprinted from Lines, a collection of poems by Bethel College (Kans.) students.
Used by permission.
JANUARY 23, 1990 W-3
SOUTH AFRICA:
Face to Face with Injustice
Carla Reimer / / «,
Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall,
Who Is the Fairest of Them All?
"There's no bad luck in the world but
white folks," says a character in Toni
Morrison's Beloved. I read this Pulit-
zer prize- winning novel, about an
American black woman's struggle for
survival, during my visit to South Af-
rica in January 1989, and now, months
later, that line continues to haunt me.
I would like to believe it isn't true.
Surely, I am not personally responsible
for slavery, the death of Martin Luther
King, Jr. , apartheid. But after six short
days in South Africa, I am much less
likely to disagree: It's like I've seen my
reflection in the mirror for the first
time and the image isn't one I'd like to
remember.
For starters, traveling in South Af-
rica made me realize how much_power
I have simply because of the color of
my skin. When the security personnel
at the Jan Smuts airport in Johannes-
burg saw that I was a white tourist, I
was sent through customs without a
baggage check. Coincidental, maybe.
But time and time again, South African
whites treated me, a stranger, with the
trust and respect they do not have for
people with different coloring. I re-
ceived the distinct impression that I
was considered one of them.
Secondly, I discovered how much I
am used to a life of comfort and privi-
lege. This became painfully clear to
me upon my arrival in Cape Town. The
city, which is utterly modern, almost
seduced me. There were mountains,
beaches, elegant homes, sunshine. It
was all so calm and beautiful, it threw
me off guard. I relaxed. I thought to
myself: I could easily live here.
Finally and most disturbing, my pro-
pensity for ease has insulated me from
a world where poverty and racism are a
reality. Two days of seeing the town-
ships of Cape Town were enough to
leave me numb. These places, where
black and colored people are forced to
live, exist on the outer edge of the city.
Most are without decent housing,
roads, education, health facilities,
jobs. I found I wasn't used to seeing so
much injustice in living color. It wasn't
a matter of switching a channel on tele-
vision to find something more enter-
taining. This was a lot harder.
Before I went to South Africa, I
hadn't thought much about the color of
my skin. I was surrounded by white-
ness. I took it for granted. Now that I
am back, I think about it often. And
sometimes, in moments of strength, I
heartily agree with Toni Morrison. I
am not all that different from the white
W-4 THE MENNONITE
South Africans who support apartheid.
I know we have our own form of town-
ships here in North America, but I pre-
tend they don't exist. My eyes are
locked shut so I won't have to cry any-
more. I am the kind of Snow White
who isn't the least bit fair.
Transkei: Another Piece of the Puz-
zle of Apartheid
Transkei, South Africa, is another
piece of the puzzle of apartheid. In
1976 it became the first area desig-
nated as an independent state or home-
land by the South African government.
"No one was ever given a chance to
voice their opinions about the estab-
lishment of a homeland here," says a
local black leader, who asks to remain
anonymous. "We are all South Afri-
cans. We don't want a separate govern-
ment."
The South African government
would like you to think otherwise. In
the capital city of Umtata there are im-
pressive, large, Western-style build-
ings such as the Bank of Transkei,
which is actually a subsidiary of a well-
known Afrikaaner bank, and Transkei
University. "The South African gov-
ernment spent millions of rand on the
university as if having a place of higher
education would verify Transkei 's sep-
arate status," says Larry Hills, who
served as a General Conference Men-
nonite Church missionary in Transkei
from 1982— April 1989. "Only about
2,000 students attend the university.
The money could have been used to
give masses of children a decent educa-
tion."
Evidently foreign investors have
bought the image the South African
government promotes: Need gas for
your Toyota jeep? Choose from one of
many gas stations, including Shell and
Mobil. Have a craving for Kentucky
Fried Chicken? Check out the local
version. Run out of cash? Most of the
stores accept VISA.
The security police will do all they
can to make your stay a pleasant one
too. Hills remembers hearing a Tai-
wanese man complain to the police
about a woman who was trying to orga-
nize the workers at the business that he
owned: "The man said to the police,
'You promised there wouldn't be any
problems like that.' (Unions are out-
lawed in Transkei.) The police replied,
'Don't worry we'll take care of her.' "
"Other South Africans think
Transkeians are promoting the system
of apartheid. They think we are better
off. There's nothing better here. We
still suffer," says the leader.
You realize the leader is right. Ev-
erything the South African government
is saying and doing in Transkei is false.
Observe the empty courthouse. Count
the number of police stations. Look at
the black people. See the face of ex-
haustion, poverty, despair.
And whatever you do, remember
this: men lining the streets of Umtata,
every single day, at any given hour,
waiting for work. It's like they have a
ball and chain.
JANUARY 23, 1990 W-5
Ruth Klassen
Our five-year-old grandson Joel and I
had come to an impasse. We were
shopping for a birthday gift. It was to
be special, but nonviolent. He had
made his choice and his questioning
eyes waited for my approval. Finally he
blurted out, "But Nanna, those are love
guns." I reflected on our discussion in
Women in Mission.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus in-
vited people to follow him. Jesus said
we would know who his followers were
by the way they lived. His followers
were to be loving, patient, kind, gentle
and forgiving. Wherever Jesus' fol-
lowers went, they were instructed to be
peacemakers.
The values of Jesus are forgotten
when we give war toys to our children.
War toys by definition are "all play-
things which are used to solve conflict,
gain power, or win through violence
and which aim to wound or kill." War
toys are contrary to every value Jesus
exemplified.
Ontario Women in Mission at their
spring conference unanimously af-
firmed the following resolution: We
will begin a process of reversing this
crude and thoughtless militarization of
our children by promoting the estab-
lishment of War Toy Free Zones in our
homes, churches and communities, so
that children will have the opportunity
to explore the many kinds of construc-
tive play that are presently displaced by
violent entertainment and be it resolved
that we encourage the women's organi-
zation in our congregations to write a
letter to Canadian War Toy Manufac-
turers expressing strongly our concern
about war toys and encouraging manu-
facturers to produce toys which en-
for Peace
courage creative and constructive play.
There are many alternatives to play-
ing with violent toys. Parents can en-
courage their children to participate in
activities which increase their skills
and provide lifelong enjoyment. Learn-
ing a sport, practicing a musical instru-
ment, becoming an expert model
builder or learning to make homemade
bread can bring children great satisfac-
tion.
Peacemaking begins at home. As
parents and children experience the re-
wards of solving their problems peace-
fully, they will want to share their skills
with others.
I have a friend who purchased all the
war toys in a local department store in
Kitchener before Christmas to the
maximum of his credit card. He ad-
vised the clerk of his intention to make
a statement to the manufacturer that
war toys were inappropriate for chil-
dren. He effectively put these toys out
of circulation until after Christmas
when the demand was minimal. He
then returned them to the store for
credit.
We believe that if enough women
were more selective in their purchases
for children and grandchildren, as well
as church nursery shelves, the con-
sumer impact could be noticeable.
Does our mission not begin at home?
Much has been written and good re-
source material is available. If you
wish to encourage your women's
group, write Alma Guenther, vice
president, Ontario Women in Mission,
5 Emmett Road, R.R. #6, St. Catha-
rines, ON, L2R 7K6. Alma has de-
signed a bulletin insert which has been
made available to Ontario congrega-
tions to accentuate the message of
peace to all families.
W-6 THE MENNONITE
Resolution on War Toys
WHEREAS Jesus blesses those who
are merciful and those who are peace-
makers, and lauds those who turn the
other cheek and go the second mile, as
well as commands us to love our ene-
mies and to pray for those who perse-
cute us,
and WHEREAS war toys teach our
children that the blessed are not those
who are merciful but rather those who
are merciless, that the blessed ones are
not those who serve but rather those
who dominate, and that the blessed are
not those who love their enemies but
rather those who destroy them,
and WHEREAS the sale of war toys
has increased to the point where most
top-selling toys are violent toys,
and WHEREAS these violent toys
are aggressively promoted through tel-
evision advertising aimed directly at
children, as well as television cartoon
shows produced by war toy manufac-
turers to help sell their products,
and WHEREAS these programs are
totally concerned with violence and
combat, depicting an average of 41 acts
of violence per hour,
and WHEREAS reputable scientific
studies have proven that children
watching these shows and playing with
these toys are affected in their beha-
viour; e.g. a Harvard study found that
these amusements are likely to cause
high levels of inappropriate aggression
(hitting, kicking, yelling, etc.) in nor-
mal children as well as children with
aggression problems,
and WHEREAS common sense dic-
tates that when the adults in a society
offer to their children toys which glo-
rify violence, the message being con-
veyed to the next generation is that vio-
lent behaviour is an approved and
normal part of that society's structure,
and WHEREAS far from teaching
our children to resolve conflicts with
violence and military combat, we need
to prepare them to seek creative and
effective alternatives to violence for re-
solving conflicts, in order to help as-
sure their very survival in the nuclear
age,
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED
that we will begin a process of revers-
ing this crude and thoughtless "milita-
rization" of our children by promoting
the establishment of WAR TOY FREE
ZONES in our homes and communi-
ties, so that children will have the op-
portunity to explore the many kinds of
constructive play that are presently dis-
placed by violent entertainment,
and BE IT RESOLVED that we en-
courage the women's organizations in
our congregations to write a letter to
Canadian War Toy Manufacturers ex-
pressing strongly our concern about
war toys and encouraging manufactur-
ers to produce toys which encourage
creative and constructive play.
JANUARY 23, 1990 W-7
Face to Face
with Injustice
Summary— Program IV
The book of Esther is a fascinating
book of the QkfTestament-/and an en-
tertaming^one for its storytelling. But
ITprogram writer Carol Rose points
out, though the story may seem far
from our reality^the characters in Es-
thjirls-Steryof faithfulness and courage
have much to say to today's reader
about confronting social evils coura-
geously.
Three characters step out of their Old
Testament setting to tell how they chal-
lenged the system and how their atti-
tudes and actions can be applied to our
lives today.
First we hear from Vashti, deposed
wife of the king, whose refusal to pa-
rade her beauty at the king's party
eventually resulted in Esther's ascen-
sion to the throne. Whereas Vashti 's
disobedience to the king is usually
viewed as negative, Rose points out
that lessons can be learned from her
saying no. Vashti chose between ex-
pected conventional behavior and hu-
miliation and paid the ultimate price.
Her standing up to government powers
parallels Christians today who practice
civil disobedience for the sake of con-
science. No, it is pointed out, may not
be easy or nice to say. But sometimes it
is necessary.
Next to tell his story is Mordecai,
Esther's uncle and protector. Rose re-
fers to him as the one who buzzes in the
ears of the system, causing annoyance
and letting the powers that be know that
their systems may be flawed. Morde-
cai's refusal to cooperate with Haman
indicated needed change and threat-
ened the evil and powerful Haman. The
rich and powerful in our society do not
like to have their positions of comfort
challenged or threatened either. Speak-
ing out may be costly.
Finally there is Esther, who risked
her very life to make her request known
to the king. This young woman could
have ignored the plight of the Jewish
people and continued in her ivory
tower as queen of the empire. To do so
would have been comfortable. But she
chose civil disobedience (going unin-
vited to the king), which the writer
calls holy obedience. We too, she
points out, may be asked to step outside
the bounds of the comfortable in our
own lives as we come face to face with
wrongs and injustices.
Vashti. Mordecai. Esther. These are
people who speak to us today. Can we
identify with them?
Amy Dueckman
W-8 THE MENNONITE
SHARING
Lois Decked
"Daren, how come you haven't been to see me?" I asked one of
the children who formerly spent many hours in our Chicago
apartment.
"I can't come," he replied, "there's white folks there."
We had moved and our move took us across the uncrossable line
of 47th Street. It wasn't that our new neighborhood was mono-
chromatic; it was an integrated neighborhood. Forty-seventh
Street marked off poverty from non-poverty as well as black from
white. Daren was unable to cross that street. My affection for and
acceptance of this child seemed to have little effect on his fears
and the taboos instilled in him by generations of injustice.
Most of the time we are uncomfortable with the injustice of
racism, no matter which direction that racism takes. Our discom-
fort freezes us into inaction and we begin to justify our own acts of
intolerance. We lock our car doors when we drive through a
neighborhood where people do not look like us. We suspect that
anyone who does not resemble us must be out to get us. We are
afraid of each other. Whatever happened to courage? Whatever
happened to a Christlike love which casts out fear?
In Christ we are all one people. We must be willing to risk our
comfort and our lives for each other's salvation just as Esther did
for the salvation of her people. Jesus tells us plainly, "love one
another as I have loved you." It is up to us to find ways of
expressing that love.
JANUARY 23, 1990 W-9
Window on
Ann Marklund
Yesterday, I was biking the
two or three blocks to
church with my two-year-
old daughter riding happily
behind me in her bike seat.
It was over the usual route:
up a steep paved hill, and
then down a narrow one-
lane, marble inlaid alley.
On both sides of the quiet alley, small
one-story houses are clustered. Quite
often people sit or even lie on wooden
beds in front of their homes. As we
passed one house, Purity, my daughter,
cheerfully called M hau (Hello). . . .
No one answered her.
I kept on biking, but I felt a real
heaviness in the area where I always
conceive my heart to be. In this very
friendly culture, why didn't anyone
greet my daughter? Is it because we're
foreigners? There really aren't many
foreigners in Hualien, this beautiful
coastal city on the island of Taiwan. Of
course, Purity isn't even a very typical
foreigner. She's an African American,
living in an ancient homogenous cul-
ture whose very low opinions of blacks
come from our own imported movies.
Since coming to Taiwan a year ago,
we've become quite used to being the
center of attention. Usually a crowd
collects, with exclamations of hen ke ai
(how cute), and many questions. How
can white parents have a black baby?
Was her hair curly at birth? Does she
speak English or Chinese? When we
answer some of the basic oft-repeated
questions, they are very impressed
when we say she is adopted.
Family lineage and blood ties are so
important here. When we go on to ex-
the World
COM
plain all of our children, in-
cluding our two older Cau-
casian boys, are adopted,
the comment usually is ai
psyin (loving heart). Does
the adoption of our children
make a statement about
God's love and God's work
in human hearts? Making a
statement was not a poignant factor in
the adoption of our children. We just
wanted kids. But our Lord, knowing
the end from the beginning, has repeat-
edly used our children in every mission
assignment with which we've been in-
volved.
The very first contacts and deepest
friendships usually have been insti-
gated by the children: a baby-sitter,
parents to our children's friends, their
teachers and doctors. Jesus, who said,
"Let the little children come unto me, "
knew the power of a child's smile and
small trusting hand to draw adults into
the sphere of his love.
But here I was, faced with the rejec-
tion of my small child's overtures of
friendship. As I rounded the corner,
after biking through the courtyard of a
small Buddhist temple, I still felt the
pain of no answering hello.
Then I faintly heard footsteps run-
ning behind me. I turned and looked. A
young woman was running from the
cluster of houses we'd just passed. She
came up beside us and quietly handed
my daughter a box of cookies. Purity
said, Sye ' sye ' (thank you) and gave the
young lady a beautiful smile. Trying to
touch over cross-cultural bridges is al-
ways difficult and I often wonder about
who is reaching out to whom.
W-10 THE MENNONITE
iuc oni
KING OUT
CHM
Helen Brown
I first met Nellie Tolbert at Hall's
Chapel in Newton, Kans. Impressed
with her sparkling personality and the
warm, caring spirit, she emitted, I
knew this was a woman I wanted to
learn to know better.
Nellie is originally from Bay town,
Tex. She comes from a close-knit fam-
ily and has three sisters and a brother.
Nellie credits her Christian mother's
influence for her view of the church
today. Nellie explains: "The church
was a very important part of our lives.
Mother saw to it that we attended regu-
larly. For us, church was seen as our
extended family. I committed myself to
Jesus Christ when I was a junior in
high school."
Nellie attended Lee College. While
in college she met Les Tolbert who at-
tended her church in Bay town. After
their marriage, Les and Nellie became
actively involved in a youth and young
married couples' ministry. When they
moved to Houston where Les, in addi-
tion to being employed secularly,
served as one of the pastors of their
new church. Nellie worked as a ca-
terer, and was a consultant for Princess
House Crystal. Regardless of their vo-
cation or involvement, Nellie says,
"We want to touch peoples' lives in
meaningful ways."
Nellie and Les sensed God's calling
to full-time church work. As they
prayed and waited for direction, the
Lord opened the doors to Markham,
111. Along with their two sons, Jona-
than, 14, and Charles, 7, they moved to
Markham in August. Les is serving as
co-pastor of Community Mennonite
Church and consultant for African
American Leadership Development
under CHM.
Nellie says, "I've always felt
strongly that God wanted me to serve
as a mentor to younger women— teach-
ing them how to love their husbands
and children. I don't believe there's
enough affirmation of women in their
roles as wives and mothers. These rela-
tionships are not something I go look-
ing for; God seems to open the doors
for me to share."
Nellie is involved in the music minis-
try of Community Mennonite Church.
One Sunday Nellie and another woman
sang a duet. Someone commented that
their voices blended well; there was no
distinction between the black voice and
the white voice. Nellie believes that's
the way it should be in our church
life— not distinctly black, nor white,
but a blending of the two. In Nellie's
words, "God wants to use us to create
his own special sound."
At times when Nellie feels low or
discouraged, she says the Lord comes
to her as he did to Elijah in the cave— in
a still, small voice. He asks, "Are you
ready to get up and continue?" She
says, "Yes," and gets up— knowing
that the greatest thing in life for Nellie
Tolbert is to fulfill the purpose to which
God has called her.
JANUARY 23, 1990 W-11
COE
Prisms
Commission on Education
nurture
Norma Johnson
Dealing with injustice seems over-
whelming to us. The problems of the
world are rooted in injustice. At times
we feel hopeless and immobilized.
One small way to focus on specific
issues of injustice is to allow stories to
speak to us. Listed below are some re-
cently published children's books and
other resources that will not only assist
children in grappling with issues but
they have intergenerational use as well.
Lenka of Emma Creek by Sophia Un-
ruh, illustrated by Arch Unruh, Faith
& Life Press, Newton, Kans., 1989.
Goessel, Kans., is the setting for this
story. Lenka, an older woman, is
treated unjustly by a variety of persons
in the community. Sarah, a young
neighbor girl, comes to grips with is-
sues of aging, hunger and intergenera-
tional friendship.
Always Gramma by Vaunda Mi-
chieaux Nelson, illustrated by Kim-
mane Uhler, G.P. Putnam's & Sons,
New York, 1988. This story focuses on
the feelings involved when a loved one
has Alzheimer's disease.
Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge
by Mem Fox, illustrated by Julie Vivas,
Kane/Miller Book Publishers, Brook-
lyn, N. Y., 1985. In this story a small
boy tries to discover the meaning of
memory so he can restore the memory
of an elderly friend.
Family Farm by Thomas Locker,
Dial Books, New York, 1988. Farm
crisis issues are dealt with in this story.
The author also illustrated the book
with color prints of his oil paintings. A
portion of the proceeds from this book
will be donated to Farm Aid.
A Rose for Abby by Donna Guthrie,
illustrated by Dennis Hockerman,
Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1988.
Homelessness and street people are the
issues faced in this story.
"Last Letter From Death Row" by
Maren Aukerman, appeared in the No-
vember 1989 issue of With magazine.
This true story tells the experiences of
one family who were pen pals with a
prisoner on death row.
Starting Out Right is a new resource
available from the Parenting for Peace
and Justice Network, 4144 Lindell
Blvd., #122, St. Louis, MO 63108.
Telephone: 314-533-4445. This packet
includes a 136-page-book designed to
nurture young children as peacema-
kers. Kathleen McKinnis and Barbara
Oehlberg are the authors. A discussion
guide, PPJN Newsletter, poster and
gift card are included in this packet.
Neighbors Near and Far: Native
People in North America is the fourth
in this series of mission education ma-
terials. Justice issues are focused and
ideas are shared for discussion.
By summer 1989, COE hopes to
have a Bible study book and a tape of
music available as resources for jus-
tice. Paula Diller Lehman is the writer
of the Bible study. Doug and Jude
Krehbiel are composing and recording
the songs. Watch for more information
about this resource.
W-12 THE MENNONITE
A Woman
in Mission:
Elsie Flaming
Edna Mensch
For the past 12 years Elsie Flaming has
served the General Conference Women
in Mission. Throughout her term her
concern for and commitment to the or-
ganization, its members and its out-
reach have been an inspiration to many.
She never underestimated the ability of
women to witness in various settings,
and on more than one occasion she en-
couraged us with these words: "and
you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem
and in all Judea and Samaria and to the
end of the earth" (Acts 1:8b, RSV).
Elsie has served in many capacities.
She worked as a registered nurse in the
local hospital as well as the
Leamington Mennonite Home for the
Aged. Her love of music led to the po-
sition of choir director in her church,
and she enjoyed participating in the lo-
cal choral society.
Elsie served as president of South-
western Ontario Women in Mission
from 1973 to 1976. Attending confer-
ences, getting to know many new
friends and developing a greater appre-
ciation for the wider church fellowship
across North America were highlights
for her. As others took leadership posi-
tions in the local organization, Elsie
was always supportive, and more than
one new president felt her encourage-
ment and appreciation for their efforts.
Elsie and her husband, Henry, are
members of the North Leamington
United Mennonite Church. They are
now in their 35th year of marriage.
They are the parents of four sons all of
whom are married. There are four
grandchildren for Henry and Elsie to
enjoy.
Friendships are important to Elsie.
She is a hospitable hostess and is al-
ways ready to help make occasions spe-
cial for those involved. A friend de-
scribes her as a wonderful, caring
person, someone who has always been
there for friends who need her.
As our lifestyles change, women's
organizations are feeling the effects.
Elsie is sensitive to that and encourages
us to be flexible and versatile in meet-
ing the needs of women. At the same
time she urges us to retain those things
from our past which are still valid and
useful in nurturing the wide range of
age groups within our organization.
Recently Elsie was asked to com-
ment on the future of our local WM
organization. She wrote: "The future
of WM depends on each of us. . . .
Society actively lures and encourages
us to many activities outside of the
church. Women in Mission should ac-
tively call us to responsibility in our
Christian life. Women in Mission must
help each one of us to live as a Chris-
tian woman who has a mission to ful-
fill. This includes being a mother, sis-
ter, friend, grandmother, volunteer,
professional or working person."
Thank you, Elsie, for your service
through WM. Thank you for encourag-
ing and admonishing us. Thank you for
truly being a woman in mission.
JANUARY 23, 1990 W-13
Sara Regier
In November I spent a week in Ontario
at an executive workshop and visiting
women's groups and mission projects.
The hospitality, the stories and the
commitment in action reminded me of
what WM is all about.
Friendship is important in church
work. Visiting in the home of Elsie
Flaming, outgoing WM president, and
Helen Hildebrand, the new Canadian
vice president, as well as other WM
officers in Canada, I realized that when
we learn to know each other and share
our spiritual lives with each other we
can also be honest and open with the
challenges and decisions facing us on
church committees.
Ingrid Neufeld from Guelph was
chauffeur for Ruth Klassen, Ontario
WM president, and me. She enjoys
hiking and told us, "Hiking is like
walking through life. You can't do it
alone; sometimes you need a friend to
give you a hand to get over the rocks. "
Women's groups provide a place to
And discernment and gain strength
for the transitions one faces at vari-
ous stages of life.
In Manitoba, a mother whose hus-
band had cancer told me she came to
women's retreat for the first time be-
cause she longed for worship and the
support of other women.
Carolyn Epp Franzen from the Par-
ents and Tots Group, Grace Church,
St. Catherines, Ont., reflects on life for
younger women today: "We have more
choices and freedom. Some of us come
from a time of being distant from the
church and we want a nonthreatening
group where we can belong and build
confidence in the church. "
Betty Puricelli, staff person at the
New Life Center for refugees in To-
ronto, told us, "I am uplifted by shar-
ing communion in a small group.
Through the communion elements I get
in touch with the suffering of Christ
that is present in the struggle of refu-
gees. In their brokenness they are so
close to God and I realize that suffering
should never take us away from the
hope of the resurrection. "
Women's groups see the needs
around them and provide the organi-
zation and initiative for service pro-
jects.
Hedwig Dyck, Toronto, began her
report at the Ontario WM executive
workshop with, "Yes, I'm still around.
Through the years we have rolled miles
of bandages and made quilts because
we benefited so much from MCC, but
now we have moved on to collecting
clothes for the Jane Finch Center, a
low-income housing project in To-
ronto, because they need help."
Ontario Women in Mission see the
value of a joint education and action
project on a specific issue each year.
This year they passed a War Toys Reso-
lution. Next year the emphasis will be
on environmental issues.
An invitation to a Christmas banquet
is putting action to a reconciliation res-
olution that came to the Canadian
Mennonite Conference from the Men-
nonite Brethren Conference in 1986.
The women's group of the Kitchener
MB Church has invited the Servettes
from Waterloo-Kitchener United Men-
nonite Church to be their guests.
How is your group putting action to
the theme for this year— Widening the
Circle?
W-14 THE MENNONITE
contributors
Carla Reimer (Cover, South Africa: Face to Face with
Injustice) is news service editor for the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church. She traveled in Africa January
2— February 4, 1989. Carla and husband, Nathan Dick,
live in Newton, Kans.
Amy Dueckman (The Open Window, Program Sum-
mary IV) is a member of the WM Literature Commit-
tee. She and her husband, Wayne, and son, James, live
in British Columbia.
Liz Yoder (Coffee Beans) is a 1988 graduate of Bethel
College, North Newton, Kans. She has traveled and
done volunteer work in Central America. Liz is in her
second year of an MVS term at Hopi Mission School in
Kykotsmovi, Ariz., where she teaches grade four.
Ruth Klassen (Toys for Peace) lives in Waterloo, Ont.,
with husband, Paul. She is a member of the Waterloo-
Kitchener United Mennonite Church. Ruth is president
of Ontario Women in Mission. She works for The House
of Friendship in Kitchener as a community support
worker in the food hamper program. She is mother of
four married children and grandmother of three.
Lois Deckert (A Cup of Sharing) enjoys planning for
spring planting with her husband, Marion. She edits
Window to Mission at 722 Main, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114.
Ann Marklund (Window on the World) serves as a
COM mission worker in Taiwan along with her hus-
band, Richard. Both Ann and Richard have graduate
degrees in special education and work in New Dawn
Development Center and Hualien Christian School. The
Marklunds have three children.
Helen Brown (Looking In, Looking Out) and husband,
Hubert, live in North Newton, Kans. The Browns have
two grown children and one son in middle school. The
family attends Shalom Mennonite Church in Newton.
Norma J. Johnson (COE Prisms) is executive secretary
of COE. She reads children's books as often as possible.
An ideal setting for reading is by the ocean or a lake.
Edna Mensch (A Woman in Mission: Elsie Flaming)
teaches elementary school in Leamington, Ont. She has
been active in the missions committee of the
Leamington United Mennonite Church. She and her
husband, Sig, have three children. Edna enjoys reading
and gardening.
Sara Regier (The Office Window) enjoys the extension
classes offered by AMBS each semester. She feels that
her studies enrich her as she coordinates the work of
WM from the office at 722 Main, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114.
Alison Hiebert (Window Shopping) is a homemaker in
Bluffton, Ohio. She and her husband, Harv, have two
grown daughters. Since no one in their extended fami-
lies lives in the state of Ohio, they spend a good deal of
their time on the old-fashioned method for keeping in
touch— writing letters.
credits
Art: Angie Miller, p. 8
Photos: Carla Reimer, pp. 4,5
forecast
What does it mean to be a lite-giver all your days? Read the stories about
birth and rebirth in the next issue of Window to Mission.
JANUARY 23, 1990 W-15
Alison Hiebert
Readers may associate the Lion and
Lamb Peace Arts Center with a musi-
cal which was presented at the joint
conference sessions in Normal, 111.,
last August by community and college
people from Bluffton, Ohio. This pro-
duction, "Dance of the Kobzar: Scenes
from the Life of John Peter Klassen,
Artist as Peacemaker," was in fact first
given in May 1989, as part of a second
anniversary celebration by the Lion
and Lamb. One hundred and twenty-
one persons from Bluffton College and
the Bluffton community were involved.
The Peace Arts Center began as an
idea expressed by Elizabeth Hostetler,
who is chairperson of the education de-
partment at Bluffton College and a re-
gionally recognized distinguished edu-
cator. Encouraged to explore its
possibilities, Dr. Hostetier secured a
gift for initial funding, guided the early
steps toward formation of the center
and continues as its director.
The Lion and Lamb is building a col-
lection of music, children's books,
printed literature and art which may be
borrowed, by schools or churches, for
peace study activities. Symposiums,
art shows, theater events and special
speakers are brought to the Bluffton
College campus, where the center is
located. Workshops and activity week-
ends for children are another aspect of
Window Shopping
its program: for example, a high school
drama weekend called Imagination
Collaboration, a Language Immersion
Day and a show of Leonard Everett
Fisher's art which was viewed by 500
children from the surrounding public
schools.
The Lion and Lamb offers opportu-
nities to church women for unique and
challenging ways to volunteer. During
its second year the center sponsored
several small drama groups, the most
successful of which was an intergener-
ational mix of students and community
members. This included several
women who are WM members in their
church congregations. They enacted
peace-related skits and stories for club
meetings and mother-daughter ban-
quets as well as going into the public
school classrooms. La Vera Neufeld,
Bluffton, Ohio, has voluntarily given
her time every Wednesday morning to
assist the Peace Arts Center itself,
processing new books, binding scripts
and other materials and helping to send
out parts of the collection to borrowers.
Assistant director Kate Gundy is in
the center daily to meet visitors and
carry on the work. She supervises the
transfer of valuable material when
churches and other groups ask to bor-
row parts of the art collection, like
original drawings for the children's
book Sadako and the Thousand Paper
Cranes. Some time ago Dr. Hostetler
and Kate began looking for a group of
women who might be able to sew fabric
covers for all the framed paintings,
drawings and prints which are in the
lending collection. Here is an opportu-
nity for creative expression through
needlework.
Two U.S. religious men and a Salvadoran
refugee woman began a water-only, open-
ended fast Dec. 12. Hundreds of others
joined in their call to Congress and the
Bush administration for an end to all forms
of U.S. military aid to the Salvadoran
government and support for a just and
lasting negotiated settlement to the war in
El Salvador. Under the umbrella group
called Ecumenical Fast for El Salvador in
Churches and Temples (EFFECT), fasting
and prayer are being held in at least 14
U.S. cities.
Bethel College, North Newton, Kan., has
received a $186,000 challenge grant from
the Knight Foundation of Akron, Ohio, as a
recipient of its annual Excellence in
Undergraduate Education program. Bethel
is one of only 13 private liberal arts schools
to be the 1989 recipients of nearly $5
million in grants under this program. The
grant must be matched dollar by dollar in
new funds from the college, making the
total $372,000 over three years. The funds
will be used to improve the retention of
freshmen through faculty/staff develop-
ment, enhanced personal and academic
support and study of student satisfaction.
Amid fierce debate, women's ordination
has been approved by the Church of
England's general synod. The vote in the
three-tiered synod to open the priesthood
to females carried 34-17 among bishops,
149-85 among clergy, and 144-78 among
laity. If the dioceses approve the measure,
it will come back to the general synod in
1992, where it will need two-thirds aproval
by each group. It must also win the nod of
Parliament and Queen Elizabeth II. The
earliest women could be ordained is 1993.
NEWS
Business administration.
Goshen College, a Christian liberal
arts college in the Mennonite,
Anabaptist tradition, invites
applications for a teaching position
with a view to tenure. Applicant
expected to teach lower- and
upper-level courses in manage-
ment, marketing and/or finance; to
relate to business community
through Management Develop-
ment Program and student
internships. Ability to use and
teach microcomputers preferred.
Qualifications: Ph.D. or master's
degree preferred; supportive of the
values of the Mennonite Church;
capable of excellent undergraduate
teaching. Women and minorities
especially invited.
Send letter of interest, resume,
transcripts and three references to
Delmar Good, Chair, Department
of Business and Economics,
Goshen College, Goshen, IN
46526.
Economics. Goshen College, a
Christian liberal arts college in the
Mennonite, Anabaptist tradition,
invites applications for a one-year
teaching position (potential for
tenure track following year).
Fields: intermediate theory; money
and banking; international
economics and/or economic
development. Qualifications:
Ph.D. preferred; supportive of
values of the Mennonite Church;
capable of excellent undergraduate
teaching. Women and minorities
especially invited.
Send letter of interest, resume,
transcripts and three references to
Delmar Good, Chair, Department
of Business and Economics,
Goshen College, Goshen, IN
46526.
Faith and Action
Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires; God will satisfy
them fully! Matt 5 6
Some say the words Jesus spoke so long ago cannot guide our lives today.
Times are different. Everything is more complex.
We say that's wrong.
We are looking for people who are committed to following Christ
in life, even if it means hard work and personal sacrifice. We need
carpenters, social workers, teachers, secretaries, peace workers
and many others.
What do you say?
Mennonite Mutual Aid has an
opening for a health utilization
review coordinator. Person is
responsible for precertification and
determining eligibility and validity
of medical treatment. Must be an
RN, preferably with five years of
hospital experience, possess
strong communication skills and
the ability to make independent
decisions.
If interested, please call MMA,
Personnel Dept., at (219) 533-
9511.
West Abbotsford Mennonite
Church invites inquiries for the
position of senior pastor as part of
a ministerial team. We are a
congregation of 240 in the central
Fraser Valley. Interest and skills
are expected in preaching and
teaching, counseling and crisis
visitation, and outreach and church
growth.
Send inquiries or resumes to:
Alvin G. Ens, 29521 Taylor Road,
Mt. Lehman, B.C., VOX 1V0, (604)
856-1348.
MCC helps Brazilian farmers
purchase land
Looking over records in the Mennonite Central Committee farm
cooperative store in Tacaimbo, Brazil, are (left to right) Jose
Francisco de Macedo Filho, Tim Eisenbeis and Maria Farmelucia
Alexandre. They are part of an MCC program that enabled 15 farm
families to purchase a total of 32 hectares. (One hectare is about
the size of 2 1/2 football fields.) Because inflation in Brazil is so
high, the cooperative created a system by which credit is repaid in
sacks of beans, corn and manioc flour. Proceeds are deposited in a
revolving fund to allow other cooperative members to buy land.
THE MENNONITE 37
CrossRoad, a musical drama commis-
sioned for Mennonite Collegiate Institute's
centennial celebrations, premiered Nov. 2-
4, 1989, at MCI in Gretna, Man. The piece,
with lyrics by Tim Wiebe and music by
Esther Wiebe, is loosely based on life at
MCI. It will also be performed July 20-22 at
MCl's gala homecoming and at Mennonite
World Conference in Winnipeg later in July.
The start of conciliation work overseas
through the Mennonite Central Committee
Peace Office, exploration of beginning
programs in Niger and Peru, a legal audit
to ensure that MCC procedures and
policies comply with federal and state re-
quirements and a proposal for a new fiscal
year were new initiatives presented to the
MCC executive committee Dec. 15-16,
1989. The proposed 1990 budget calls for
total income of $33.7 million, compared
with $31 .6 million in 1 989. The new budget
calls for a 5.5 percent increase in U.S.
contributions and a 6 percent increase in
Canadian contributions.
Beginning Christmas Day 1989, David
Hayden of the Justice House Community of
Roanoke, Va., moved out onto the streets
of Washington, where he plans to live until
April 15. Harold Moss, a longtime member
of the Community for Creative Non-
violence, joins Hayden for the 16-week
vigil. Their action is part of an effort to
support the Mickey Leland Housing Act —
legislation to be introduced in the U.S.
House of Representatives that calls for the
restoration of the $25 billion per year cut
from the federal housing budget.
NEWS
Mennonite New Life Centre
shortens refugees' road
Toronto (GCMC)— "The road
for a refugee is as long as you
make it," reads a poster in the
landing leading to the Mennon-
ite New Life Centre.
Located here, the New Life
Centre tries to make the road a
little shorter. Each month the
center's five staff members,
together with volunteers, help
about 200 refugee claimants
and landed immigrants by
providing services such as
advocacy, housing and
translation. Most of their clients
are from Central America,
South America and the
Caribbean; some have come
from as far away as China.
"In this kind of work we can
never meet all the needs, but
we do what we can," said
Adolfo Puricelli, in an interview
here. "We work hard to avoid
dependency. If we do every-
thing for people, we create
more problems." Adolfo directs
the center together with his
wife, Betty Puricelli.
Finding homes for refugees
is especially challenging, given
the tight housing market in
The Springstein Mennonite
Church invites applications for the
position of pastor, beginning in the
summer of 1990. Potential
applicants should be able to work
with younger and older people;
fluency in German would be an
asset but is not essential.
Direct inquiries to Ron Loeppky,
Box 4, Springstein, MB R0G 2N0,
(204) 735-2883.
Toronto. There are approxi-
mately 1 1 ,000 people on the
waiting list for subsidized
housing in Toronto, but the
government only has 33 units
available each month, noted
staff member Julio Guzman.
"Once, after I had finally found
a place for a Central American
family of eight, a welfare worker
came to visit and said that the
living conditions were over-
crowded. As a result, the
family was put back on the
street. I was back at square
zero," he recalled.
The staff also spend a
Adolfo Puricelli, left, with client at Mennonite
New Life Centre in Toronto
substantial amount of their time
providing counseling. "When
people first arrive here they are
numb and overwhelmed. Many
have experienced horrible
situations. They have lost their
children, their husbands, their
homes. We help them start the
grieving process," said Adolfo.
The center operates a recep-
tion center where up to 1 6
government-sponsored
refugees can stay until they
find their own quarters. Most
live there for about a month.
"We find this is a good place for
healing to occur," said Betty.
One Mennonite refugee from
Central America described how
he felt he was treated like a
"We find
this is a
good place
for healing
to occur."
Betty
Puricelli
delinquent when he arrived at
the Toronto airport. "They put
all of us [refugees] together in a
group, and we had
to wait at the airport
until 1 1 p.m.," he
said. "Changing
from one culture to
another is hard. I
probably will never
be able to return to
my country, even
though I miss it
very much."
Despite the fact
that the New Life
Centre staff is
"overworked," they
exude a sense of
joy and even humor. "You can
always tell who has been on
vacation last," joked Betty. And
she said they continue to see
the "hand of God guiding their
work. We minister in the name
of Christ."
The New Life Centre was
started in August 1983. It
receives support from the
Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada, Mennonite
Central Committee, Conference
of Mennonites in Canada,
individual donations and A Call
to Kingdom Commitments, the
General Conference Mennonite
Church development plan. The
provincial Ministry of Citizen-
ship and Culture and the
federal Immigration Settlement
Adaption Program also provide
funds. Carta Reimer
The World Friendship Center in
Hiroshima, Japan, needs a peace-
loving couple to volunteer as
directors. Transportation and
lodging are provided.
Further information and job
description can be obtained from
the American Committee of the
WFC, Charles and Helen Sutton,
1201 Vernon Drive, Dayton, OH
45407, (513) 277-7259, or
Commission on Overseas Mission,
Box 347, Newton, KS 67114.
Associate director for services
to health and welfare programs:
Mennonite Health Services,
starting April 15. Provide direction
and administrative services to
health and welfare institutions;
develop and execute programs of
administrative consultation and
contracted management services
for member institutions. Executive
experience and master's degree in
healthcare administration pre-
ferred. Strong leadership skills
and Mennonite or Brethren
affiliation required.
Contact Carl L Good, Executive
Director, Mennonite Health
Services, Box 500, Akron, PA
17501-0500, (717) 859-1151, by
Feb. 15.
38 JANUARY 23, 1990
Empowered Ministries, the new name for
the joining of Mennonite Renewal Services
and Church of the Brethren Renewal
Services, has set Aug. 15-18 as the dates
for its next annual meeting, Empowered
'90. The meeting will coincide with
Indianapolis 1990, a nationwide congress
on World Evangelization. For more
information contact Empowered Ministries,
Box 722, Goshen, IN 46526, (219) 534-
2891.
"Talking about the pain makes you feel
better, not worse," says Shirley Carr, who
lost two teenage sons to homicide in the
last year. Dianne Kidner, a Mennonite
Central Committee worker from New
Westminster, B.C., helps Carr and other
families of homicide victims to grieve and
heal by encouraging them to counsel and
listen to each other through a program
called SURVIVE. Begun by Kidner,
SURVIVE is just over a year old and
already has had requests from more than
70 families for help in dealing with the
"extreme, unique crisis of losing a loved
one to murder," says Kidner.
Alumni in Japan of Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind., have
joined a new alumni association of people
connected to a Mennonite college or
seminary in North America, reports Robert
Lee from Tokyo. Lee says that the
association provides for fellowship with
people who have had similar educational
experiences and "will offer our pastors the
opportunity to meet Japanese who have a
'Mennonite' connection."
NEWS COMMENTARY
knock at our doors
VS worker Lyn Raymond (right) interviews a refugee as she proc-
esses government documents for him.
Refugees
When Central American
refugees cross the border from
Mexico into the United States,
some on their way to Canada,
their search for refuge, freedom
and security has just begun.
Having fled their homelands for
a variety of reasons, they need
food, shelter, clothes and a job.
Some Mennonites have
welcomed them, but the need
exceeds the response.
The refugees' main obstacle
is not the Rio Grande River but
border guards with the U.S.
Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS), often waiting to
arrest those who enter the
country illegally.
Those arrested at the border
at Brownsville, Texas, are
taken to the Port Isabel Service
Processing Center, a 315-acre
detention site near Brownsville.
The center, built for 700
people, houses about 1 ,000
refugees. Some refugees live
in tent cities run by the federal
government or in temporary
Red Cross shelters. All told, an
estimated 2,000 refugees are
in the Rio Grande Valley.
Refugees from Central
America continue to cross the
border, many at Brownsville.
Those who elude border
guards are detained if their
application for political asylum
is denied or when caught
attempting to leave the
Brownsville area without proper
documents.
Some refugees come to
Mennonite Church of the Lamb
in Brownsville. Irma Aramburu
directs the church's refugee
program, which receives
financial assistance from
Mennonite congregations in
North America.
Irma orients refugees to the
United States, informs them
what they can and cannot
legally do and tries to provide
for their immediate needs. "We
think we should help them,"
Irma says. "The Bible tells us
to. They may not all be political
refugees, but they are hungry,
scared and trying to find
someone they can trust."
Voluntary service workers in
south Texas with Mennonite
Board of Missions also assist
the refugees. Lyn Raymond
serves at Casa Oscar Romero,
a Roman Catholic shelter a
block from the Mennonite
church building.
Casa Romero provides food
and housing to refugees
legally, Lyn said. "We tell them
their legal options and answer
questions; they make their own
decisions." The staff helps
complete asylum papers if
refugees choose to apply.
Because few refugees can
hope to receive political
asylum, many attempt to leave
the area without being caught
in hopes of living with family
elsewhere in the United States.
In nearby Harlingen, VS
worker Virgil Wiebe serves with
the Overground Railroad
(ORR), which identifies
refugees who may qualify for
asylum in Canada. Virgil and
other ORR staff interview
refugees from El Salvador,
Guatemala and Honduras.
Once ORR staff members
believe a refugee has a strong
case, they assist the refugee in
applying for political asylum in
the United States, the first step
in the ORR process.
Most refugees on the ORR
track then travel by bus to
Jubilee Partners, a Christian
community and service
organization in Comer, Ga.
During the few months there
the refugees attend English
classes, learn about North
American culture and society
and prepare for interviews with
the Canadian consulate in
Atlanta. The ultimate goal,
gaining asylum in Canada, may
take up to a year.
An estimated 2,000
refugees are in the
Rio Grande Valley.
During the wait ORR links
refugees with host churches,
mostly in the Midwest. Cur-
rently about 160 churches in
the United States (of several
denominations) receive
refugees, but the need for host
churches continues, according
to David Janzen, director of
Overground Railroad in
Evanston, III. Phil Richard
THE MENNONITE 39
First Mennonite Church, Saskatoon,
began exploring a Hispanic church-planting
project in the fall of 1 988. With the help of
Marco Guete of the General Conference's
Commission on Home Ministries, a
Hispanic fellowship emerged. In June
1989 the newly named Gethsemane
Church decided to join the Mennonite
family. The group, which numbers 40,
draws together Hispanics from Catholic,
Baptist and Methodist backgrounds.
Lois Harder of Koinonia Mennonite
Fellowship, Chandler, Ariz., serves as the
Mennonite representative on the board of
Valley Inter-faith Task Force (VITF), an
ecumenical ministry to Central American
refugees in the Phoenix area. VITF offers
social services, legal services, sanctuary,
advocacy and educational services.
Various members of the area Mennonite
churches have offered to repair the roof of
the sanctuary house, repair plumbing and
repair cars. Bonnie Yoder has been active
at the sanctuary house visiting, teaching
English and providing transportation to take
refugees to various appointments and to
the airport. {Urban Connections)
A court in Manitoba has upheld the right
of the Hutterian Brethren to exclude former
members from any claim on the church's
property or lands or right to live on them.
Justice Patrick Ferg ruled that the colonies
of the 456-year-old church "have an
absolute right to survival on their own
terms." The ruling was handed down in a
case brought by the church against several
people who had been excommunicated
and refused to leave the colony where they
were living.
RECOR0
dEAThs
Andrew (A.C.) Burcky, 93, died
on Dec. 7, 1989, at his home in
Bluffton, Ohio. He was
emeritus professor of physical
education at Bluffton College,
having joined the faculty in
1922. He is survived by his
wife, the former Ruth William-
son, and two children, Jeanne
Anne Burkholder and William
D. Burcky.
Henry A. Fast, 95, longtime
Mennonite church leader, died
Jan. 3 in Newton, Kan. He was
born Oct. 12, 1894, in Mountain
Lake, Minn. Fast became
known as "Mr. Conference"
during his work as field
secretary for the home mis-
sions department of the
General Conference, 1936-40.
A graduate of Bethel College,
North Newton, Kan., Witmar-
sum Seminary, Bluffton, Ohio,
and Hartford (Conn.) Theologi-
cal Seminary, Fast served as
pastor at Bethel College
Mennonite Church, North
Newton, 1925-1930. From
1943 to 1951 and 1953-1960
he was a Bible and religion
professor at Bethel College. In
1940 Mennonite Central
Committee asked him to direct
the Civilian Public Service
program for conscientious
objectors. He directed the
MCC program in Europe, 1951-
53. After retirement in 1960,
Fast remained active in the
church at large as well as in his
home congregation, Bethel
College Church. He is survived
Fast
and R
Ariz.
by his wife,
Ethel Schindler
Fast, and three
children:
Marjorie
Schowalter,
Wichita, Kan.,
Florence
Siebert,
Reedley, Calif.,
ichard Fast, Prescott,
Editor's note: Henry Fast was
featured in the April 11, 1989,
issue of The Mennonite. For a
copy, send $2 (U.S. or Cana-
dian) to me at Box 347,
Newton, KS 671 14-0347.
WORliERS
Mitch Brown is pastor at Evan-
ston (III.) Church. He previ-
ously pastored at Hyde Park
(III.) Anabaptist Fellowship,
which no longer meets.
Ron and Marlene Klassen
Daku, Kelowna (B.C.) Gospel
Fellowship, returned to Canada
in December 1989 after com-
pleting two terms of service in
Brazil with the Commission on
Overseas Mission. Ron
directed leadership training
classes and helped with church
planting. He will study at
Briercrest Bible College,
Caronport, Sask. The Dakus
have two children.
Albert Durksen resigned as
pastor at Springstein (Man.)
Church, effective this summer,
and will become pastor at North
Kildonan (Man.) Church. He
M. Daku
Daku
McDonald
Wiebe
will succeed Ed Enns.
Byron Emmert and Norman
Geissinger are part-time
workers at Bethel Church,
Mountain Lake, Minn.
J'Nan Hiebertot Ballwin,
Mo., has been appointed
controller at Bethel College,
North Newton, Kan., replacing
Leon Janzen.
John J. Hofer has resigned
as pastor at Zion Church,
Bridgewater, S.D., effective this
summer.
Randall S. Keeler, East
Greenville, Pa., has been
appointed to the Bluffton (Ohio)
College board of trustees.
Jake Krause retired as
chaplain of Concordia Hospital,
Winnipeg, as of December
1989.
Barry McDonald, associate
pastor of evangelism at Eden
Church, Chilliwack, B.C., was
ordained Nov. 26, 1989.
Mary Rodriguez , Newton,
Kan., left the position of mail
clerk for Faith and Life Press, a
program of the Commission on
Education, to work in FLP
wholesale and curriculum
services, effective Jan. 2.
Linda Schmidt, Faith Church,
Newton, Kan., retired Dec. 29,
1989, from her position in
curriculum services at Faith
and Life Press, which she
served since 1973.
Tom Sine, Seattle Church,
will speak on the University of
British Columbia campus Jan.
31 and Feb. 1 , cosponsored by
Mennonite Central Committee
and the Pacific Centre for
Discipleship in conjunction with
InterVarsity Fellowship.
Eldon Stoltzfus of Mennonite
Central Committee and
Jeannette Thiessen, Wheaton,
III., former missionary to India,
will be presenters at a work-
shop April 2-6 cosponsored by
American Leprosy Missions
and MCC at the Overseas
Ministries Study Center, New
Haven, Conn., entitled "Build-
ing the Healing Community."
Walter Thielman began as
pastor at Clearbrook (B.C.)
Church, Nov. 12, 1989.
Elden Wiebe began Jan. 1
as pastor at First United Men-
nonite Church, Vancouver.
Katie Funk Wiebe, Hillsboro,
Kan., will begin April 1 as editor
of Rejoice!, the inter-Mennonite
devotional magazine, succeed-
ing Don Ratzlaff.
— compiled by Angela Rempel
40 JANUARY 23, 1990
Lucia Barrera de Cerna, a witness to the
murder of six Jesuit priests who implicated
the Salvadoran military in the killings, told a
closed-door congressional hearing Dec. 19,
1989, that FBI agents pressured her to
change her testimony. A report of the U.S.
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights,
released Dec. 18, 1989, substantiated
Cerna's claim that she was intimidated by
Salvadoran and U.S. interrogators. FBI
and State Department officials deny
Cerna's charges. (National Catholic
Reporter)
A study and service program is being
offered in Colombia June 30-Aug. 20 for
about 10 young adults. The program is
sponsored by the Commission on Over-
seas Mission of the General Conference.
Participants will spend the first four weeks
in a workshop designed to raise awareness
about Latin America. The following four
weeks will be spent in a work project for the
Colombian Mennonite Church. Cost is
$588 (U.S.) plus airfare to Bogota, Colom-
bia. For more information contact Bruno or
Wanda Derksen Bergen, COM, Box 347,
Newton, KS 671 1 4, (31 6) 283-51 00.
Mennonite Collegiate Institute, Gretna,
Man., is marking its centennial year with a
concert series (the third was on Jan. 13)
and fund-raising banquets (the next is at
Grace Mennonite Church, Brandon, Man.,
on Feb. 10).
RESOURCES
ooks
My Own Picture Book About
Getting Older by Marvin Bartel
(Faith and Life Press, 1989,
$4.95) is full of ideas to
stimulate the imagination and
help the child to think about
getting older.
The British company of
Hodder and Stoughton
Publishers recently published
Shalom: The Bible's Word for
Salvation, Justice and Peace
by Perry Yoder, originally
published by Faith and Life
Press.
Ben's Wayne by Levi Miller
(Good Books, 1989, $14.95) is
a novel that portrays life in the
largest Amish community in the
world, as seen through the
eyes of an 18-year-old.
Yorifumi Yaguchi of Sapporo,
Japan, edits Asia Mennonite
Newsletter, an information
Conference of Mennonites in
British Columbia seeks confer-
ence minister/administrator
About 60 percent of the duties will
be pastor/church related, and the
balance will be conference
administration.
Send inquiries to: Jake Tilitzky,
Chairman, Conference of Menno-
nites in B.C., Box 2204,
Clearbrook, BC V2T 3X8
The position is available in the
summer of 1990.
Please forward application by
March 1.
bulletin designed to enhance
communication among Asian
churches scattered from India
to Japan and Australia.
Backdoor Blessings: The
Bittersweet Grace of God by
Cheryl Forbes (Zondervan,
1989, $8.95) looks at everyday
events that are "usually less
important than a death but
more important than a car that
won't start."
After spending eight years in
and out of hospitals, Gloria
Hamer in Help, Lord! I'm
Hospitalized (Zondervan,
1989, $5.95) has dealt with
being seriously ill and the
despair that goes with it. She
also understands that "A
cheerful heart is good medi-
cine" (Proverbs 17:22).
Menno Wiebe has written a
play called Tuned to a Hurting
World, which was presented as
part of the 25th anniversary
celebrations of Mennonite
Central Committee Canada.
Write Wiebe at 134 Plaza
Drive, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9.
In 45 diverse yet interrelated
essays, I Was Just
Wondering by Philip Yancey
(Eerdmans, 1989, $16.95)
presents short observations on
the universe, the earth, the
church and the individual
Christian.
God Has No Favorites by
Susan Clemmer Steiner (Faith
and Life Press, 1989, $4.95,
$6.75 in Canada), the 10th
book in the Faith and Life Bible
Studies series, is a verse-by-
verse study of Acts 1 -1 2.
— compiled by Gordon Houser
Spruce Lake Retreat, a Menno-
nite retreat center in the Pocono
Mountains of Pennsylvania, is now
hiring two persons for areas of
kitchen, dining room and house-
keeping. Singles or a couple.
Salaried, year-round position.
Housing provided.
Contact Paul Beiler, Spruce Lake
Retreat, Route 1 , Box 605,
Canadensis, PA 18325, (717)
595-7505.
* 1970-1990
TOUR MAGIN ATION'S 20th ANNIVERSARY
You can trust your travel to 20 years of
experience. Our 1 970 hope was to
translate the compelling "Anabaptist
Vision" into the very lives of people
through travel. That has happened! Our
1 990 tours are strong. Of course, after
20 years you would expect it.
Europe 90A
Europe 90B
Europe 90C
Western Canada 90A
Souderton to MWC 1 2
May 14-23 Arnold Cressman, Henry D. Landes
June 11-30 Jan Gleysteen, Neal Weaver
June 25-July 3 John L. Ruth, Wilmer Martin
July 1 3-24 Arnold & Rhoda Cressman
July 19-Aug. 6 Hubert Schwartzentruber,
Henry D. Landes
Western Canada 90B July 29-Aug. 1 8 Jan Gleysteen, Alfred Willms
ii iii mi 1 21 0 Loucks Ave. 1 31 Erb Street W. 569 Yoder Rd., P.O. Box 376
II'I'kB Scottdale, PA 15683 Waterloo, ONT N2L1T7 Harleysville, PA 19438
412-887-5440 519-747-0517 215-256-3011
fci 412-887-9436 519-745-7433 215-723-8413
m
THE MENNONITE 41
Good Books for Families!
I Why Not
Why Not Celebrate!
by Sara Wenger Shenk
192 pages; paperback
$9.95 ($13.95 in Canada)
An abundance of ideas for celebration — at home with one's
family, in small groups or in retreat settings. Celebrations are
presented for daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and occasional events:
"Surprises in the Lunchbox," "A Play for St. Patrick's Day," "A
Litany for Moving Day." There are also prayers for every occasion.
The book includes several chapters of reflection on celebration.
"A delightful collection of celebrations and ideas for families and
small groups."
— The Other Side
"The author has collected an amazing variety of celebrations from
different traditions . . . Every family and other group that celebrates
should give this big idea book a thorough workout."
— Book Nook
"Learn to celebrate the ordinary things in life — and help your
children to discover the simple pleasures of God's world. Author
Sara Wenger Shenk compiled this wonderful sourcebook of family
activities . . . You'll find the life-changing thread of faith in all of her
ideas."
— Christian Herald Family Bookshelf
Parenting for the '90s
by Philip Osborne
318 pages; paperback
$9.95 ($13.95 in Canada)
This book is for parents everywhere who want to balance the
many voices of childrearing advice. Parenting for the '90s
looks at prominent parenting approaches from the '60s, '70s and
'80s and offers a model that draws on the strengths of each.
"Phil Osborne has done it. He's put the fractured world of 'How
to Parent' back together with a wonderful balance of common sense
and clinical savvy. He 's mapped out a way for parents to keep their
balance between tough love, tender love and love in action, to raise
healthy kids. "
— David Augsburger, author
"There's much here to digest, especially for parents and parents-
to-be, but there's a lot of encouragement, too. Osborne urges
parents and children to work side-by-side, with the child as a
separate individual, temporarily entrusted to the parent for nurturing
to adulthood.
— Bookstore Journal
"This is a well -presented overview and guide for parents. Would
be especially useful for parent discussion groups. Recommended."
— Library Journal
Good^i^ Books
Main Street, Intercourse, PA 17534
Call toll-free 1-800-762-7171
(in PA and Canada, call collect 717-768-7171)
Available from local bookstores or directly from the publisher.
Mastercard and Visa accepted
Come and See— a curriculum tested by children
and teachers and rated "Excellent!"
"The children really got into the Todays Application' discussion. They had a lot of questions and
wanted to skip recess."
"A mother said other years her children 'went to Bible school,' but this year their comments were
different — 'Bible school is neat!' The mother said they talk as excitedly about Bible school as they did
about sports."
"Each day the students could not believe it was time to go home."
"Keep up this wonderful work for God."
A Permanent Curriculum:
Come and See Herald Bible School Series is a permanent curriculum. That means you can use it
year after year. Teachers will appreciate being able to build upon last year's preparation instead of
beginning from scratch each year. Because the students move to a new level each year, they will always
experience new material.
A Christ-Centered, Child-Oriented Curriculum:
Carefully chosen stories help children relate the Bible to everyday life. Educationally designed
activities and projects enhance children's understanding of the biblical themes. Colorful take-home
booklets for each session will help children carry the memories of their Bible school experience for a
Age Appropriate for Every Grade:
Come and See Herald Bible School Series has a separate course of study for nursery, preschool,
kindergarten, and grades 1 through 8. Grades 7 and 8 tackle real-life issues that confront junior high
students such as drugs, sex, peer pressure, and family relationships.
The Come and See Herald Bible School Series is available through your local
bookstore or write to Herald Press for a free brochure and/or order form.
long time.
~£ ^i~7Tl Dept. MEN
hwjllll 616 Walnut Avenue
^\HM Scottdale, PA 1568c
Herald Press
Herald Press
Dept. MEN
490 Dutton Drive
Waterloo, ON N2L 6H7
spEAkiNq OUT
Nobel laureates and hard questions
Edgar Metzler
T 1 1 he recent award of the Nobel Peace
_L Prize to the Dalai Lama presents
another example of a persistent and
complex challenge for our service
presence overseas: Under
what circumstances and
with what understand-
ings do we work with
repressive governments?
We have undertaken
educational exchange
programs and are
exploring service opportu-
nities with the govern-
ment of China, which
ruthlessly occupied Tibet,
not only denying basic
human rights, such as
freedom of worship, but
imposing laws and
programs apparently
designed to wipe out the
culture of an entire
people.
The Tibetan people and
their government cannot
be understood apart from
their faith. This is the
significance of the Dalai
Lama, the traditional
leader both of the Buddhist religious
establishment in Tibet and of the
government.
The current Dalai Lama assumed this
dual burden at the age of 16 in 1950, the
year following the Chinese invasion. In
the following years he pleaded with his
people to resist non-violently.
"Non-violence was the only course that
might win us back a degree of freedom in
the end, perhaps after years of patience,"
he says. "Violent opposition was not only
unpractical, it was also unethical. Non-
violence was the only moral course. ...We
might be humiliated, and our most
cherished inheritances might seem to be
lost for a period, but if so, humility must
be our position."
The Dalai Lama was also inspired by
the example of Gandhi, but his strong
convictions about not taking up arms
arose out of his deep commitment to his
religious faith.
The Dalai Lama could not persuade
the Chinese to soften their suppression of
Tibetan religion and way of life, and out
of desperation some Tibetans in outlying
regions began guerrilla activities. This
Inspired by Gandhi: Dalai Lama
only caused the Chinese to exert more
pressure. Finally, the Dalai Lama
reluctantly decided he could do more for
his people outside Tibet, and in 1959 he
managed a dramatic
escape to India.
I had the privilege
of meeting the Dalai
Lama once in India
and wondered how
such a gentle
forgiving spirit could
be considered a
threat by the
Chinese government.
The Dalai Lama took
his plea to the
United Nations.
I was shocked to
discover, years ago
while doing graduate
school research on
the UN discussions,
how callous the
western "Christian"
nations were about
the events in Tibet.
Their national
interests were, as all
national interests
are, selfish. The tragic events in Tibet
did not overbalance the possible eco-
nomic and political advantages of
maintaining relations with China. (Or,
for that matter, Taiwan, which on this
one issue completely agreed with
mainland China.)
As Christian service agencies, we face
the same dilemma. How do we weigh the
possible good we ought do in response to
human need against the possible acqui-
escence and perceived approval of nation
states that deny their citizens freedom
and basic human rights?
There is no list of criteria or neat
formula that will provide easy guidance
for us in every situation. At many,
perhaps most, places where we work
throughout the world we cannot approve
as ethical the way governments treat
their citizens. In the equation by which
we decide where to invest our limited
resources, how much weight do we give
to human rights? It is a tension we will
always live with. Let's be sure we are
aware of the tension and alert to ways
feasible and appropriate to the situation
to give a higher priority to human rights.
Jesus reminded us that no one lives by
bread alone. Current events in Eastern
Europe and elsewhere remind us of the
unquenchable, God-given urge toward
creativity and diversity that cannot be
forever suppressed by the state.
A mission executive asked a candidate
for an overseas service assignment, "How
will you feel about signing an agreement
As Christian service
agencies, we face this
dilemma: How do we weigh
the possible good we ought
to do against the perceived
approval of nations that
deny their citizens basic
human rights?
with a government that denies its
citizens their basic human rights,
including freedom of religion?" How
would you answer?
Edgar Metzler has worked for New Call
to Peacemaking, a federation of Historic
Peace Churches, and he currently lives
in Nepal. He recommends the Dalai
Lama's autobiography, My Land and
My People (McGraw Hill, 1962).
A beautiful composure
I was a student at Woodstock School
in northern India when the Dalai
Lama came there after escaping
Tibet. I remember his serene
attitude. He was a man (and so
young) at peace, with a beautiful
composure. Remember, he had just
been thrown out of his country. He
came to our school for an assembly
and then tea. He presented a white
scarf, holding it over both his hands,
to our principal, who then gave him
one in return. Mary Ann Ratzlaff
Jensen, Lake Jackson, Texas
44 JANUARY 23, 1990
Utters
r
At the right time
What a pleasant surprise to find Elaine
Sommers Rich's article on prayer back-
to-back with the editorial on unsung
heroes[(Dec. 12, 1989]. Some of us forget
that behind every good work there is
sincere prayer. I've been part of a group
of intercessors for nine years but had to
look outside the Mennonite camp for
such a thing.
It's helpful to learn the dynamics, or
metaphysics, of prayer so that we do not
become discouraged. The tablecloth
story is a good illustration. Prayers were
answered eventually, at God's right time,
and that's often what happens to us
these days. In my own experience a few
prayers are answered immediately, but
most of them take a lot longer. Of course
one might argue that the "answer"
always comes right away, but maybe it's
"wait" instead of "yes" or "no." Metta
Ann Lieb, 819 Trinity Drive, Newton, KS
67114
They think I'm crazy
I am responding to questions posed in
the editorial [Nov. 28, 1989]: "What does
'non-resistance to war' mean...?" "How
do we put legs on this belief now that we
are not asked to simply pick up a gun or
put on a uniform?"
Tomorrow morning I'll rise for work at
0500. The first order of the day will be
physical training. I must be in excellent
physical condition, since it is not enough
merely to run up to the battle area; one
must run to the battle area and fight.
This physical conditioning will last
around 1 1/2 hours. We do it every day.
The remainder of the day will be spent in
the cleaning and maintenance of our
weapons. For us in the light infantry
that weapon is primarily the M16A2
rifle. I can hit a man-sized silhouette
with mine at 450 meters. The weapons
are dirty from last Friday's live-fire
exercise. But it may happen that my
phone will ring sometime tonight [ Dec.
17, 1989]. If that happens my next live-
fire exercise could very well be, and
probably will be, in Central America.
The point of the foregoing paragraph is
to introduce myself as one who puts on
the uniform and picks up a gun every
day. But I haven't always done this.
There was a time when I preached from
a Mennonite pulpit. I have studied at a
Mennonite seminary. An article I wrote
was published in The Mennonite. I have
even addressed Mennonite young people
on the methods of military recruitment.
So how did I come to be a senior
noncommissioned officer in America's
Rapid Deployment Force? For me there
is only one answer. Disobedience.
During a troubled time in my life I cut
myself off from my church and denied to
myself the beliefs and values I hold most
dear. During the past seven years I have
buried my true convictions. These have
been difficult years for me spiritually,
even though I have met with great
success in terms of a military career.
And I have finally come to admit that I
cannot survive spiritually or psychologi-
cally if I persist in living a life of denial.
In 1973 I first learned the gospel of
Jesus Christ. At that time I was also
wearing a military uniform. But it was
not until 1977, while in college, that I
learned of "that part of the gospel of
Jesus Christ which says that people
should love their enemies." For me these
became intertwined. And no rationaliz-
ing has been able to undo them. By the
grace of God I want to surrender to
my heart — the heart God so longs to
transform.
On May 10, 1990, I will be separated
from the U.S. Army. I have 10 years of
active duty. Everyone thinks I'm crazy.
I am 35 years old. My wife and I have
two children, ages 10 and 7. The day I
leave Fort Ord I'll have no job, no home
REVIEWS
looks
Re: Holy Spirit
Presence and Power: Releasing the
Holy Spirit in Your Life and Church
by Harold E. Bauman (Herald Press,
1989, 124 pages)
Reviewed by Eddy Hall, Box 365, Goessel,
KS 67053 '
In a weekend retreat a Mennonite
woman described how she had come to
know a new aliveness in the Holy Spirit.
While she was happy about this, she had
been introduced to this experience in a
non-Mennonite setting and was afraid
there was no room for it in Mennonite
theology. The author of this book, who
was also present, assured her there was
no need to choose between Believers'
Church theology and her spiritual
and only a little savings. We're not sure
what our vocational direction will be. I
have been accepted at Eastern Mennon-
ite Seminary, but I'm not sure if it's for
me. We are only sure that God will
provide and that he will lead.
Every day I hear so many voices
tugging at me. They want me to stay
here where I am secure. I don't have to
worry about providing for my family or
acquiring marketable skills. "Rational-
ize." "Surely there's a way God can be a
part of this." I feel like I'm in a battle for
my very soul.
I assure you that "non-resistance to
war" is not something that can be
"rebelled against" or "ignored." At least
not by those in whose heart the gospel of
peace has truly taken root. Please pray
for me. Brian D. Arbuckle, 99 Luzon
Road, Fort Ord, CA 93941
Information and food
The Mennonite keeps us informed about
the 'Mennonite world' — endeavors,
aspirations, commitment to building the
kingdom. The editorials always give me
food for thought. I enjoyed "A Visit from
St. Friesen" [Dec. 12, 1989]. God bless
you all in 1990. Helen Penner, 1720
Chamberlain Road, Kelowna, BC V1Y
8A1
renewal. She could have both. The
woman was visibly relieved.
This book explains the biblical and
theological basis for the author's reassur-
ance to that
woman. A lifetime
of ministry leader-
ship in the Men-
nonite Church has
helped prepare
Bauman to write
this book. Involved
in the Holy Spirit
renewal movement
since the early '70s,
Bauman served for
more than a dozen
years as the liaison
between Mennonite
Renewal Services and the official bodies
of the Mennonite Church.
A central theme in Bauman's study is
continued on next page
HAROLD E. BAUMAN
THE MENNONITE 45
Re: Holy Spirit continued
"the baptism with the Holy Spirit." Is it
to be a second spiritual experience
following conversion, as the Pentecostals
claim? Or is baptism with the Spirit
simply another term for the new birth, as
some evangelicals claim, something
every Christian experiences at the time
of conversion?
Bauman emphasizes the importance of
accepting differences in experience and
respecting differences in theology. He
does, though, go on to describe his own
view, a Believers' Church view that
differs from both the Pentecostal and
evangelical views already mentioned.
Though when I began reading I didn't
know what theological interpretation
Bauman would espouse, his spirit of
respect for those who differ allowed me
to listen to him undefensively. Most of
what he said affirmed conclusions I had
reached in my own biblical study.
However, he also introduced me to
possibilities of scriptural interpretation
that were new to me, possibilities that I
believe deserve serious consideration.
While this book takes the form of a
careful — though not technical — biblical
and theological study, its purpose is not
limited to better biblical understanding.
Its ultimate goal is practical: to help
readers more fully experience the
presence and power of the Holy Spirit in
their personal lives and in their
churches. I expect the Spirit to so use it.
The uses of power
The Problem of Social Responsibil-
ity from the Perspective of the
Mennonite Church by J. Lawrence
Burkholder (Institute of Mennonite
Studies, 1989, 238 pages)
Reviewed by Daniel Liechty, 418 Pleasant
Mills Road, Hammonton, NJ 08037
This book brings to print a Princeton
doctoral thesis of 1958, written by a
former president of Goshen (Ind.) College
and a leader in the Mennonite Church of
this generation. With the flow of books
on the subject of Mennonites and politics
during the 1960s and 1970s, one is
initially puzzled as to why this work was
overlooked for earlier publication. The
fact is, it was rejected. The thesis of the
work was not in line with the current
interpretations of "Anabaptist" non-
resistance, which emphasized that the
church had no responsibility for the
political society. Politics was the sphere
of coercion and violence in which the
Christian could have no part. This point
of view was shaped especially by Men-
nonite scholars whose immediate
experience of the post- World War II
relief programs was as members of
church-based organizations. They
therefore insisted that the best place for
the Christian to participate in "social
activism" was as part of church-based
efforts.
J. Lawrence Burkholder's experience of
the same period was as part of a United
Nations (UNRRA) effort. His need to
exercise public power in this connection
led him to different conclusions concern-
ing these issues from the traditional
Mennonite view. As he studied the
problem from an academic perspective,
he found himself using ethicists such as
John Bennett and Reinhold Niebuhr as
positive models rather than as foils. In
Burkholder's view, the use of power is
ambiguous, and as Christians we must
seek not "purity" (which Burkholder
thinks can only take the absolute form
associated with the Hutterites, not the
"mixed" situation of the Mennonite
communities) but choices informed by
the gospel between equally valid but
contradictory obligations.
It is obvious that the thesis of this
book runs counter to the leading ideas of
the Mennonite church associated with
the "Recovery of the Anabaptist Vision."
But the issues are still with us, evi-
denced by the decision to publish this
work 30 years later. I would now like to
see another young scholar do an updated
version of the same thesis (the work of
Duane K. Friesen points in this direc-
tion), one that does not limit itself, as
Burkholder did, to the Mennonite
Church. I suspect the political assump-
tions of Dutch/Russian Mennonites
would be different, perhaps more in line
with Burkholder's thesis than those of
the mainly Swiss German Mennonite
Church.
Money management
Money Wise Meditations by John H.
Rudy (Herald Press, 1989, 160 pages)
Reviewed by Raymond Frey, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114
Money Wise Meditations includes these
interesting and challenging sections:
"Christian Stewardship," "Christian
Faith," "Christian Lifestyle," "Charitable
and Personal Giving," "Wills and Estate
Planning," "Congregational Life,"
"Mutual Aid" and "Covenanting
Together."
In the first section Rudy says that we
need to be visual aids. We need to
model. We need to be examples. We
need to work at being responsible. He
says it's not the million that we don't
have but the dollar that we have that
needs to be handled in a careful and
responsible manner. We are tenants, not
owners. We occupy, we use, but we
never own. We are managers. We all
need to be engaged in full-time service
for the Lord, even those of us who are in
business. He says we didn't get our
wealth by ourselves, but it is the Lord
God who gives power to get wealth.
In the "Christian Faith" section Rudy
says that we need to work with children
and teach them about money manage-
ment and budgets and help them with
their allowance. They also learn by
watching us as we spend money. We
need to talk about spending and gener-
ous giving. Money talks. Our check-
books are a good diary of what we do
with our money. When we deny our
wealth, we talk poor. Rudy's suggestion
is to acknowledge our wealth, thank
God and pray for guidance to be good
stewards.
In the section "Christian Lifestyle"
Rudy speaks about God's investment in
us. God gave his
Son to save us from
ourselves. God has
given the Spirit to
live within us.
What kind of
return are we
r.h giving to God?
Found Failhfu! ° °
Where do we give
our loudest testi-
monies? In the
church? In Sunday
JOHN H. RUDY school? Or do we
give our testimo-
nies in our business practices? What
about our standard of living? Can it be
that the standard of living that we enjoy
may hinder growth and the prosperity of
the Christian church? Rudy says we are
not to be intoxicated with things because
things are for enjoyment and for us to
use. Again he reminds us that we are
not to be conformed to this world but to
be transformed. The world's system is
built on credit, and in many instances we
own more than we are able to take care
of. We need to carefully consider our
charitable and personal giving — give of
our time and talents and money, not only
the leftovers. We need to know what we
are giving. He believes that our need to
give is greater than the church's need to
receive our gifts. How much should we
give to our children? When is it too
much?
Rudy closes the book with a covenant
for Christians in business. The book
provides excellent thoughts on how we
can become accountable and responsible
stewards.
Money-
wise
jAt'ditatiMiS
46 JANUARY 23, 1990
bible
Discipleship: the goal of church growth
Kenneth Peterson
Al Oerter, Olympic gold medalist for the discus, says of the
discipline necessary for Olympic competition, "You learn
to set a program and follow it, yet modify it if you have to. You
learn that you don't let anything interfere with it, and that can
include hundreds of things: injuries, illness, distractions of
every type."
Much more than talent is necessary in the Olympic contests.
Gold medalists are disciplined. Years of training the body and
mind are required. Stories of outstanding athletes are inspir-
ing. Great obstacles have often been overcome through self-
discipline.
The goal of church growth is discipleship. I am impressed by
how Anabaptist this theme sounds. Repeating the theme has
helped me clarify what it means to win someone to Jesus
Christ.
Certainly specific times of commitment can mean the
beginning of a transformed life in Christ and a long-
term relationship with the church. But beginning
the race is not the end. Simply getting decisions /Mfrz$&4
for Christ is not our goal, though it is part of
the process. The goal of church growth is
discipleship.
True, lasting conversion means
that people become new persons in
Christ in the fellowship of the
church. Their relationship
with Christ is more than a
one-time "experience"
or a good, momentary
feeling. Christ makes a
difference in the lives
of Christians. The
forgiveness, mercy and
grace we receive from a
loving, accepting Savior
is not the goal but a
vital part of the process
of changing us into new persons in Christ.
God's love is a call to self-discipline. We are called to
discipline our attitudes, discipline our actions, discipline our
relationships, discipline our goals, thinking, feeling and doing.
It is not only an "experience," it is a life process, a lifestyle, a
continuing walk with Christ.
Church growth must have quality as well as quantity. Num-
bers are important, because they represent people, people
whom Christ loves. But our goal is not simply to win people to
the church, it is to win people to the church in such a way that
they experience the forgiveness of their sins and a continual
change in their inner spirit and outward behavior. Our goal is
to win as many people as we can to a continuing right relation-
ship with God in Christ and a continuing right relationship
with people through the relationships and learning that can
happen in the church.
How can we encourage discipleship in our church growth
mission? This is not an easy task. It takes discipline. The
church must see its mission as continuing to relate to the
people they seek to win. We must invest much of
our time in their lives. Each congregation needs to
work out its particular way of making disciples.
One key is membership sessions. Hold several
dialogue sessions with inquirers. This insures
interest in long-term commitment both on the part
of the new person and you representing the church.
Membership sessions should include talking about
faith and needs, times of prayer, Bible study,
instruction in basic Christian teaching, Mennonite
history and information about the local church
organization and district and conference ties. New
members need help in developing close friends
within the church. They should also be involved
in serving in ways that fit their gifts and interests.
Develop programs that relate to people on a long-
term basis and encourage discipleship within the
local church.
What are we
doing to encour-
age discipleship in
our church growth
efforts? Let us
press toward the
goal of making
disciples. Let us
encourage people to obey all that Christ has commanded us
(Matthew 28:19,20).
God's love is a call to discipline:
attitudes, actions, relationships,
goals, thinking, feeling, doing.
Kenneth Peterson is
pastor of Hutterthal
Mennonite Church,
Box 536, Freeman,
SD 57029.
THE MENNONITE 47
NEWS
°1 On2^ 0 31 312
I. i BRA R y
ASSOC ME MN 8I8LICA! c FM
3003 BENHAM AVF
ELKHART IN 46517
ediTomAl
After the fax
On days like this, as my community awaits the me-
morial service of Henry A. Fast (see "Deaths,"
page 40), I wonder how I can go on. The markings along
my way are being taken from me one by one. It's as if
the shelter belt of evergreen trees on the north side is
being thinned out, little by little, and the cold wind now
hits with added ferocity. I feel unprotected as I am
forced to say good-bye to people who have added stabil-
ity to my life. Dr. Fast was one of these, with 95 years
of staying power.
The last time I visited with him the Jan. 9 issue of
The Mennonite had just gone to press, so I told him
about it. He responded with stories of his experience in
the area of race relations, the focus of that issue. But
what I remember most were his firm handshakes before
and after our conversation. When my congregation
Christmas-caroled in Dr. Fast's corner of the nursing
home a few days later, we sang "Gott ist die Liebe"
("God is love"), and he swayed to the rhythm in his
wheelchair, having been "grounded" by a stroke only a
few weeks before.
IH'pi he decade ahead looks formidable to me. I'm
I grateful if younger, smarter folks see it with
eagerness rather than foreboding. Here are some things
I feel uncertain about:
•The likelihood that it won't be long before most of
our corporate information and record keeping is in
computers, when North American households will have
home computers hooked into libraries, heralding the era
of self-directed education and knowledge banks at risk
from computer viruses;
•An era when people are scientific (not theological, as
when scholars discussed angels in the Middle Ages)
when they ask how many transisters fit on the point of a
pin;
•The continuing bent of North American Christians
toward privatized religion — which one can easily run
instead of be run by, and can control rather than be
controled by;
•Our continuing tendancy as a people to say or
tolerate such absurdities as, "I'll always be a Mennonite
but I'm not sure I'm a Christian," thus communicating
exclusiveness (and heresy) to inquirers;
•The endless "low-intensity conflicts" waged by my
country in Central America and the Philippines, in
which most casualties (commonly 90 percent) are now
civilian, this in contrast to 20 percent civilian casualties
in World War I and 50 percent in World War II;
•The 25 feet of oil sludge in the Nevo River, which
flows through Leningrad, the 2 million tons of liquid
chemical waste that is poured into the North Sea each
year (see the November-December 1989 issue of Food
and Hunger Notes from Mennonite Central Committee)
and the newly documented danger of radioactivity for
water drinkers in Cincinatti;
•A world newly bound together by reels of messages
on fax paper, on which (if the surface is untreated) the
writing disappears within three years.
Dr. Fast, where are you and the others who used to
help me get perspective? You used to say, "Thus saith
the Lord" and, "This is the way; walk ye in it." I be-
lieved it. Can it be that some of us recipients of the
sages' wisdom in the past must now try out our own
timid voices and say what you used to say?
™\ o you agree that these are three things the Lord
J. „ God would say to us?
One: Use that "peace dividend" money that is the re-
sult of slowing (ending?) the Cold War for subsidized
housing, parks, schools and (in the United States)
readily available health care.
Two: Don't go near computer terminals and fax ma-
chines on your sabbath. Rather invite someone to your
house for simple food and conversation. Join your
community of faith for worship. Read the Old Testa-
ment book of Deuteronomy. For "I the Lord am a
jealous God, so be holy as I am holy."
Three: Proclaim a year of Jubilee (in your family or
congregation or town or country). Forgive debts (even
international debts). Plant your farm land wisely.
Leave some harvest for the "alien" in your midst. "Give
heed to what I teach you, that you may live." Muriel T.
Stackley
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
105:3 FEBRUARY 13, 1990
pnoloquE
March 4-10 is Disability Awareness Week.
Sunday, March 4, is a day for you and perhaps
your congregation to focus on this important
topic. Articles in this issue can be a resource
for you. As you read, pray for the person in
your life who copes with the added challenge
of having a handicap.
With this issue we begin a new series of six
portraits by Anabaptist scholar Walter Klaas-
sen from Vernon, B.C. To talk about our
theological forebears (who were simply people
who loved the Lord) is especially appropriate
in this year when the Mennonite world com-
munity of faith plans to convene in Winnipeg
for "Assembly 12" of Mennonite World Confer-
ence. In this space, in these months leading
up to July 24-29, we'll offer information about
that gathering. Here is the first:
Get ready for Assembly 12 of Mennonite
World Conference: Only about 16,000 of the
780,000 of us Mennonites (from 60 countries)
will be in Winnipeg for this summers gather-
ing (which happens every six years). All of us,
however, are involved. Manitoba Mennonites
have been encouraged to spend Friday noon-
times in prayer and fasting, "praying that
God's Spirit... will guide, that Christ's peace be
continually spread throughout the world" (a
December 1989 news release of Mennonite
Central Committee Canada). MCC Mani-
toba's Peter Peters hopes the idea will spread.
Kevin Jardine, a member of the Christian
Peacemakers Teams committee, says that he
knows of groups in Ontario and Indiana that
are going to do
this.
Another ex-
ample of far-and-
wide celebrating is
this photo of Bill
D. Friesen, a
member of Bethel
Mennonite Church, Inman, Kan., and his
hook-latched version of the MWC symbol. His
brother Walter D. Friesen helped him draw it
to scale, enlarging it, says Bill's wife, Ella,
from a tiny picture.
The next issue of The Mennonite will feature
Mennonite Voluntary Service, mts
CONTENTS
Everyone, everyone has (diverse) gifts / 51
Mennonite stories of courage / 54
God cares, thus we can care / 56
Conrad Grebel, ca. 1498-1526 / 57
News / 58
Does a possible engagement mean marriage? / 58
Maynard Shelly completing 23 years of service / 61
Eastern Europe missions: old and new possibilities / 63
Record / 64
Resources / 66
Letters / 69
Reviews / 70
Radical change / 70
Self-emptying love / 70
I, too, had to leave 'Ur' / 71
Grief, hope and the press / 72
Cover: Photo is of the orthopedic center at Bomba Alta, Angola.
Credit: ICRC/Y. Muller, U.S. Committee for Refugees, 1025 Vermont
Ave., NW, Suite 920, Washington, DC 20005.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 14 years of The Mennon-
ite are also available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College, North
Newton, KS 67117, and from University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb
Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106.
(MENNONITE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100.
Editor: Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant:
Angela Rempel; art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the
Associated Church Press, Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a
Mennnonite and Brethren in Christ editors' group). It is an associate member of the
Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretary: Doris Yoder. Business adviser: Dietrich Rempel. Special editions edi-
tors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North Newton, KS671 17: Window to Mission,
Lois Deckert, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14: Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Richard
A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1, Didsbury, AB TOM 0W0; (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2S 1V7; (Central District) Steve
Estes, Box 1 96, Hopedale, IL 61 747; (Eastern District) Curtis Bauman, 429 N. Second St., Em-
maus, PA 1 8049; (Manitoba) Irma Fast Dueck, 693 Ebby Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3M 2G9; (Men-
nonite Conference of Eastern Canada) Margot Fieguth, 99 Veronica Drive, Mississauga, ON
L5G 2B1 ; (Northern District) Winifred Wall, Box 67, Freeman, SD 57029; (Pacific District) Clare
Ann Ruth-Heffelbower, 3198 E. Menlo Ave., Fresno, CA 93710; (Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger,
125 Rawlinson Bay, Regina, SK S4S 6M8; (Western District) Leland Harder, Box 363, North
Newton, KS 67117.
Circulation: 11,137
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build
the Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the
guidance of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly by the
General Conference Mennonite Church, 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS
671 14. Subscription rates: one year, $18 U.S., $21 Canada; two years, $32 U.S.,
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offices. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMASTER: Send Form 3579 to The Mennonite,
Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. ©1989
50 FEBRUARY 13, 1990
Barbara Esch Shisler
Everyone,
everyone
has
(diverse)
We need the presence of mentally
handicapped people to touch our
hard-hearted, power-driven society with
their open-heartedness and fidelity."
I wrote that sentence in a rush of
warm feelings for some people I know.
But then rationalism spoke:
"Wait. Aren't you being naive, even
stupid or cruel, to say that the world
needs mentally handicapped people?
Would you wish the pain of such disabili-
ties on parents or individuals, even
yourself? Does God deliberately create
Down's Syndrome or autism for a
purpose, or would God really prefer a
world of perfect people that unaccount-
able forces prevent from being born?"
Those questions are too hard for me to
answer, but I believe one true response is
that people with disabilities are uniquely
valued by God and should be valued by
society as well. A second true answer is
that many mentally handicapped people
do have special gifts that are desperately
needed in the church and the world.
An assistant in a LArche community,
(one of about 60 originating from Jean
Vanier's vision) writes, "Mentally handi-
capped people are deficient in the world
of power and efficiency. They have gifts
more akin to those of the poet, artist,
prophet, mystic; those who cry out,
disturb others and show the way."
Reading those words, I begin to
identify people and their gifts.
One day I took a group-home resident
to the hospital for a blood test. Dale is a
sober-faced young man who chooses to
wear a cap, usually with the brim pulled
down over his piercing eyes. He enjoys
shaking hands, and as we entered the
filled waiting room, I saw he intended to
shake hands all around the room. People
were looking at magazines or staring into
space, alone in their private worlds, but
they politely responded to Dale's out-
thrust hand. By the time he had made
his rounds, people of all ages were
smiling and looking at each other; the
atmosphere had changed from isolation
to community.
Those of us who tend toward stuffiness
or vanity benefit from relationships with
people with mental handicaps. Rose and
John, our married-couple friends, are
refreshingly open about their pleasures
and problems. They are spontaneous in
their love for each other, tender in their
care. They are solid examples of true
fidelity in marriage. One of their
favorite sayings is, "We help each other.
That's what it's all about. Right,
Honey?"
Does the church suffer from intellectu-
alism, self-sufficiency, perfectionism?
Let it look to the gifts of simple people
for help.
My congregation has a sister who gives
enormous hugs. I've seen her lift her
pastor right off his feet in a joyful
embrace. Fortunately he is free enough
to respond easily to such exuberance.
She embodies the word welcome, stand-
This physically disabled teenager, Nai Yo,
from Lao Song, Thailand, has excellent
embroidery skills that make her the major
money earner for her household.
'A
THE MENNONITE 51
People with disabilities are valued by God
and should be valued by society. This picture
was taken in the Severe and Multiple
Handicap classroom of Southbreeze School in
Newton, Kan.
If we can look at our own handicaps and
confess that we are all imperfect before God,
perhaps we can join together in our churches
and communities in giving and receiving
what each of us has to offer.
ing at the meetinghouse door on Sunday
mornings to greet her church family.
Certainly distress and pain are part of
the picture, too. People with develop-
mental disabilities suffer severe losses.
Their desires for self-expression, inde-
pendence and intimacy are often
thwarted. Frustration may result in
disturbed and disturbing behavior.
When I listened to the sustained and
wracking wails of Sherry, a young
woman who is blind, deaf and retarded,
the word keening came to mind. Surely
her mourning was appropriate — a
collective grief, a world-large anguish, for
which I silently but deeply could join her.
I think of Janice, a mystical person
with strange graces. Though Janice
rarely spoke, she could dance to music,
light as a child on her feet. All of us who
worked with her were lightened by the
sight of her slim legs and feet lifting her
heavy body high off the floor.
And Janice could also make prophetic
observations. One morning her advisory
team met: supervisor, social worker,
behavior specialist, resident instructor.
Janice was brought to the table, ostensi-
bly to join the discussion about her
progress. She sat down, looked us over
and vented a crisp vulgarity into the face
of power. Outwardly sober, I inwardly
applauded her attempt to name her own
situation.
We have heard often how Jesus
blessed the powerless, the humble, the
little ones. We have talked much about
the church as a body of many members,
each valued for any of a variety of parts.
The world has been challenged to include
people with disabilities into society as
fully as they are able. The church must
accept that challenge, too.
We Christians are known for our
interest in mission. Preaching the Good
News and feeding the hungry are time-
honored religious callings. Doing things
for others is almost second nature for
people who have been brought up on the
Good Samaritan story and the Great
Commission. But there is also some-
thing to be said for receiving the gifts
that disadvantaged people have to offer,
for appreciating affection, welcome, ex-
pressed pain and prophecy in forthright
or unusual forms.
How can we then prepare ourselves to
do this?
By overcoming fear through knowl-
edge. Ignorance feeds fear; fear protects
ignorance. If we can take a step away
from our prejudices by deliberately
seeking out rather than avoiding
mentally or physically disabled people,
we are likely to find them interesting,
enjoyable and lovable people.
If we can identify barriers that exclude
people, whether the barriers are physi-
cal, emotional or spiritual, we can begin
working to remove them.
If we can look at our own handicaps,
and confess that we are all imperfect
before God, perhaps we can join together
in our churches and communities in
giving and receiving what each of us has
to offer.
Barbara Esch Shisler is minister of
spiritual resources for Indian Creek
Foundation (a Mennonite -affiliated
organization), Box 225, Harleysuille, PA
19438-0225.
A boy receives physiotherapy at Cortbawi
Institute, Aley, Lebanon.
THE MENNONITE 53
Mennonite stories of A#, a
When Alzheimer's invades
My goal is to live in harmony with these
Scripture passages: "God is a spirit, and
they that worship him must worship him
in spirit and in truth"; "Ye shall know
the truth and the truth shall make you
free"; "I came that you might have life
and have it more abundantly" and (my
wedding text), "All things work together
for good to them that love God."
While I grope for more understanding,
Alzheimer's disease invades my husband,
Cornelius.
Cornelius was blessed with an aston-
ishing intelligence, determination,
ambition, zeal and stamina. He revealed
this in his youth in his determination to
leave the privations and restrictions of
his early life in Russia. Untiringly he
searched for and found what was needed
to give his people, Mennonites, a histori-
cal library at Bethel College. His
enthusiasm for learning inspired
students to set their sights high. Then
about 10 years ago, before anyone knew
what was happening, Alzheimer's
disease began an insidious deterioration
of his brain.
Here I want to relate a miracle. It is
not an isolated case, but the incidence is
rare. On Jan. 8, 1989, Cornelius had a
brief lucid moment. Unbeknown to me,
he had heard a telephone conversation
between our daughter Cornelia and me.
We were speaking of the severity of his
illness. He came into the room where I
was, his face was distraught, shocked,
gruesome. I was terrified. Then he said,
"That person on the phone spoke as
though there is something terribly wrong
with me. Is there?"
"Yes," I said. 'You have Alzheimer's
disease."
"Alzheimer's disease? What's that?"
I described it and tried to assure him
that he was in no way responsible. I told
him he had had it for approximately nine
years.
"Nine years. And you have been the
angel that has taken care of me all this
time. How can I ever thank you? I
should pray to God to take me quickly."
As suddenly as the insight came it left.
Alzheimer's disease again took over.
Now I try to fit square pegs into round
Cornelius Krahn
holes. Would a kind heavenly Father
send Alzheimer's disease to anyone?
Other disasters have avoidable causes.
Wars are the result of selfishness and
greed. Famines are caused by inequi-
table distribution of resources. Hurri-
canes are predictable and can be avoided
if people heed the warnings. Even
earthquakes are not unpredictable.
At the present time Alzheimer's
disease defies all knowledge. We do not
know what causes it. We cannot prevent
it. We do not know how to treat it. We
have no good way of taking care of the
victims. An accompanying physical
disability (like severe arthritis or a
paralysis) are useful in keeping the
patient out of "mischief." But when the
disability is only mental, the medical
profession creates artificial disabilities
by using locked doors, other restraints,
drugs. None of these seem "good" to
family members of the loved one.
Lack of a good solution does not solve
the problem. One cares for the patient at
home until it is clear that the result will
be two patients.
Here in the United States, finances
accentuate the problem. I used to think
that $5 was worth looking at twice. Now
that it takes $75 to take care of Cor-
nelius' basic needs for just one day, $5
looks small. ( I thank those of you who
have Mennonite Mutual Aid insurance
for helping care for Cornelius while he
was in the hospital for three weeks to be
detoxified. The base cost was $360 a
day. Medication, supplies and doctor's
visits were added. You paid as much of
that, percentage-wise, as I did.)
I am beset by conflicts and frustra-
tions. I would like to push them into a
far corner and pretend that they do not
exist. I pray for that faint distant
glimmer of hope that some day there will
be prevention and cure for Alzheimer's
disease. Hilda W. Krahn, member of
Bethel College Mennonite Church, North
Newton, Kan.
She spoke to many
Amy Fretz (right) and her brother Mark
"She never said a word, but she spoke
to many" are the words inscribed on
Amy's tombstone. Amy Kristine Fretz
( 1982-1989) used her smile to articu-
late her feelings and needs. Although
she was severely handicapped with
cerebral palsy and required constant
care, her mother, Becky, said, "She
was never a burden."
Amy's memorial will be in an
outdoor playground, made to be acces-
sible to children with handicaps, next
™ to the meetingplace of Rainbow
Mennonite Church, Kansas City, Kan.
54 FEBRUARY 13, 1990
Linda Richert
'All things' can include
hearing loss
I have had hearing problems for about
seven years. I have three brothers and
one sister that have hearing problems,
too. Hearing problems may be a result of
old age or inherited or both. Thirty
percent of all elderly people have a
hearing loss. I hope that you are not one
of the 30 percent.
Loss of hearing can cause a lot of
headaches and heartaches. People with
hearing problems often choose to with-
draw from others because they are em-
barrassed. If we don't hear accurately,
we feel scolded and become quiet when
others are impatient with our disability.
Sometimes we hesitate to repeat what
we heard for fear we have not heard
correctly. If I know what people are
talking about or if I am familiar with the
Scriptures being preached about, then I
can read between the lines.
Hearing loss and depression are closely
linked. It has been said that hearing loss
causes greater social isolation than
blindness. An isolated person can
become bitter. Others start excluding
the person, and it becomes a vicious
circle. Sometimes the hard of hearing
become confused and forgetful. The
confusion can clear up if they can be
around people.
I have been fortunate to have a strong
support system in my church and with
my family and friends. I have not
become isolated. Due to my trusting
relationships I don't feel suspicious or
depressed. It is frustrating, though, to
not hear well, and at times I am tempted
to stay home. I know how important it is
to keep active, so I go and enjoy what I
can. Hearing aides help, but they don't
solve the problem.
Most difficult is participating in a
large group when many people talk at
the same time. The hearing aide is not
selective in what it picks up. Another
difficult situation is the telephone. It is
hard to hear people who don't have a
clear voice. To ask more than twice to
have something repeated is embarrass-
ing. One can't use the hearing aide with
the phone. (I know there are special
devices to attach to the phone for the
hard of hearing. ) Voices on television are
sometimes hard to understand as well.
Hearing aides are most helpful in one-
to-one or small-group conversations.
When I sit near a fan, the movement of
the air creates a loud whir in my ear. If I
ride in a car, the road noise makes it
impossible to understand a conversation.
I am grateful to live in a community
that is safe. I can imagine how frighten-
ing it would be to live in an unsafe
neighborhood and be hard of hearing.
Three things make it easier for the
hard of hearing:
1. Don't necessarily talk louder. Face
the hard-of-hearing while speaking.
Speak clearly. Speak slowly.
2. Provide notes, like for a sermon or
speech. Then I can concentrate on what
is being said, read between the lines and
get most of what is said. If I can't hear,
the "tempter" is busy trying to make me
sleepy, and this is embarrassing.
3. Remember that we hard-of-hearing
folks have feelings and are often embar-
rassed about our condition. We would
change it if we could and appreciate
people who are understanding.
I am thankful that I can still hear with
the help of a hearing aide. I want to go
on praising the Lord instead of complain-
ing. I remember that in all things God
works for the good of those who love the
Lord. Linda Richert, member of Shalom
Mennonite Church, Newton, Kan.
When one foot
doesn't do anything
"Fifteen years ago my doctor diagnosed
my condition as multiple sclerosis," says
Ethel Schmidt. "When I got home that
day, six of our neighbors welcomed me.
They were busy cleaning my house. It
seemed that God had told them to be
there. And that's the way it's been ever
since. My home church and my family
have always supported me."
Ethel and her husband, Roland
Schmidt, have recently moved to North
Newton, Kan., after spending their
Ethel and Roland Schmidt
married life near Pawnee Rock, Kan.
At first Ethel felt uncomfortable
talking about her handicap. I reminded
her that her upbeat outlook was conta-
gious, and she would help others in pain.
"I'm just like everyone else. I guess I
got my optimism from my dad, David
Richert." She's a storyteller. For ex-
ample: "Football is a rough sport. One
of my boys was injured in football; he got
a splinter off the bench."
Another time she related, "One of my
11 grandchildren, Joshua, then age 3,
asked, 'Grandma, are you ever going to
get well? You're not mad at God, are
you?'"
Gently patting her left thigh, Ethel
says, "My left foot doesn't do anything,
but the right one, that one, I can use to
drive the car. When Roland isn't around,
I wait for some other able-bodied person
to help me in and out of the car."
Reluctant to dwell on her handicap,
her gentle smile verifies her inner
strength. "I can't be active, but I do talk
and read a lot. Anyhow my hobby is
people. I like people." J.O. Schrag,
member of Bethel College Mennonite
Church, North Newton, Kan.
Margaret Enns
Margaret's story
When Margaret was born to us with
Down's Syndrome, Kathie and I had
mixed feelings. Sometimes we asked
ourselves, "Does the Lord want to punish
us?" But prayer and dedication to our
faith in the Almighty God helped us
come out of this as conquerors, and today
we know that the Lord had a special
blessing in mind for us when he gave us
Margie.
When it came to relating spiritual
things to Margie we did not know how to
go about it, but the Lord blessed the little
bits we told Margie. One day, on the way
to church, she was talking to us about
"dopsen." It took us a while to under-
stand that she had the desire to be
baptized. The Anabaptists were called
"Dopsgesinnte." We think it was given to
her by the Lord.
And is not everything we do, and have
and are, given by the Lord? Jake Enns,
Leth bridge, Alta.
THE MENNONITE 55
TOqETllER
God cares, thus we can care
Joan Harder Kaufman
December 1987. The intensive care ward
of a hospital is unlike any other place in
the world. Young parents wait helplessly
while their 12-year-old daughter fights
for her life after being thrown from a
horse. Across the room is a wife and
mother whose husband has suffered
brain damage from a truck accident. My
family's loved one, Shaun Spottedhorse,
is unable to move any part of his body bu t
is alert. His moist eyes ask what we all
ask, Why? What purpose can there be in
all this suffering?
Two years later I wrote down Shaun 's
story as he talked, for his hands are limp
and useless. His body is paralyzed, but
his brown eyes danced as he spoke.
I was an ordinary guy doing ordinary
things. I was a senior at Southwestern
College in Winfield, Kan. I worked,
played football and found time to go
hunting and fishing with my friends. My
life was exciting and rewarding.
I was about to graduate, no small feat
for me. I was an Indian boy brought up
by my grandmother. Having no financial
or family support, graduating from
college was the fulfillment of a seemingly
impossible dream.
Without football I might never have
done it. I was 6'2", 250 pounds, and
strong as an ox. I concentrated on being
the best football player I could be
because I knew it was my ticket to
college. Later I received All-American
honors. I might have made the pros.
How about that? An Indian boy from
Tahlequah, Okla., trying out for the pros.
God was smiling on me and I was happy.
It was Dec. 4, we had just won a
football game and my thoughts turned to
shooting the biggest buck in Cowley
County, for deer season was opening the
next morning. I scouted deer late into
the night. On my way home I dozed off
for three seconds. My car hit a small
cement culvert, flew through the air and
landed in a field. I was awake when I hit
and knew that I needed to get out of the
car before it caught on fire. But I could
not move an inch. I tried and tried, but
nothing moved.
At the hospital they put in an endotra-
cheal tube to help me breathe, but then I
couldn't talk. I lay there, unable to move
a muscle or say a word, day in and day
out. They told me I had a broken neck,
and I knew I was paralyzed from the
I knew my life wasn't over': Spottedhorse
neck down. I was in a lot of pain. "Dear
God," I said, "Just let me die." My life
was over. I began to realize I would
never hunt again, walk again or move
myself from a chair to a bed or vice
versa. It would be next to impossible to
have children. There was no feeling from
my chest down. I would never dress
myself or tie my shoes.
They transported me to Craig Hospital
in Denver. This is a place that treats
spinal cord patients like myself. They'd
teach me to survive, if I wanted to learn.
What you see now is a guy who can
move half his arms and his wrists. With
shoulder movement I can balance myself,
but physically that's it. Craig Hospital
and months of hard work brought me to
this point. I will have to live this way
the rest of my life.
That's the bad news. Now for the good
news. All my life I concentrated so hard
on my body and being strong for football
and physical activities that I never spent
much time on the rest of me. Miracle of
miracles, there is a lot more to me than
just my body. Nothing happened to my
mind. Nothing happened to my heart.
Nothing happened to my ability to love
and be loved, to have friends and be a
friend and to do good — the greatest
satisfaction of all.
I had a roommate at Craig who was in
a motorcycle accident and paralyzed like
me. He tried to kill himself. I became
his friend and tried to get him to help
himself. This was as big a thrill as
getting my All-American award. The day
he said, "Hey Chief, thanks for being my
friend," I knew my life wasn't over.
Since then I have coached junior high
football. And do you know what I taught
those kids? Not just to play football but
to listen. I couldn't show them how to
play, I had to tell them how to play.
That art of listening carried into the
classroom.
I'm at Emporia (Kan.) State University
getting my master's degree in vocational
s rehabilitation counseling. I was scared
> to death to leave Winfield, for I have to
^, have constant help and people present
^ when I need them. But God hasn't let
§ me down for a moment.
| In my profession of vocational rehabili-
v tation counseling I will help other
handicapped people find useful things to
do with their lives. When I help one
handicapped person find a reason for
living, I have a reason for living. I don't
have any profound answers to life. I
wouldn't choose this for myself, but I did
it to myself; and I intend not to be beaten
by it. I have always tried to be a winner,
and with the help of God I don't intend to
let the bad things in life defeat me.
Yes, I believe in God. I'm not a big
religious evangelist or anything, just an
ordinary guy that knows that my
strength has always and will always
come from God. I've come a long way
since that December night. Shaun
Spottedhorse
And I have also come a long way. My
prior question- -What purpose can there be
in all this suffering? -is now seen in a
new perspective. I dried my tears and put
my arms around Shaun's motionless
body. Jesus suffered the greatest agony of
all so that henceforth we cannot say that
we suffer alone. And even though Jesus
suffered and died, his death became the
greatest victory of all. It's just like Paul
wrote, "Blessed be the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
mercies and God of all comfort, who
comforts us in all our affliction, so that
we may be able to comfort those who are
in any affliction, with the comfort with
which we ourselves are comforted by God"
(2 Corinthians 1:3,4 RSV).
Joan Harder Kaufman's
address is Box 643,
Winfield, KS 67156.
56 FEBRUARY 13, 1990
Conrad Grebel, ca. 1498-1526
Anabaptist
saints
with
feet
of clay
First
in a
series
of six
Walter Klaassen
He died in exile in the green flowery
Swiss spring of 1526, no more than 28
years old. His family was a shambles; a
neurotic mother, a domineering father
who was publicly executed as a traitor, a
wife and children who were not with him
at his death.
He had participated in the reform of
Christian faith in Zurich and had become
the spokesman for a small movement for
even more radical reform. That move-
ment, too, was in disarray. It is easy to
imagine that the young man died in
despair, convinced that his life had been
a failure.
Born into a privileged Zurich family,
he was sent to the universities of Vienna
and Paris, where he learned to read and
write Greek and Latin. But the excesses
of student life and quarrels with his
father led him to drop out. He never
really had a chance to demonstrate what
he had learned. He wanted to write but
never got to it. He loved a girl his
parents disapproved of, moved in with
her for a while, then married her. He
was tormented by guilt and self-doubt.
But he also learned how to think and
make a critical analysis. To that extent
he had been a successful student.
He became a partisan of the Reformer
Huldrych Zwingli, whom he idolized. He
saw him as the one who would restore
Christianity and the church to the purity
of its beginnings, and he worked enthusi-
astically at the tasks Zwingli gave him to
do. But he was by nature an impetuous,
easily excited, clearly angry young man.
He and his friends took to interrupting
the sermons of preachers they did not
like with sarcastic and rude comments.
When scolded for this by the city council-
lors, he left in a rage, banging the door
behind him.
Soon he quarreled with Zwingli about
the tempo and thoroughness of the refor-
mation. That quarrel quickly developed
into a bitter confrontation over who
made the decisions about church affairs.
Grebel and his group came to the convic-
tion that only those who were conscien-
tious and convinced believers — and that
meant chiefly lay people — could do it,
and that the sign of that legitimacy was
baptism as an adult believer. These
views led them away from 1,000 years of
history during which decisions in the
church had been made and enforced by
the powerful in church and government.
And then, although their rhetoric was
sometimes violent, they concluded that
people should never be coerced in their
faith and certainly not be killed.
While these views are accepted by
most Christians today, Conrad Grebel
was one of the first to think them
through and, with hesitant and fateful
courage, to act on them. On Jan. 21,
1525, that group baptized each other,
literally a handful of young men against
the world. Arrest, prison and exile
followed. During a prison break one of
them said that they'd be better off with
the red Indians across the sea than with
the Christians in Zurich.
So it is that we remember as a spiri-
tual ancestor this frustrated, impetuous
yet courageous young man who in the
end won a major victory when he
exchanged the Sword for the Cross and
pointed to a new yet old direction for
Christian faith and the church.
Walter Klaassen,
Vernon, B.C., will write
another five such
portraits for The
Mennonite in 1990, a
year of which he says,
"Can it possibly be as
breathtaking as 1989?''
THE MENNONITE 57
The 25th annual retreat for families with
developmental^ disabled members will be
held June 24-28 at Laurelville Mennonite
Church Center, Route 5, Mt. Pleasant, PA
15666, (412) 423-2056. A unique feature
this year is that partner families will
accompany participants to the retreat.
Vern Preheim, general secretary of the General Conference Mennonite Church, in a
Jan. 23 letter to General Conference congregations, has issued a call to prayer for the
conference during Feb. 28-March 6. The policy-forming bodies of the conference will
meet during those days at First Mennonite Church, Newton, Kan., for the annual Council
of Commissions. A room will be reserved at the church for staff and elected members to
withdraw for 10-minute blocks of time to pray for the conference and its congregations.
Preheim suggests that congregations have someone praying at the times the commis-
sions are meeting March 3-5: those in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Central District give
priority to Saturday, March 3; those in Alberta, British Columbia, Eastern and Pacific
districts to Sunday, March 4; and those in Eastern Canada, Northern and Western dis-
tricts to Monday, March 5. He goes on to ask that on the Sunday mornings just before
and during Council of Commissions worship leaders remember the conference in their
pastoral prayers during worship and that they remind people of the call to prayer. The
General Board continues to make each Friday a special day of prayer. On Nov. 29,
1989, the central office staff in Newton began the day with a half-hour of prayer, then
prayed individually during 1 5-minute periods throughout the day.
NEWS
MCs and GCs explore their relationship
Does a possible engagement mean marriage?
James Gingerich and Nelson Scheifele (seated, left to right) chair
the MC/GC Integration Exploration Committee. In the background is
Vern Preheim.
Chicago (MC/GCMC)— "It's like
putting together a 1,000-piece
jigsaw puzzle," said Nelson
Scheifele, Waterloo, Ont.,
referring to the task of the
newly formed Integration
Exploration Committee of the
Mennonite Church (MC) and
General Conference Mennonite
Church (GC). Other members
of the committee are likely to
agree with him after their first
meeting here Jan. 8-9.
At first glance "the puzzle"
seems simple enough: Com-
mittee members are to facilitate
the exploration of integration
between the two denomina-
tions from 1 990 to 1 995, based
on the recommendation that
was passed by MC and GC
delegates at Normal '89 last
August. A vote on whether to
proceed with actual integration
will take place at the GC
triennial sessions and MC
assembly in July 1995.
But the puzzle is complex
because the exploration needs
to happen among area confer-
ences and churches as well as
denominational institutions.
The Mennonite Church has
103,000 members concen-
trated in Ontario, Quebec and
the eastern and north central
United States; the General
Conference has about 65,000
members concentrated in the
midwestern United States and
in Canada.
"What we accomplished in
Ontario and Quebec was
possible because churches
were located within the same
geographic region," said
Scheifele, regarding the
merging of MC and GC area
conferences into the Mennonite
Conference of Eastern Canada
in February 1988. The task of
this committee will be quite
different due to its size and
scope, he said.
"The topic of integration is
not a front-burner issue in
Lancaster Conference. There
is a great deal of indifference,"
said John H. Kraybill, Harris-
burg, Pa.
"It's nowhere near the stove
in B.C." exclaimed David Ortis,
Abbotsford, B.C. Since there
are no MCs in British Columbia,
GCs are more likely to get
together with the Mennonite
Brethren, he said, noting that
they already cooperate
together at Columbia Bible
College, Clearbrook, B.C.
But others, in area confer-
ences such as Central District
Conference and Illinois
Mennonite Conference, feel
there is a "biological time clock
ticking away," said Ruth Naylor,
Bluffton, Ohio.
"Minorities are also anxious
to see the two groups patch
things up," said Jose Ortiz,
Goshen, Ind. [In fact, reconcili-
ation applies only to the
Eastern District (GC) and
Franconia (MC) conferences,
which are located mostly in
Pennsylvania.]
Given the diversity of
opinion, one of the first tasks
should be to work on the
rationale for integration and the
development of a common
mission vision. These are
foundational, said Vern
Preheim, Newton, Kan.
Building on four points
suggested by MC moderator
George R. Brunk III, Harri-
sonburg, Va., the committee
developed seven reasons for
integration: (1) symbolize and
project more clearly to others
that we are a people of
common faith and vision united
in love; (2) facilitate the work of
a whole people of God by
removing redundant structures;
(3) bring to maturity the
process started by dual-
conference congregations
[which number about 70]; (4)
create a larger entity of witness
about the Mennonite faith,
especially in the area of peace;
(5) work toward Jesus' prayer
for unity; (6) facilitate and
strengthen ethnic work; and (7)
reclaim our common heritage.
"We are not just two birds
coming together in one flock.
We are part of a stream," said
Ortiz.
Brunk underlined the
necessity of making "integration
bigger than ourselves" through
the forging of a common
mission vision. Naylor agreed:
58 FEBRUARY 13, 1990
Mennonite Central Committee workers in
Bolivia are looking at wheelchair models
from Vietnam and Nicaragua to help them
design a chair for rugged, rural Bolivia.
"Disabled people are the poorest of the
poor" there, said Henry Enns, MCC
Disabled Persons Concerns director, after
visiting Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay and
Colombia last summer. Mennonites in
Uruguay, Enns learned, were planning a
national symposium for Mennonite
churches on disability issues. In Paraguay,
Mennonites work at programs for mentally
handicapped individuals.
In addition to its annual Easter egg hunt
for 200 neighborhood children last year the
Sharing Community in Kansas City, Kan.,
hosted an egg hunt for 15 physically and
mentally impaired children. The hunt was
held adjacent to the church in the Sharing
Community playground that is undergoing
a $10,000 renovation to make it the city's
first handicapped-accessible park. The
Sharing Community is composed of
Rainbow Mennonite, Rosedale Methodist
and Rosedale Christian churches, all of
which use the same building for worship
services. The group is located in a low-
income, older neighborhoood. For more
information about the playground call (913)
262-5617.
The 23 elementary students with handi-
caps in Beacon schools, Korba, M.P.,
India, receive free tuition, uniforms and
supplies. The Beacon school system,
begun in August 1966 by General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church missionaries
Lubin and Tillie Jantzen, teaches over
3,000 children on five sites. The schools
have contributed money to new Mennonite
churches being built in two industrial areas
in Korba. S. Gardia is the principal of
Beacon Schools.
NEWS
"We need to ask ourselves
what it means to be faithful to
God in the new century."
The process of exploring
integration could lead to the
revitalization of the church. We
may have to learn twice as
much, but at the same time we
will be able to do twice as
much mission, said Florence
Driedger, who is the GC
moderator from Regina.
Several members noted that
it was important to identify the
risks of integration as evi-
denced by other church
mergers. In a quick brain-
storming session the committee
came up with 1 1 risks, includ-
ing loss of congregational
loyalty, watering down of faith
and negative impact on inter-
Mennonite groups.
Already groups such as the
Mennonite Brethren Church
and the Conference of Men-
nonites in Canada (CMC) are
questioning the impact of a
possible integration between
the two largest Mennonite
bodies in North America.
Larry Kehler, Winnipeg,
wondered when integration
would take place if the vote
was positive in July 1995.
CMC churches are questioning
whether we should restructure
our conference if integration
happens in 1995, he said.
"The process doesn't call for
us to be totally ready in 1995,"
said Brunk. "Even if the two
denominations decided to get
'engaged' in 1995, there is no
guarantee they will get 'mar-
ried,'" added Preheim. The
general consensus was that
actual integration of the two
bodies might not happen until a
couple of years after 1995.
How MC and GC delegates
vote in 1995 will depend on the
kind of information that is
presented to them, said
Richard Early, Souderton, Pa.
"I hope we come with things
that the delegates can wrestle
with. If we come with nothing
concrete, I think we're in
trouble."
"We can't minimize the
importance of developing
models [for integration]," said
Scheifele, who chaired the
integration process in Ontario
and Quebec.
It is also crucial that area
conferences and churches
receive information before the
vote in 1995, said Ortiz.
The publication of a unity
study is planned for closer to
1995. This could be used in
congregations, said Preheim.
However, Ortis cautioned that
the study, if too academic,
would probably not be used in
churches in British Columbia.
"The interaction needs to be
person to person, congregation
to congregation," he said.
The committee affirmed the
"If the vote is posi-
tive in 1995, when
will integration
take place?" Larry
Kehler .
development of exchanges
between MC and GC congre-
gations as a way of "deepening
mutual understanding." Other
ways to get to know each other
would be to have MC and GC
leaders, resource people or
youth speak or perform in GC
and MC regions, respectively. "
At the meeting's end several
members said they felt less
overwhelmed as they began to
see which pieces of "the
puzzle" they needed to work on
first. The committee will meet
again Sept. 17-18. Carla
Reimer, editor. General
Conference Mennonite News
Service
Editor's note: For a copy of
the integration recommendation
passed by delegates at Normal
'89, send a self-addressed,
stamped envelope to Angela
Rempel, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114.
Integration Exploration Committee
General Conference Mennonite Church:
Florence Driedger, Regina, General Conference Mennonite
Church moderator and director of a social service agency
Richard Early, General Board member and pastor at Zion
Mennonite Church, Souderton, Pa.
James Gingerich, pastor at First Mennonite Church of
Christian, Moundridge, Kan., appointed co-chairperson
Ruth Naylor, Central District Conference president and
associate pastor at First Mennonite Church, Bluffton, Ohio
David Ortis, pastor at Emmanuel Mennonite Church,
Abbotsford, B.C.
Mennonite Church:
George R. Brunk III, Mennonite Church moderator and
dean at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, Va.
John H. Kraybill, Harrisburg, Pa., General Board member,
bishop and treasurer for Lancaster Conference
Jose Ortiz, director of the Hispanic ministries program at
Goshen (Ind.) College
Alice Roth, vice president for overseas ministries of the
Mennonite Board of Missions, Elkhart, Ind., appointed record-
ing secretary.
Nelson Scheifele, vice president for development and
administration at Conrad Grebel College, Waterloo, Ont.,
appointed co-chairperson.
Ex officio:
Larry Kehler, general secretary of the Conference of
Mennonites in Canada, Winnipeg
James M. Lapp, executive secretary for the Mennonite
Church, Elkhart, Ind.
Vern Preheim, general secretary of the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church, Newton, Kan.
THE MENNONITE 59
Sending a bread oven for earthquake
victims in Armenia was the special Christ-
mas project of the French Mennonite
churches. According to a report in Christ
Seul, French Mennonite magazine, the
four-meter-square oven can furnish bread
for several villages, supplying people's
daily needs and helping give them hope to
stay rather than join an exodus to the cities.
Mary Sprunger-Froese, a Mennonite from
Colorado Springs, Colo., walked
unescorted to offices of top Star Wars
officials at Falcon Air Force Base to deliver
citizens arrest warrants. Sprunger-Froese
said she simply went to the gate and told
the security police that she needed to
hand-deliver an official document. She
said she gave her real name and signed in
on a ledger. Mary and Peter Sprunger-
Froese and Bill Sulzman wanted to serve
citizens arrest warrants on top Strategic
Defense Initiative officials for allegedly
violating international law. The SDI facility
conducts war games and simulations on
sensors and weapons that may be used in
a missile-defense system.
The Plum Coulee greenhouse project in
southern Manitoba plans to employ a core
of 10 handicapped people from nearby
areas. According to project spokesperson
Tom Edge, Mennonite Central Committee
Handicap Concerns coordinator, the
greenhouse venture will focus on fund-
raising during 1990. Expected cost for the
greenhouse, other structures and equip-
ment is $580,000. The main purpose of
the greenhouse is to boost employment for
disabled people.
NEWS
Australia
now has two
(going on
three)
Mennonite
churches
Salunga, Pa. — Two Mennonite
fellowships are now operating
in Australia, one in Fennell Bay
on the east coast and one in
Perth on the west coast,
reports David W. Shenk,
Overseas Ministries director for
Eastern Mennonite Board of
Missions, Salunga.
The Perth fellowship, in
addition to a core group of
about 10, relates to Christians
in the mining town of Yagoo, an
eight-hour drive north of Perth.
On the east coast, 60 miles
north of Sydney, the First
Mennonite Church of Hope,
founded in 1977, dedicated its
building in July 1988.
Shenk says that Anabaptist
leaders such as Myron
Augsburger, Don Jacobs, Ron
Sider and C. Norman Kraus
have already had an impact on
Australian church thinking.
But, he says, our greater
mission is to establish New
Testament fellowships in this
country where the gospel has
never been widely accepted
and where the church has
always functioned on the
margins of society.
Shenk recommends that
Eastern Board start a church in
Sydney on the east coast by
the middle of this year.
Sudan
needs help;
MCC responds
Akron, Pa. (MCC) — Mennonite
Central Committee is shipping
blankets, clothing, soap and
school kits to Sudan. The
$152,000 shipment reached
Sudan in late January. In-
cluded are more than 10,000
blankets, quilts and comforters,
one ton of men's clothing, two
tons of soap and 4,000 school
kits.
The shipment is for camps of
displaced people around
Khartoum, Sudan's capital.
Between 1 .5 and 2 million
southern Sudanese now live in
the camps, having been forced
to flee their homes by civil war.
The shipment will be distributed
by the Sudan Council of
Churches.
MCC worker Kate Warn of
Frewsburg, N.Y., works in the
camps. She and two Suda-
nese community workers
coordinated projects like well
digging, garbage cleanup and
small gardens.
The number of people in the
camps has increased recently,
notes Eric Olfert, MCC secre-
tary for Africa. The government
has been forcing displaced
people who live as squatters in
Khartoum to move to the
camps.
West Abbotsford Mennonite
Church invites inquiries for the
position of senior pastor as part of
a ministerial team. We are a
congregation of 240 in the central
Fraser Valley. Interest and skiils
are expected in preaching and
teaching, counseling and crisis
visitation, and outreach and church
growth.
Send inquiries or resumes to Alvin
G. Ens, 29521 Taylor Road, Mt.
Lehman, BC, VOX 1V0 (604)
856-1348.
Cedar Hills Mennonite Church is
searching for a full-time youth
pastor
For further information and
application contact Youth Pastor
Search Committee, c/o Cedar Hills
Mennonite Church. 12246-100
Ave., Surrey, BC V3V 2X1.
The Bethel Mennonite Church of
Mountain Lake, Minn., will
celebrate its centennial June 22-
24. The celebration will begin with
a German program on Friday
evening. Saturday evening will
feature a musical pageant
depicting the history of the church.
The weekend will conclude with a
Sunday morning worship service
led by former pastors of the Bethel
congregation and a noon fellow-
ship meal. Special ethnic meals
and lunches as well as other
activities and displays will be a part
of the celebrations. A pictorial
history book of the church and a
pictorial directory of the congrega-
tion will be available. Friends of
the church and former members
should make plans now to attend
this event.
Youth leader/assistant pastor
required immediately, to work es-
pecially with youth and young
adults, at Zion Mennonite Church
in Swift Current, Sask.
Please send inquiries/resume to
Hilda Wiens Schmidt, Chairperson,
Pastoral Search Committee, 1150
Jubilee Drive, Swift Current, SK
S9H 2A2, (306) 773-6537.
MVS ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS
Mennonite Voluntary Service is seeking two associate directors to admin
ister units in Canada and the Western United States. Will conduct recruit
ment and share responsibility for the overall MVS program.
Starting date: Spring 1990
Requires: Commitment to Christian service
Excellent communication skills
Strong administrative skills
Willingness to travel extensively
Service experience preferred.
MVS is a program of the Commission on Home Ministries.
60 FEBRUARY 13, 1990
SILENCE is an organization in India started
by Amul Bera, a deaf-mute artist, and his
friends. It started a one-year course of
commercial arts and crafts at Calcutta
University and employs deaf, mute and
blind individuals and those with orthopedic
problems. SILENCE sponsors a computer
class for those who lack artistic abilities.
The university donates its computer
facilities, and Mennonite Central Committee
covers education costs for several of these
students. SILENCE has also opened a gift
shop that Self-Help Crafts supports,
employing several disabled people.
NEWS
Residents of Hobbema Indian Reserve
should take legal action to stop author W.P.
Kinsella from using the name of their
community in his short stories, says
novelist Rudy Wiebe. Since 1977 Kinsella
has been publishing collections of humor-
ous short stories featuring fictional resi-
dents of Hobbema, which is in reality the
home of four oil-rich bands — Samson,
Montana, Ermineskin and Louis Bull — and
is located 70 kilometers south of Edmon-
ton. Kinsella has said he knows only one
Indian personally and has never visited the
reserve. Wiebe says that by using an
actual place and the actual name of a
people Kinsella is "ripping off" Hobbema
Indians, (from Canadian Press)
Senior citizens' homes and individuals in
British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba
and Ontario donated 60 wheelchairs to
Mennonite Central Committee. MCC sent
the wheelchairs and Bible commentaries to
the Soviet Union in December 1989. Henry
Enns, director of MCC Disabled Persons
Concerns, received a request for wheel-
chairs and other technical aids during a
visit to the Soviet Union last year. The All-
Union Council of Christians/Baptists was to
distribute the equipment.
Shelly completing
23 years of service to
General Conference
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)—
Maynard Shelly, Newton, has
announced he will retire from
his position as general editor
for the Commission on Educa-
tion (COE) effective Dec. 31 .
As general editor since July
1984, Shelly has served as the
editor of Church Bulletin
Service, Foundation Series for
Youth and Bibelstudien fur
Erwachsene as well as
associate editor of Adult Bible
Study Guide and Builder. In
addition, he has edited
numerous books published by
Faith and Life Press, among
them James D. Yoder's The
Yoder Outsiders, LaVonne
Piatt's Hope for the Family
Farm, and Perry Yoder's
Shalom: the Bible's Word for
Salvation, Justice and Peace.
"The General Conference
Mennonite Church has been
my life," said Shelly. "I see it as
a miracle creation, a network of
varied congregations whose life
together models the peaceable
kingdom of God in the making."
Shelly's involvement with the
General Conference began
with his term as associate
executive secretary of the
Board of Education and
Publication (now COE) from
1955 to 1960. From 1961 to
1971 he was editor of The
Mennonite. He worked with his
wife, Griselda, in Bangladesh
with Mennonite Central
Committee (MCC) 1971-1974.
From 1974 to 1984 Shelly
was a free-
lance journal-
ist, writer and
publicist. He
contributed to
periodicals
^ ^^^^^ sucn as tne
■ "jr 1 I Adult Bible
™ ^™ Study Guide,
Shelly Foundation
Series for
Youth and Builder as well as
two MCC film scripts. He also
wrote New Call for Peace-
makers and the four-volume
Discovery Bible Survey Course.
During his retirement Shelly
hopes to write a history of the
General Conference's experi-
ence as a denomination, with
an emphasis on peace and
justice concerns. He is a
member of Bethel College
Mennonite Church, North
Newton, Kan.
Refugees start
'hope' in Calgary
Calgary — In Honduras Manuel
was an architect. In Canada
he sweeps floors.
Abner was a mechanic in his
Central American country. His
credentials are not recognized
in Canada, so he washes
dishes.
Rodolfo was a broadcaster in
Nicaragua, and Celesa was a
lawyer in Honduras. They
cannot find work in their pro-
fessions and work as janitors.
All, however, are luckier than
Ada. She was a nurse, but
now, jobless, lives on welfare.
At the MCC-supported
Calgary Centre for Newcomers
refugees and hosts are finding
solutions. The Central Ameri-
can refugees are familiar with
cooperatives. They are now
familiar with the janitorial
business. They asked the
Calgary Centre to help them
organize a cooperative so that
they could run their own
business without a middleman
taking profit out of what they
earn.
The emerging enterprise has
applied to the Alberta Coopera-
tives Branch for registration,
conducted a feasibility market
study, decided on bylaws and
met with three Mennonite
church members who manage
cleaning companies to get their
business advice.
The dream of many in the
group is to initiate other
business enterprises that will
help many other immigrants
experience a good living in
their newly adopted country.
The group has chosen a
name: Esperanza (hope). Ted
Walter, director. Calgary Centre
for Newcomers
Young adults from Zaire and
North America sing and share
The African Youth Discovery Team includes five Zairians, two
Canadians and three Americans. Mennonite Central Committee
began the YDT program to involve young people in MCC s interna-
tional efforts and to promote North/South exchange. North Ameri-
can and international young adults together study the Bible, do work
and service projects and live in a new culture. Currently teams are
in Africa, Central America and Indonesia. The African team has
sung at Mennonite centers in Zaire and Chad and will perform in the
United States and Canada for six months before attending Mennon-
ite World Conference in July. Marcella Hostetler directs the music,
which includes not only Zairian songs but songs from South Africa
and North America. The group sings in and uses French. Each
morning members spend 30-60 minutes in prayer and meditation.
They are committed to making group decisions and working on
problems collectively. Team members are (back row) Chocke
Muhaku of Nyanga, Zaire, Keith Meyers of Kitchener, Ont., Alan
Gibbons of Browns Mills, N.J., Rollin Mukanza of Kinshasa, Zaire,
Nduku Woyu-konde of Kinshasa, and (front row) Rhonda Miller of
Kalona, Iowa, Maweshi Mbenza Panzi of Kinshasa, Carta Thielmann
of Elm Creek, Man., Kizala Kabamb'-A-Kab' of Debonhomme, Zaire,
and Marcella Hostetler of Philadelphia.
American parents are forgetting how to
ask things of their children and pass on
their values, according to Harvard Univer-
sity's Pulitzer Prize-winning social psychia-
trist Robert Coles. "Parents today want
their children to be liked, to look good,
score high at the SAT test and get into a
top-notch college, but it's not enough," he
said recently at Elkhart, Ind. "Children
need our encouragement not only to be
smart but to be good. Willingness to reach
out and respond to others may be our only
moral hope."
Asia Watch, a human rights organization
with offices in New York and Washington,
issued an "Update on Arrests in China"
dated Nov. 15, 1989. The report says that
40 executions had been officially con-
firmed. The latest, of six unnamed people
convicted of participating in the Chengdu
riots of early June, took place on Nov. 7.
Most of the trials to that point had been of
workers. However, certain cases, such as
that of Zhang Weiping, an art student from
Hangzhou sentenced to nine years in
prison — suggest that many of the students
and intellectuals arrested since last June
are also likely to face trials and heavy
sentences. (China Educational Exchange)
"I was shocked by the condition of the
sidewalks in our neighborhood," said
SALT (Serve and Learn Together)
volunteer Lori Nikkei, who organized a
"rolling tour" of part of Winnipeg last
summer. Each member of Winnipeg's
Mennonite Central Committee SALT unit
spent about 45 minutes in a wheelchair.
"There were raised sections of sidewalk
large enough to stop my chair each block,"
said Nikkei. "Had I been walking, I never
would have thought about it." MCC
Handicap Concerns coordinator Tom Edge
helped the volunteers explore a 16-block
area.
NEWS
Council of USSR Ministries
agrees on response to
Mennonite emigration fever
Winnipeg — It is no longer
possible to project an ongoing
Mennonite denominational
presence in the Soviet Union,
even if thousands of ethnic
Mennonites remain there.
Participants reached this
conclusion at a December
1989 consultation here of the
Council of USSR Ministries
(CUM), a coordinating body for
North American Mennonite
conferences and agencies.
Hans von Niessen, director of
the Mennonitische Umseidler-
betreuung of Neuwied, West
Germany, was the guest.
Participants affirmed a
commitment to assist emigrants
as well as those who want to
stay in the Soviet Union. More
staff and financing may be nec-
essary. They examined this
issue while acknowledging the
worldwide multiethnic Menno-
nite family, with members
much closer to suffering and
mission issues than North
American Mennonites.
Whether or not to emigrate is
an issue only the Soviet
Mennonites can decide.
Emigration fever has gripped all
areas where Mennonites are
settled. Those electing to stay
to carry on mission are a
shrinking minority. One inde-
pendent Mennonite Brethren
congregation with 1,000
members in 1986 had shrunk
to 250 members by last Octo-
ber; only 20 families had not
yet initiated emigration plans.
The number of Mennonites in
the Soviet Union is debatable.
In recent decades it was
acceptable to speak about
100,000 ethnic Mennonites, of
which 50,000 were practicing
believers. Given the impact of
emigration, it was agreed that
there are probably still an
estimated 80,000 ethnic
Mennonites in the Soviet
Union, of which over 90
percent would likely emigrate if
full freedom of movement
became possible. In light of
the emigration it now seems
reasonable to speak of about
26,200 believing Mennonites in
the Soviet Union, of whom
about 19,000 are part of
autonomous Evangelical
Christian-Baptist churches.
Consultation participants
reviewed the discrimination
against Soviet Germans in
present Canadian immigration
policy. West Germany grants
all Soviet Germans the right to
residence in that country;
Canadian policy will only
accept sponsorship of refugees
if those refugees do not have
the possibility of asylum in a
safe third country, such as
Germany. Thus Soviet
Germans, including Menno-
nites, are not eligible for
sponsorship. If a new Soviet
legislative proposal on unre-
stricted freedom of movement
becomes law, West Germany
would no longer be able to
absorb the projected massive
emigration. Many Mennonites
would be interested in coming
to Canada rather than to
Germany. MCC Canada staff
were encouraged to press for a
more open Canadian immigra-
tion policy.
Participants agreed on the
need to work with existing
leadership in the Soviet Union
as well as to work with existing
non-Mennonite partners in
other service ministries. The
consultation urges Mennonite
Central Committee to work
toward establishing an office in
Moscow, in which other
agencies such as MEDA might
place additional staff. From a
report by Walter Sawatsky,
East/West Concerns, MCC
Canada
'Resettling
ones'
overwhelm
assistance
programs
Wetzlar, West Germany —
Dramatic change in the
German Democratic Republic
(East Germany) has catapulted
Eastern Europe to the center of
attention.
Political reform in the Soviet
Union is no less significant.
Open borders and relaxed
emigration regulations have an
impact on those of Mennonite
background.
Mennonitische Umsidelerbe-
treuung (MUB), formed in 1972
to assist those of Mennonite
background in resettlement in
The magnitude [of
resettlement] makes
it impossible to con-
tact all who arrive.
West Germany, estimates that
some 40,000 people of
Mennonite background have
arrived in West Germany from
Russia.
Half of these "Umsiedler"
(resettling ones) have come
within the past two years, about
15,000 in 1989. MUB says that
these figures are conservative;
the magnitude makes it
impossible to contact all who
arrive.
West Germany's inundation
with emigrants from Poland,
East Germany and Romania is
causing a critical housing
situation. Efforts of North
American Mennonites to work
with Mennonites in the Soviet
Union are destined to be short-
lived as the exodus continues.
James Schellenberg, MCC
West Germany
The World Friendship Center in
Hiroshima, Japan, needs a peace-
loving couple to volunteer as
directors to start by November.
Transportation and lodging are
provided.
Further information and job
description can be obtained from
the American Committee of the
WFC, Charles and Helen Sutton,
1201 Vernon Drive, Dayton, OH
45407, (513) 277-7259, or
Commission on Overseas Mission,
Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14.
62 FEBRUARY 13, 1990
A cartoonist who lives in the Northwest
Territories has published a comic book for
the Innuit population in an effort to combat
drug abuse. The comic's hero is Super
Shamou. Shamou is the Inuktituk name of
Peter Tapatai, an Inuit actor who plays the
Superman character on Inuit television. In
the 32-page comic book Shamou launches
a crusade against sniffing, saves the lives
of three inebriated young sniffers by
swooping them out of a burning house and
lectures kids about the harmful effects of
drug abuse in the process. (Winnipeg Free
Press
A Chicago group, including Mennonites,
has defied a U.S. embargo on Nicaraguan
coffee by helping to bring Nicaraguan
coffee beans to the United States unlaw-
fully by way of a third country. "Drinking
coffee made from these illegal beans is an
act of friendmaking with the 25,000
subsistence farmers in Nicaragua who
make their living as coffee producers,"
according to Synapses, a Chicago peace-
and-justice organization. In 1985 President
Reagan declared an embargo on goods
and services going to or coming from
Nicaragua because he said the Nicaraguan
government's policies and actions threat-
ened U.S. national security.
"When the King James Version first
appeared," writes Martin Bailey, "a London
cleric claimed that it 'sounds like yester-
day's newspaper and denies the divinity
and messiahship of Christ.' One chaplain
accused the translators of pandering to
King James' interest in witchcraft, and
when they sailed for the new world in 1 620.
the Pilgrims refused to carry the KJV with
them." (Other Side)
NEWS COMMENTARY
Eastern Europe missions: old and new possibilities
Hugo Jantz
Neuwied, West Germany — The
ripples of change of the early
Gorbachev era have become a
tidal wave. The joy is obvious,
often accompanied by tears. I
was deeply moved to stand at
the Potsdam opening in the
Berlin Wall and see people and
Trabis (East German cars)
passing in both directions
through a huge breach in that
once impregnable barrier.
What is our mission? How
should we respond?
North American mentality
tempts us to plunge into the
new openings to do our
strategic thing. But before all
else, we have much to learn.
Change in Eastern Europe
does not mean a change to
Western forms of capitalism
and democracy.
For seven decades in the
Soviet Union and more than
four in the rest of Eastern
Europe, Christians have ab-
sorbed indignities, abuse,
torture and discrimination.
They have lost families,
freedom, social and work
positions, property and their
lives. Can we take any
effective action until we at least
begin to understand and
identify with the experience and
the theology that were forged in
the crucible of suffering?
Perhaps a major factor
leading Gorbachev and others
to glasnost and perestroika is
the effect of generations of
Christians remaining faithful
unto death, not overcome by
evil, but overcoming evil with
good (Romans 23:21). We do
well to ponder this.
For at least a decade and a
half, the intelligentsia of the
Soviet Union, profoundly
disillusioned by the failure of
the system, began to seek
another way. For many the
way led to Christian faith and
the Orthodox Church. We
need to understand that
journey and its effect on
changes in the Soviet Union
and other Eastern countries.
We are told that, especially in
the Soviet Union, the exiling of
Christians to work camps
across the country has brought
Christ and his church to every
major population center, new
and old. No mission strategy
could have done it as well.
What can we learn from this?
After decades of the promo-
tion of atheism in Eastern
Europe, there seems a greater
awareness of God and less of
a spirit of secularism in Eastern
Europe than in the West. Has
the Spirit of God rushed, like a
powerful wind from heaven,
into the vacuum?
I was thrilled to see pastors
sending people onto the streets
to demonstrate non-violently.
People spoke, by word and
action, in ways that left armed
police and soldiers powerless.
I propose some possible
opportunities for mission in
Eastern Europe.
•First, commission our best
church people, oriented to
servanthood, to work alongside
church leaders in the countries
now open for such ministry.
•Christian intellectuals from
North America and Western
Europe might dialogue and
worship with East European
counterparts.
•Industry, business, agricul-
ture and social services are in
shambles in most Eastern
countries. The church might
look for experienced, culture-
sensitive, flexible consultants to
work with church and govern-
ment leaders responsible for
church-based service.
• Poland and Yugoslavia
might be especially open to the
kind of help MCC gives in
agricultural development, and
Mennonite Economic Develop-
ment Association or Self-Help
Crafts.
•Develop an efficient flow of
Bibles and Christian literature
to Eastern countries.
•Eastern European institu-
tions training church workers
might accept resource people
to join their faculties. These
could communicate Anabaptist
thought and history and help
train prospective church
workers. English teachers
would be useful.
•People from Eastern
countries might benefit from
spending time in Western
churches and society and in
the Third World. Mennonite
agencies could facilitate this.
•Reportedly about 250 well-
trained young Christians in
East Germany are willing to
volunteer in developing
countries. Mennonite Central
Committee might help.
I do have two major con-
cerns. Mennonites are located
only in the Soviet Union and
East Germany. Should we
start mission work with the goal
of starting Mennonite
churches? Or should we
simply bring our witness to the
broader spectrum of church
and society?
The prestige and authority of
church leaders we now have
contact with tend to decrease
as glasnost and perestroika
increase. How can we relate
effectively to the new and
younger generation of leaders
who are now emerging or else
waiting in the wings?
Hugo Jantz oversees MCC
program in Europe from an
office in Neuwied, West
Germany. He and his wife,
Katherine, are from Winnipeg,
where they are members of
Maples Mennonite Brethren
Church.
THE MENNONITE 63
Homelessness, AIDS and crack cocaine
are overwhelming child-welfare services
throughout the United States, according to
a new congressional report. The number
of children in foster care, juvenile deten-
tion centers and mental-health facilities
could jump from the current 500,000 to
840,000 by 1995. (National Catholic
Reporter)
RECOltd
A Soviet factory in Sverdlovsk that
formerly manufactured cruise missile
launchers has set up a production line for
making chocolate truffles, according to
Jane's Defense Weekly. At the same
time, responding to a proposal from the
Soviet Peace Committee, the Soviet
government has minted a special coin
from the metal of missiles scrapped under
the terms of the INF treaty. On one side of
the coin is a Bell of Peace, on the other
the words "1 Disarmament Ruble" in
Russian and "1 Disarmament Dollar" in
English. The coins are not hard currency
but will be sold to raise money for Soviet
and international ecology and peace
programs. (Peace Media Service)
Bethel Mennonite Church, Mountain
Lake, Minn., will celebrate its centennial
June 22-24. The celebration will begin with
a German program on Friday evening.
Saturday evening will feature a musical
pageant depicting the history of the church.
The weekend will conclude with a Sunday
morning worship service led by former
pastors of the Bethel congregation,
followed by a fellowship meal. A pictorial
history book of the church and a pictorial
directory of the congregation will be
available. Friends of the church and former
members are invited to attend.
AIMM — Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission
AMBS — Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart,
Ind.
CEE — China Educational Exchange
CMC — Conference of Mennonites in Canada
GCMC — General Conference Mennonite Church
COE — Commission on Education
COM — Commission on Overseas Mission
MCC — Mennonite Central Committee
caIencIar
Newton Region Mennonite and Brethren Marriage Encoun-
ters: March 9-1 1— Elkhart, Ind.; March 30-April 1— Spruce
Lake, Pa.; March 30-April 1— Washington, Iowa; April 6-8—
Manning Park, B.C.
Lancaster Region Mennonite and Brethren Marriage and
*Engaged Encounters: March 23-25 — Williamsport, Pa.; April
20-22— Quarryville, Pa.; 'March 16-18 and April 6-8—
Lebanon, Pa.; 'April 27-29 — Quarryville, Pa.
Virginia Region Mennonite and Brethren Marriage and
'Engaged Encounters: March 9-11 — Williamsburg, Va.; 'April
6-8 — Harrisonburg, Va.
cIeatN
Joel Asna, 80, Champa, India,
died Dec. 31 , 1 989. He was an
early evangelist and longtime
pastor of Bethesda Mennonite
Church of Bharatiya General
Conference Mennonite Church.
He is survived by his wife Rosa-
belle Asna, and a daughter,
Maya Asna Raj, who lives in Brit-
ish Columbia.
Denise Berkey, 35, Calvary
Church, Aurora, Ore., died Dec.
12, 1989, after a 14-month
battle with ovarian cancer. She
worked with MCC in Akron, Pa.
Guy Hersberger, 93, died on
Dec. 29, 1989, in Goshen, Ind.
He is survived by his wife,
Clara. A Mennonite historian,
he taught history at Goshen
(Ind.) College, 1925-1966, and
helped revive interest in
pacifism and Anabaptism with
books like The Way of the
Cross in Human Relations
and War, Peace and
Nonresistance.
Dan Wenger, 23, MCC
worker, died Dec. 30, 1989,
following a car accident in Los
Cruces, Jinotepe, Nicaragua.
He was the son of Daniel L.
and Erma H. Wenger, Lancas-
Berkey
Wenger
ter, Pa., and a member of
Mellinger Church, Lancaster.
Also killed in the crash were
Edith Vado, 18, and Magda
Chavez Cruz, 15. They were
traveling with 13 others en
route to a Mennonite youth
retreat.
WORliERS
Lois Barret, pastor, Church of
the Servant, and Marvin Zehr,
pastor, Hope Church, both of
Wichita, Kan., are teaching
Great Plains Seminary spring
semester courses, an exten-
sion of AMBS.
Peter Bartel will leave his
position as associate pastor at
First Church, Winnipeg, this
summer.
Helen Brenneman, Warden
Woods Church, Scarborough,
Ont., has joined the pastoral
staff as lay visitor.
Christanna Brey, Ashland,
Mont.; Cristina Hart, Clinton,
Okla.; David Hart, El Reno,
Okla.; Lenora Holliman,
Weatherford, Okla.; Bertha
Limerhand, Lame Deer, Mont.;
Nadenia Myron, Phoenix; and
Robert Standingwater, Foss,
Okla., have received scholar-
B. Derksen
ships totaling
$3,050 for
postsecondary
studies from
Mennonite
Indian Leaders
Council of the
GCMC. The
scholarship
money comes
from annual
interest on an endowment fund
established with money from
the GCMC Call to Kingdom
Commitments.
Carla Bullinger, North
Kildonan Church, Winnipeg, is
the new typesetter for Der
Bote, German weekly newspa-
per of the GCMC.
Myrrl Byler is the new
director of CEE, working in the
MCC offices in Winnipeg. He
and his wife, Ruth Byler, spent
1987-89 in China.
Bill Derksen, Peace Church,
Richmond, B.C., a COM
worker, completed an extended
North America Assignment and
returned to Oita, Japan, in late
December 1989. He will
resume work with a church he
helped start.
Mary and Peter Derksen,
West Abbotsford (B.C.)
Church, missionaries with
COM, moved to Fukuoka,
Japan, to begin a new church.
For the past two years they
served a church in Oita, Japan,
which their son Bill helped
begin.
Joseph Duerksen, Rainbow
Church, Kansas City, Kan., and
George Horst from Ohio,
participated in CEE medical
64 FEBRUARY 13, 1990
A Costa Rican judicial investigation implicates key figures in the
Iran-contra scandal in the 1984 bombing of a press conference in
La Penca, Nicaragua, which killed eight people and wounded
several others. The investigation's findings, released Dec. 26,
1989, back assertions by the Washington-based Christie Institute
that several "conspirators" — including key Iran-contra figures —
engineered the bombing, in which American journalist Tony
Avirgan and former contra leader Eden Pastora were injured. The
Christie Institute, an interfaith law and public policy center, filed a
$17 million suit in 1986 on behalf of Avirgan and his wife, Martha
Honey, charging that several key Iran-contra figures, including CIA
operative John Hull, conspired to kill Pastora. A federal judge
dismissed the suit and later ordered Christie to pay the defendants
$1 million. It is now under appeal. (National Catholic Reporter)
The U.S. government paid Rockwell International Corp. $49.2
million in bonuses for running the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons
plant despite serious safety violations, the Denver Post reported
Jan. 7. Reports show that Rockwell got bonuses because the
U.S. Energy Department put high priority on production "and
relatively low priority on environmental concerns" over a period of
years. Although the Environmental Protection Agency fined the
plant $1 1 1 ,000 in 1 986 for violating pollution-control standards,
the Energy Department awarded Rockwell a $3.3 million bonus
during the same period, the Post reported.
RECOltd
M. Derksen P. Derksen
exchanges, visiting the
Chongqing University of
Medical Sciences, Sept. 1-30,
1989.
Jacob W. Elias, current
AMBS dean, will return to full-
time teaching in New Testa-
ment after a one-year service
leave, beginning in July.
Carl Ens has begun as
interim pastor at Martensville
(Sask.) Church.
The following AMBS retired
faculty members were granted
emeritus status: Jacob J. Enz,
professor emeritus of Old
Testament and Hebrew;
Gertrude Roten, professor
emerita of Greek and New
Testament; Orlando Schmidt,
professor emeritus of church
music and worship; Erland
Waltner, president emeritus.
Carl and Ruth Epp, Bethesda
Church, Henderson, Neb.,
MCC workers in Ramos,
Nicaragua, relate to about 220
Mennonites in five congrega-
tions and are involved in
rebuilding after the hurricane of
October 1988.
LeRoy Friesen has resigned
as professor of theological
ethics and peace studies at
AMBS. Friesen was on a two-
year leave following his
separation and divorce.
Marvin Friesen will leave his
Funk
position as
assistant and
youth pastor at
Vineland (Ont.)
United Men-
nonite Church,
effective this
summer.
Jake Froese
will become
pastor at Olivet
Church, Clearbrook, B.C., Sept.
1.
Herta Funk is studying
Chinese Mandarin in Taichung,
Taiwan, for six months prior to
beginning an assignment
teaching English in China with
CEE. She is sponsored by
COM and is a member of
Bethel College Church, North
Newton, Kan.
Neil Funk-Unrau, Native
Ministries worker with CMC, will
do preliminary research and
interview older people on
Matheson Island in order to
record its approximately 100-
year history. It was the first
northern community where
CMC worked with Native
Peoples. The project has
received a $6,000 grant from
the oral history division of the
Public Archives of Manitoba.
Gilberto Gaytan was
ordained to the ministry Oct.
15, 1989, at Iglesia Anabautista
Emanuel, South Bend, Ind.,
where he serves as pastor.
Gary Giesbrecht was
installed Nov. 26, 1989, as
pastor at Faith Church,
Edmonton.
Roland Goering, North
Newton, Kan., has been
appointed director of church
relations at Bethel College,
North Newton, Kan.
Janzens
Delia Graber, Bethel College
Church, North Newton, Kan.,
has begun as secretary and
copy editor for COE.
Jeff Gundy, Bluffton (Ohio)
College professor of English,
presented the annual C. Henry
Smith Peace Lecture in
January at the college. Smith
was a distinguished Mennonite
historian associated with
Bluffton and Goshen (Ind.)
colleges.
Heidi Harms has resigned as
typesetter/editorial assistant for
Der Bote and for CMC.
Nancy Heisey, MCC associ-
ate executive secretary, Akron,
Pa., will give the keynote
address at the MCC Central
States annual meeting, Feb. 24
at Lorraine Avenue Church,
Wichita. Kan. She will speak
on the theme "Working with the
Poor and Oppressed."
Valery Izbicki has resigned
as pastor at Whitewater
Church, Boissevain, Man.,
effective June 30.
Homer and Gredi Janzen,
Rosthern (Sask.) Church, have
completed their term of service
in Tansen, Nepal, with COM.
Since 1986 they worked under
the auspices of United Mission
to Nepal, where Homer served
as a surgeon, and Gredi
worked in various social
Kehler
Larson
ministries. They are spending
three months in India assisting
in the medical work of Mennon-
ite hospitals in Champa and
Jagdeeshpur.
Larry Kehler will complete his
work as general secretary of
the CMC and become director
of MCC's USSR program in
September.
Ted and Gayle Gerber
Koontz, on assignment with
MCC as teachers at Silliman
Divinity School in Dumaguete
City, the Philippines, have been
invited to give lectures in China
at Sichuan Foreign Languages
Institutes, Chongqing, and
Nanjing Union Theological
Seminary, in April.
Jonathon Larson, missionary
to Botswana with COM/AIMM,
is the speaker for the Bible
lecture series at Bethel
College, North Newton, Kan.
His theme is "Mission Today:
Deliverance." to be given in
four public lectures, Feb. 18-20.
Allen Lind has begun as
pastor at Goessel (Kan.)
Church.
Lewis Mc Dorm an has
resigned as pastor at Austin
(Texas) Fellowship.
Peter Nickel began Feb. 1 as
pastor at Camrose (Alta.)
Fellowship.
— compiled by Angela Rempel
THE MENNONITE 65
Almost unnoticed amid the dramatic
opening of the borders of East Germany
have been reforms in the schools and the
institution of alternative service for consci-
entious objectors. The changes go a long
way toward eliminating what historically
have been major points of friction between
church and state in East Germany. Military
education already has been eliminated
from the school program, and civics taught
from a Marxist-Leninist point of view is to
be removed next fall.
"War is abortion and abortion is war," said
Father Frank Cordaro after linking abortion
and nuclear-weapons protests. Cordaro,
Logan, Iowa, his 67-year-old mother,
Angela, Des Moines, Iowa, two priests and
1 1 others were detained after they illegally
entered Offutt Air Force Base during a Dec.
28 Feast of the Holy Innocents protest.
After three hours in Air Force custody,
Cordaro and Father Jack McCaslin, Mulloy,
Iowa, went to a clinic where abortions are
performed. Joined by Lana Jacobs of St.
Francis Catholic Worker House, Columbia,
Mo., they knelt and prayed in the driveway.
The three were arrested and charged with
trespassing.
British society is being driven in a
direction that contradicts gospel teaching,
according to a pamphlet that has been
endorsed by the heads of most of the
nation's major churches. Titled "Hearing
the Cry of the Poor," the pamphlet was
issued recently in London by an ecumeni-
cal lobby called Christian Action for the
poor. The pamphlet criticizes homeless-
ness, the closing of hospital wards, the
underfunding of government services and
what it calls an unfair taxation system, and
calls for the building of a new social order
in Britain.
RESOURCES
ooks
SEEDS is committed to
encouraging and enabling
Christians to respond to the
poor, not just with charity but
with biblical justice. To
subscribe write SEEDS, 222
East Lake Drive, Decatur, GA
30030. The rate of $16 per
year includes six magazines
and six newsletters.
Signing Newsletter is a
forum for people interested in
deaf ministry. Contact Deaf
Ministries, Mennonite Board of
Missions, Box 370, Elkhart, IN
46515-0370, (219) 294-7523
(Voice/TTY).
A poster is available through
Ohio Public Images, a non-
profit communications and
advocacy organization that
promotes positive perceptions
of people with developmental
disabilities. The poster asks us
to "Explore the possibilities" of
what a person with develop-
mental disabilities can do. To
order a set of four posters for
$4, request "Can Do" posters
from Ohio Public Images, 3894
Indian Ripple Road, Dayton,
OH 45440.
Supportive Care in the
Congregation by Dean A.
Preheim-Bartel and Aldred H.
Neufeldt (MCC) describes a
model in which congregations
can surround a family with
unique needs in a supportive
and caring way.
Thomas Mierau, member of
Mennonite Church of the
Servant, Wichita, Kan., is the
author of a new textbook called
Structuring for Special
Students' Success: Class-
room Management for Learning
and Behavior Disorders
Program in Middle Schools and
Junior High Schools. Contact
Fairview Books, 1508 Fairview,
Wichta, KS 67203 (316) 264-
3686.
After We've Gone: Estate
and Life Planning for a Dis-
abled Person s Family by
Mitchell L. Kingsley and Duane
Ruth-Heffelbower (MCC)
addresses the technical and
legal issues of life planning,
wills, estates, guardianship
and trusts from a Christian
perspective.
MCC Africa Program:
Historical Background by Tim
Lind (MCC, 1989, $1) is the
10th title in Mennonite Central
Committee's Occasional Paper
series. The paper provides an
overview of MCC's work in
Africa since the program there
was started in 1945. It is
available from MCC, Box 500,
Akron, PA 17501-0500.
Write the above address for
the 1989-90 Mennonite
Central Committee Resource
Catalog, which lists more than
400 audiovisual and printed
materials about the mission of
MCC, hunger, peacemaking
and other topics.
Mennonite Central Commit-
tee worker Mary Score and two
of her adult literacy students,
Rena Faye Fouts and Atlena
Ravizee, participated in the
New Books for New Readers
project, a statewide effort to
provide Kentucky adult literacy
Mary Score (left) and her literacy
student Atlena Ravizee
students with interesting,
challenging reading material.
The books cover various
aspects of Kentucky history,
folklore and literature. For
more information contact the
Kentucky Literacy Commission,
Suite 924, Capital Plaza Tower,
Frankfort, KY 40601 , (502)
564-4062.
The Problem of Social
Responsibility from the
Perspective of the Mennonite
Church by J. Lawrence
Burkholder (Institute of
Mennonite Studies, 1 989, $1 1 )
discusses the moral dilemma of
public responsibility. It is
available from Associated
Mennonite Biblical Seminaries,
3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN
46517.
Copies of the 50-page Nancy
Heisey/Paul Longacre report of
two years of conversations with
Mennonite church people
worldwide is available upon
request from Mennonite Central
Committee, Box 500, Akron,
PA 17501-0500.
Reinhold Niebuhr Today
(Eerdmans, 1989, $10.95) is
Volume 12 in The Encounter
Series, edited by Richard John
Neuhaus. In this volume, the
result of a recent conference
sponsored by the Rockford
Institute's Center on Religion
and Society, Niebuhr's legacy
is assessed by a number of
authorities.
Specific ways for congrega-
tions to work with young adults
are provided in Congrega-
tional Ministry with Young
Adults, edited by Myrna
Burkholder (Student and Young
Adult Services and the Com-
mission on Education, 1989,
$3). Order it from COE, Box
347, Newton, KS 671 14-0347,
(316) 283-5100.
The first issue of
YouthGuide, a quarterly
publication for Mennonite and
Brethren youth workers, is
available from Faith and Life
Press, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114-0347. A year's sub-
scription costs $22; a single
issue costs $6.20.
Life Transformed: Medita-
tions on the Christian Scrip-
tures in Light of Buddhist
Perspectives by Leo Lefebure
(ACTA Publications, 1989,
$9.95) takes individual pas-
sages from the Bible and looks
at them as a Buddhist might. It
is designed for both individual
meditation and for use in Bible
and comparative religion
studies.
— compiled by Gordon Houser
66 FEBRUARY 13, 1990
Spruce Lake Retreat, a Mennon-
ite retreat center in the Pocono
Mountains of Pennsylvania, is now
hiring two persons for areas of
kitchen, dining room and house-
keeping. Singles or a couple.
Salaried, year-round position.
Housing provided.
Contact Paul Beiler, Spruce Lake
Retreat, Route 1 , Box 605,
Canadensis, PA 18325,
(717) 595-7505.
The Western District Conference
is searching for a youth minister.
The youth minister needs to be a
person committed to Jesus Christ.
His or her lifestyle needs to be an
expression of Christian ethics and
principles. The person should be
actively involved in a local church,
supportive of the larger General
Conference Mennonite Church and
have an appreciation for the
Anabaptist/Mennonite faith and
heritage.
The youth minister needs to
demonstrate the ability to relate to
young people and should have a
sincere love for youth. The youth
minister shall also have basic
theological education, with some
training in Christian education
(seminary education preferred);
have experience in youth ministry
and congregational involvement;
participate in workshops to further
personal growth.
For an application write to the
Western District Conference, Box
306, North Newton, KS 67117,
(316) 283-6300.
Crossroads is an introduction
service for Mennonite, Brethren in
Christ, and Church of the Brethren.
We advertise only in their
publications.
If you seek a friend who shares
your interest, we have many to
choose from. Some have met the
one they married through us. Of
course we can't make any guaran-
tees, but at only $100 for two
years, isn't it worth the risk?
How will you find out if you don't
join? For information, write to
Crossroads, Box 32, N. Tona-
wanda, NY14120.
Business administration.
Goshen College, a Christian liberal
arts college in the Mennonite, Ana-
baptist tradition, invites applica-
tions for a teaching position with a
view to tenure. Applicant expected
to teach lower- and upper-level
courses in management, marketing
and/or finance; to relate to the
business community through
Management Development
Program and student internships.
Ability to use and teach microcom-
puters preferred. Qualifications:
Ph.D. or master's degree pre-
ferred; supportive of the values of
the Mennonite Church; capable of
excellent undergraduate teaching.
Women and minorities especially
invited.
Send letter of interest, resume,
transcripts and three references to
Delmar Good, Chair, Department
of Business and Economics,
Goshen College, Goshen, IN
46526.
Goshen College seeks applicants
for the position of director of
admissions, beginning May 15.
Qualifications include a conviction
for Mennonite higher education
and the ability to articulate those
beliefs; experience in leading and
motivating others; an understand-
ing of marketing and applied
research; and administrative skills
and experience. Bachelor's
degree required; master's degree
preferred. As an equal opportunity
employer, the college welcomes
applications from women and
minorities.
Send letter of application and
resume to Richard Gerig, Director
of Enrollment and Marketing,
Goshen College, Goshen, IN
46526,(219)535-7501. Applica-
tions accepted until March 1.
Economics. Goshen College, a
Christian liberal arts college in the
Mennonite, Anabaptist tradition,
invites applications for a one-year
teaching position (potential for
tenure track following year).
Fields: intermediate theory: money
and banking; international
economics and/or economic
development. Qualifications:
Ph.D. preferred; supportive of
values of the Mennonite Church;
capable of excellent undergraduate
teaching. Women and minorities
especially invited.
Send letter of interest, resume,
transcripts and three references to
Delmar Good, Chair, Department
of Business and Economics,
Goshen College, Goshen, IN
46526.
Goshen College is hiring a
project manager to work under
the direction of Ira C. Mast, the
construction manager, for Science
Hall. 12-24 months. Starting April.
The position requires knowledge of
construction methods, means and
techniques, good communication
skills and experience in contracting
procedures.
Submit resume to Mardene Kelley.
Business Manager, Goshen
College. Goshen, IN 46526.
Opportunity to serve low-income
children at Beatrice Day Care in
southeast Nebraska.
Gain valuable experience at state-
licensed facility for 22 children,
ages 18 months and older.
Emphasis on quality care and
service. Attempt to provide loving,
homelike atmosphere with
Christian values.
Positions available for a half-year
commitment or summer voluntary
service. Contact Mennonite
Voluntary Service, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114 (316) 283-
5100.
The Lombard Mennonite Peace
Center (LMPC), a program of the
Lombard Mennonite Church,
announces the availability of a full-
time ministry positon as LMPC
assistant director, beginning
after June 1.
Duties will include assisting in all
the various activities of the peace
center ministry: presenting
educational programs in churches
of all denominations on the full
range of peace and justice issues;
coordinating programming for
Friends for Peace, an ecumenical
network of churches and other
organizations; fund-raising;
coordinating arrangements for a
peace literature display; newsletter
editing and other communications
activities; designing publicity and
training materials, using a desktop
publishing program; conciliation
and mediation work; assisting with
general office tasks.
Interested candidates may submit
the following items to LMPC for
consideration: application,
resume, references, undergradu-
ate and graduate transcripts, a
personal statement summarizing
one's commitment to peacemaking
and recounting the gifts one would
bring to the position. Materials
may be sent to LMPC. 528 E.
Madison, Lombard, IL 60148. Call
(708) 627-5310 for further
information.
s 1970-1990
TOURMAGINATION'S 20th ANNIVERSARY
You can trust your travel to 20 years of
experience. Our 1 970 hope was to
translate the compelling "Anabaptist
Vision" into the very lives of people
through travel. That has happened! Our
1 990 tours are strong. Of course, after
20 years you would expect it.
Europe 90A
Europe 90B
Europe 90C
Western Canada 90A
Souderton to MWC 1 2
May 14-23 Arnold Cressman, Henry D. Landes
June 1 1 -30 Jan Gleysteen, Neal Weaver
June 25-July 3 John L. Ruth, Wilmer Martin
July 13-24 Arnold & Rhoda Cressman
July 19-Aug. 6 Hubert Schwartzentruber,
Henry D. Landes
Western Canada 90B July 29-Aug. 18 Jan Gleysteen, Alfred Willms
TOUR-
HI
1210 Loucks Ave. 131 Erb Street W. 569 Yoder Rd., P.O. Box 376
Scottdale, PA 15683 Waterloo, ONT N2L1T7 Harleysville, PA 19438
412-887-5440 519-747-0517 215-256-3011
412-887-9436 519-745-7433 215-723-8413
THE MENNONITE 67
"Delightful and Inspiring!
Reflections
of an
Hispanic
Mennonite
Jose Ortiz ^ftid Graybill
Reflections of an Hispanic Mennonite
by Jose Ortiz and David Graybill
$6.95, paperback, 96 pages
($9.75 Canadian)
Good^pBooks
Main Street, Intercourse, PA 17534
Call toll-free 1-800-762-7171
(in PA and Canada, call collect 717/768-7171)
Available from local bookstores or directly from the
publisher.
Mastercard and Visa accepted
Once a Germanic people, Mennonites today are in-
creasingly multicultural. An Hispanic professor and
church leader talks candidly about finding a place in the
faith community, being a Puerto Rican in Anglo soci-
ety, raising children in North America and teaching in
Puerto Rico, Central America and the U.S. Midwest.
Jose Ortiz has written a delightful and inspiring
book. It is a valuable resource to all who struggle with
their identity as a part of a Christian community that is
vastly different from one's own culture and people.
This creatively written book speaks effectively not
only to Hispanic Mennonites but to anyone interested in
how the meaning of one's life can change and develop.
This is a clear, readable and thoroughly delightful
book!
— Hubert Brown
Jose Ortiz' life and development represents one of
the most interesting and challenging pilgrimages of an
Hispanic Mennonite. His experiences show us a story of
self-realization in faithfulness to God.
— Samuel Lopez
When Jose Ortiz accepted the apostle Paul's word
that the wall separating the races was broken down in
Christ Jesus, he never allowed it to rise again. In this
honest, simply-told story he recounts his pilgrimage as
a first-generation Hispanic Anabaptist believer becom-
ing a leader in the Mennonite church. Significant are
his insights into ways of dealing with the conflict which
occurs when two vastly different cultures work to-
gether.
— Katie Funk Wiebe
About the Authors
Jose Ortiz is director
of the Department of
Hispanic Ministries at
Goshen College, Go-
shen, Indiana. He is
the Author of iVen!
Camina con Noso-
tros (Come, Walk With
Us), a study book about Anabaptist-Mennonite
beliefs.
David Graybill is a magazine and book editor
from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Letters
After Hugo
Six of us from General Conference
churches (Roy Clemmer, Ferril Derstine,
Merrill Fretz, Lamar Linberger, Brad
Moyer) and six from Mennonite Church
congregations spent the end of November
1989 with Mennonite Disaster Service in
Hurricane Hugo cleanup. Here is some
of what we saw:
About one out of four trees that were
over six inches in diameter are all that
stand in the Francis Marion National
Forest in South Carolina. It was as if
some giant had played an ugly game of
pickup sticks with the national forest.
The water table will rise because the
trees will not be using up the water in
the ground. Each direction shows more
brokenness.
We patched and replaced roofs. It was
good to work two feet in front of yourself
and only see good things happening. We
cut and removed a tree that was leaning
against the church where we slept. We
took flowers to a sick parishioner.
We saw houses and trucks that had
been javelined through by four-foot-thick
trees; a trailer pushed around a utility
pole that served as an anchor; houses
looking as if they had exploded from
within; debris three blocks long, three
blocks wide to a three-story height;
telephone poles snapped off at ground
level for miles and miles; a pastor who
started his day at 4:30 a.m. and was still
seen around the church after 9 p.m.;
people who had been through the storm
showing love to those who came to help.
We who have been blessed by offering
a cup of cool water in the name of Jesus
invite you to work with MDS. You need
not be a carpenter. Get in touch with
any local Mennonite church. Talk to the
Mennonite Disaster Service representa-
tive. Richard Fisher, 175 County Line
Road, Telford, PA 18969
Note from northern Nigeria
We are midway into our Mennonite
Central Committee assignment here in
northeastern Nigeria. Robert and his
Nigerian assistant developed an irri-
gated dry-season garden for onions,
lettuce, tomatoes and sorrel. These cash
crops sold well. Maize and some guinea
corn were reseeded to 40-day beans,
which are producing quite well. After
attending an international conference on
organic agriculture in Burkina Faso, he
conducted experiments with compost and
botanic insect repellents, to test potential
of using these cheap, ecologically safe
and easily prepared organic alternatives
to commercial farm chemicals.
High farm labor costs, demanded by
Nigeria's soaring cost of living, have put
the farm deeply in debt. Financial assis-
tance from headquarters in Jas was
negligible, since cash reserves there had
been stolen or otherwise mishandled by
the temporary coordinator.
Valerie works in the dispensary during
its prenatal-and-under-5-years clinic and
initiated an oral rehydration therapy and
nutritional supplement program in the
area. She assists the rural health
program doctor in a pilot experiment to
compare the effectiveness of sugar-salt
solution versus millet-grain as oral
rehydration medication against diarrhea.
We have been visited by suspicious
government officials. Our relationships
with people are closely scrutinized be-
cause we often befriend the outcasts of
local society, some of whom are seeking
spiritual answers to their being beyond
the strictly ordered realm of Islam.
To live in a Muslim village and be a
Christian is a daily challenge. The hope
that sustains and encourages us is in
Christ Jesus. With his help we find
reason to be here. We are thankful for
the local church even though we often
feel on the edge of fellowship because of
cultural and material differences. We
have come to love northern Nigeria's
people as brothers and sisters under
God. We live on the Lord's strength and
wisdom. Pray that God may continue to
guide us well. Robert and Valerie
(Braun) Proudfoot, COCIN, PMB 1028,
Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria, West
Africa
On guard; get informed
I read with interest the three testimonies
of deliverance [Sept. 26, 1989]. There
were a couple of disappointments,
though. They don't really speak to the
person who has a hard time believing in
demons. The biblical survey of demons
minimizes the matter of demon posses-
sion and exorcism. I agree that one can
go to the extreme and chase imaginary
demons when all that is necessary is
genuine repentance. On the other hand,
how can you pretend the Enemy isn't
there if he is trying to shoot you? Dean
Hochstetler states that in his experience
(27 years) some people are not automati-
cally delivered upon repentance of their
sin, and Satan seeks to destroy them.
Cases considered totally hopeless by the
psychiatric profession were actually
cases of demonization.
From what I know, Mennonites have
more of a problem believing in demons
and their evil activity than they do
paying undue attention to them. With
the rapid rise of occultism, channeling,
etc. in North America, it is high time
that Mennonites get better informed
about the deceptive tactics of the Enemy
so that we can be on our guard and not
fall. Anne Garber, B.P. 40, Orodara,
Burkina Faso
Read and file
Thank you for your hard work with The
Mennonite. We read it and file items
from it. Betty Kampen, 2985 Clearbrook
Road, Clearbrook, BC V2T 2Z6
Holes in the Wall
Reality is creeping back into the German
Democratic Republic. [With the destruc-
tion of the 28-year-old Berlin Wall] one
set of problems has been exchanged for
another. The East Germans have no
money to pay for travel or shopping
sprees in the West. The necessary steps
of monetary reform threaten to wipe out
everyone's saving accounts. The ques-
tion of reunification being raised at a
time that coincides with a resurgence of
the Far Right in West Germany worries
not only the Poles, Czechs and French,
but also many East Germans. Forty
years of Communist rule was unable to
deter some people from attending
church, but the lure of going to the West
to participate in that consumer society
for the weekend helped make the
churches of East Germany even emptier,
exposing a danger common to churches
in both East and West.
There's a darker side to the develop-
ments here [in East Berlin] that hardly
gets any press. Several middle-rank
party officials were unable to deal with
the revelations of party corruption, the
mistrust and hatred of the people, and
the end of their dream to develop a just
society as they conceived it. A wave of
suicides resulted; others are in psychiat-
ric treatment for nervous breakdowns.
A student in the dorm for theological
students of Humboldt University in East
Berlin took advantage of the [destruction
of the Wall] to leave the country for good.
Her mother came to clean out her room.
What will happen next in the GDR is
impossible to predict. Patience, reflec-
tion and prayer will no doubt continue to
be shortage items here. Mark Jantzen,
Humboldt University, East Berlin,
German Democratic Republic
THE MENNONITE 69
Reviews
III VIS
Radical change
Born on the Fourth of July, written by
Oliver Stone and Ron Kovic, produced by
A. Kitman and Oliver Stone, directed by
Oliver Stone
Reviewed by Gordon Houser, assistant
editor
Ron Kovic, actually born on July 4
( 1946), grew up as the oldest child in a
large, Catholic, working-class family in
Massapequa, N.Y. After high school he
joined the Marines and went to Vietnam,
filled with John Wayne fantasies,
patriotic to the core. In Vietnam Kovic
was wounded in battle and left paralyzed
from the chest down.
Back in the United States, he eventu-
ally turned against the war he had
defended so strongly and became one of
its more effective protesters, climaxed by
his shouting down President Nixon at
the 1972 Republican convention.
Born on the Fourth of July chronicles
his life, takes us through his change of
heart — from the all-American boy who
loves his country right or wrong to the
wounded veteran who decries the evils of
his country's warmaking policies.
Like other Oliver Stone movies
(Platoon, Talk Radio), this one hits you
hard with riveting scenes of emotional
power. The segments in Vietnam and at
the Bronx veterans hospital, where Kovic
(Tom Cruise) is sent for treatment, spare
no details: the open wounds of Vietnam-
ese women and children that Kovic's
patrol mistakenly inflict, the dying
soldiers at the MASH unit where he is
taken by helicopter from the battlefield,
the shockingly bad treatment at the
veterans hospital — the rats, the junkies,
the excrement. Stone's gritty realism
brings home the hell many veterans
faced. And Cruise's outstanding per-
formance enhances the effect.
The opening sequence, which shows
Kovic's boyhood leading up to a senti-
mental prom-night scene, feels like
fantasy in comparison. It is overlong and
more than makes the point of Kovic's
patriotism. Later an almost surreal
segment of Kovic in Mexico with booze
and whores seems overdone as well.
Suddenly he is part of VietnamVets
Against the War. We can understand
how he has come to this point emotion-
ally. But what changed his thinking?
How did he come to his eloquent argu-
ments against the war? What are those
Patriot turned protester: Cruise as Kovic
arguments? When a character in a story
makes such a radical change of direction,
it's important to adequately chart what
motivated that change. Stone is only
partially successful in this.
Born is a powerful film that will leave
you emotionally drained. But I believe it
also offers insights into the tremendous
pain of many Vietnam veterans. And
many of us who opposed the war were
guilty of ignoring or belittling that pain.
In this way it is one more film that can
offer healing, in its own harsh way, to
the rift between soldiers and protesters.
Self-emptying love
Pillars of Flame: Power, Priesthood
and Spiritual Maturity by Maggie
Ross (Harper & Row, 1988, 214 pages)
Reviewed by Gordon Houser
Pillars of Flame is a difficult yet impor-
tant book that delves into the core of
Christian discipleship. It brings a
unique perspective to issues of spiritu-
PILLARS
OF
FLAME
POWER,
PRIESTHOOD,
AND SPIRITUAL
MATURITY
haccii m
ality and leadership in the church.
Since the third century, Ross says, the
church has tended to identify spiritual
maturity with administrative offices,
whether these are called bishop, priest,
reverend or pastor. She distinguishes
ministry, which she calls "a pastoral
function, a sociological necessity, a
means of organizational necessity," from
priesthood, which she
describes as "the will-
ingness to sustain in
ourselves the tension of
the paradox of self-
emptying love."
Ross, the pseudonym
of Anglican hermit
Martha Reeves, makes
the theological basis for
her argument even
clearer in her earlier
book The Fountain &
the Furnace, another
outstanding work that
requires some effort. Following the
Syrian tradition of St. Ephrem and St.
Isaac, she sees the heart of Christianity
as "the self-emptying, kenotic humility of
God expressed in Jesus the Christ."
Most leadership in the church today is
hierarchical and operates in a coercive
manner that rejects God's "radical
humility." For Ross, "Any hierarchy
entails a dualistic class structure that
invariably fosters immaturity." The
basis for most churches is a secular
power base that makes creatures into
objects in order to perpetuate the
organization. Ross writes, "That the
churches create closed systems is one of
the deepest wounds of Christian history,
a wound we must enter if Christianity is
to survive."
An appendix includes a helpful chart
that summarizes the paradoxical
tensions discussed in the book. For
example, the controlling "Zeus-god" does
not equal the kenotic "I WILL BE [for
you]" God; function does not equal being,
technology does not equal wisdom; status
does not equal service, and so on.
Mennonite readers may find the
theology new, although it fits with the
notion of "Gelassenheit," and the au-
thor's Anglican context is different from
Mennonite church structures. However,
the issues she raises are applicable to
any structure, I believe. "The most
important tool in attempting to bring the
institution to mirror the humility of
Christ," Ross writes, "is the practice of
that humility by those who hold adminis-
trative power." This sentence, this book,
is certainly worth pondering.
70 FEBRUARY 13, 1990
MEdiTATiON
I, too, had to leave 'Ur'
Fran Heppner
I received a diagnosis of breast cancer in April 1986, and
shortly thereafter discovered that it had spread to my bones.
This was a shattering discovery; I had always been extraordi-
narily healthy. At the time of diagnosis I was a graduate
student in educational psychology and a homemaker, raising
two sons, then 2 and 6. I enjoyed this heady combination,
which gave me few spare moments. Now I felt the bottom had
fallen out. The doctors offered me no hope for a cure. They
said there was nothing they or I could do, and they suggested
palliative treatments in chemotherapy and radiation, which I
have for the most part followed, along with other alternative
holistic techniques. As it stands now, I have already lived
longer than I was expected to— it's been a great three years in
spite of struggles, and I have not stopped fighting.
I dropped my studies immediately, not wanting my two sons,
whom I loved so dearly, to remember their mother as someone
who always had her nose in a book. I identified strongly with
Abraham when God told him to leave Ur and the life he had
known, to head into the wilderness with its unknowns. Life as
I had known it was certainly gone. I never knew what would
be around the next corner, what the next bone scan would
reveal. As with Abraham, a few certainties came to the fore. I
began to experience and accept my need for other people. I also
learned that I could depend on God.
In my growing years I had become an independent, self-
sufficient person — an expert but solitary performer. It was not
OK to ask questions in church — the answers had already been
formed and congealed ages ago. There was little room in my
home for the expression of true feelings. It was a 'stiff upper
lip' environment. I learned quickly that I could find my
identity, my place in the sphere of human relationships only by
achievement, so I made straight As at school and was busy
with committees, extracurricular activities and career, present-
ing a successful exterior. These things were not wrong in
themselves, but they covered an inner sense of disconnected-
ness. Living this way, I did not know myself too well. I had
lost touch with the wellsprings of my own truth and emotions.
Now that my life was threatened, I had little to lose and
finally had the courage to be honest and to search for genuine
relationships. This frightened me at first, but I have developed
a capacity to give and receive a kind of love I had never
experienced before or even thought possible. I now believe the
greatest gift a human being can have is to give and receive love
that says, "I love you as you are." The words are simple, but
the experience is rich beyond words.
I am so thankful to the many people in various settings who
have prayed for me in healing circles. As they have touched me
and expressed their love through prayer and requests for my
healing, I have gradually come to feel loved. This has evoked
love in me and appreciation for the unique quality and gifts of
each person. These prayer sessions have at times appeared to
improve my physical condition, for pain has gone away.
The process I am describing is the healing of a life. Another
significant part of this process occurred when I realized that
God actually loved the unique individual that I am. On the
night after I had been told that I had cancer, I had a dream.
Weeks later, when I was waiting for a radiation treatment, I
recorded it in a notebook and left it there. Like most people I
did not pay much attention to dreams, though I believed they
could sometimes guide a person.
Two years later, in August 1988, 1 read the dream to a
counselor who had worked with dreams. That changed the
direction of my life. The basic dream message was that I had
to let go of the strict perfectionist controls I had imposed on
myself as an achiever and performer and drop the mask I wore
to become a person who lived life from the heart. In my journal
I wrote, "...this involves the breakup of old patterns and the
death of a seemingly whole identity in order to develop a more
authentic self." I had already started on this path, but the
dream made it conscious.
The night after I finally understood the dream, I dreamed a
sequel in which I met the same figures, but this time powerful
symbols of resolution and wholeness in the relationships
I now believe that the greatest gift is to
give and receive love that says, "I love
you as you are."
appeared. I experienced this as a strong affirmation that I was
on a healing (whole-making) path. It was with a great sense of
awe that I now realized that God cared about me and the
realities of my life and spoke to me through my dreams. Since
then dreamwork has become an integral and life-changing part
of my experience.
After these discoveries I began to use the word "incredible" a
lot. It was like being a child in a new world. Thus a message
came with the cancer. It took me years to hear it, and I am
still listening. A few months ago an Olympic performer died in
one of my dreams, and I was to speak at the funeral. The
message? It's finally OK to be me, not an Olympian. I under-
stand from this that I have grown in my ability to live from my
heart and to go with the Spirit of God.
My bone scan, when I saw the film a few months ago, still
looked terrible. I experienced a flare-up recently and am
having difficulty walking. I feel devastated again. I accept this
pain rather than running from it so that it can become part of
my healing. Yet my primary awareness is of the incredible
journey I am on, and the darkness is only one of the sections
woven into the whole pattern.
I wouldn't wish my medical prognosis on anyone, including
myself, but sometimes, once you have done all you reasonably
can to resolve a difficult situation, it can be reframed as a
teacher to lead you to an enriched life.
Fran Heppner is a member of Selkirk (Man.) Christian Fellow-
ship. She wrote this originally for Intotemak (meaning "My
Friends") magazine of Native Ministries of the Conference of
Mennonites in Canada.
THE MENNONITE 71
NEWS
0 1 0022 031 31
L I BRARY
ASSOC ME NN BIBLICAL
3003 8ENHAM AVC
ELKHART IM
EM
46 517
ecHtorIaL
Grief, hope and the press
et the journalists enter," shouted the crowd with a
I voice in Leipzig, East Germany, during the first
week of last December. It was the occasion, you remem-
ber, of East Germans suspecting that the newly re-
signed Communist government officials were busily
destroying incriminating files before leaving their
offices. The people trusted the press to lend accounta-
bility to what was happening, to report the truth.
"Let the journalists enter." As a journalist, I like that.
But the implications sober me. The implied responsibil-
ity is awesome. Truthtelling can be hazardous. I am
assured, however, that journalists who work for the
church can take their perception of the truth to that
church for testing. That's what sustains me in this job.
Volumes of history, waiting to be written, have hap-
pened in the two short months since those East Ger-
mans called for journalists. Even newspapers with
short deadlines are continually being left in the dust of
this stampede of change. Walter Sawatzky, Hugo Jantz,
James Schellenberg (pages 62 and 63) and Mark
Jantzen (page 69) help us insulated folks comprehend
the magnitude of these events in Eastern Europe. Mark
adds (Jan. 19), "The new ability to go where you want
and say what you want is balanced by the uncertainty of
the future and new divisions in families. The complete
remake of East German society has left no area of life
untouched." The euphoria includes pathos.
Listen also to a voice from outside the community of
faith, that of Vaclav Havel. Until this winter's Czech
revolt, Havel was principally a writer, but now is his
country's chosen — and surprised — political leader. In
his book Letters to Olga [his wife] he writes, "Only
by. ..constantly asking himself all sorts of questions, and
by throwing himself over and over again into the tumult
of the world, with the intention of making his voice
count — only thus does one really become a person."
Havel's words bear pondering. But they bring to
mind the silenced ones, the exiled ones, the little and
helpless and aged ones who were and even now are
being snuffed out by political and moral ebbs and flows.
Where are their voices? They were lost in the tumult.
Did their lives count?
I submit, yes. Where are their stilled voices? In our
voices, of course. And though the headlines from
Eastern Europe take our attention from other countries
that now need our prayer and action, let us pause a
little longer at this watershed moment of our century.
The Mennonite story, especially of the past 40 years
in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, is largely
one of pain. That pain must be acknowledged, touched,
entered, mourned and healed before we as a people can
be whole, let alone reach out to others in pain.
I saw this happen in a memorial service at Bethel
College Mennonite Church, North Newton, Kan., last
Nov. 3. Justina Neufeld called her family and friends
and congregation together to grieve with her. Four of
the original family of 10 brothers and sisters were pres-
ent. We grieved for six members of their family in
Russia whose funerals they were not able to attend or
for whom there had never been funerals. They are
Dietrich P. Neufeld, born 1888 in Kamenka, Ukraine,
missing since 1941; Anna Sawatzky Neufeld, born 1890
in Felsenbach, Ukraine, died 1965 in Ajuguz,
Kazakhstan; Margaretha ("Tante Gretchen") Wiebe,
1864-1947, died in Borowsk; Peter D. Neufeld, born in
1911 in Novo-Witebsk, missing since 1944; Franz D.
Neufeld, born 1924 in Kamenka, Ukraine, missing since
1944; and Dietrich D. Neufeld, born 1918 in Felsenbach,
Ukraine, and died 1989 in Ekibastuz, Kazakhstan.
At the memorial service that Justina planned, friends
and family members sang and spoke. Hymns included
"Ich weiss einen Strom" ("Oh, Have You Not Heard of
that Beautiful Stream"), "So Nimm den Meine Hande"
("Take Thou My Hand"), "Wehrloss und Verlassen"
("Defenseless and Forsaken"), "Lift Your Glad Voices"
and "For All the Saints." Darrell Fast, pastor, named
his meditation "A Prayer for Pilgrim People."
I commend this as a model for others among us,
pilgrims all, who need to grieve before going on. I think
of the Central American refugees, the Vietnamese boat
people, Filipinos who seem to be living on a time bomb,
Cambodians who await their country's political fate,
Colombians who are caught in the crossfire. As our
community of faith widens, this is a way of telling the
necessary truth. Muriel T. Stackley
fli
THE MENNONITE
OJHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
105:4 FEBRUARY 27, 1990
Move beyond the facts
Do you best and pray
Volunteers helped
us remember
Solidarity is better than generosity;
face the facts and face the faces
pnoloquE
Charles "Chuck" Neufeld, director of Menno-
nite Voluntary Service, brought together the
articles featuring MVS. Pass along this issue
to the person in your life who is a candidate
for a long or short stint of "something differ-
ent." The potential volunteer can be 18 years
of age or older. Tell that person how to
contact Chuck's office: Box 347, Newton, KS
67114, phone (316) 283-5100. In Canada
contact Char Siemens, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.,
Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4, (204) 888-6781.
Char is winding down her years with Men-
nonite Voluntary Service as of the end of
April, recruiting for and administrating the
Canadian service units.
Here she is (left) with one
of her "bosses-become-
friends," Ivorie Lowe,
Markham, 111. MVS is a
program of the Commis-
sion on Home Ministries,
and Ivorie is a CHM
1 55 member. In August Char
and her husband, Jon
Nofziger, plan to begin an
assignment with Men-
nonite Central Committee in Nicaragua.
I call your attention to three upcoming days
on the church calendar: Ash Wednesday, Feb.
28; World Day of Prayer, March 2; and the
First Sunday of Lent, March 4. The articles
here, with service and prayer embedded in
them, can assist your worship.
Get ready for MWC's Assembly 12: Menno-
nite World Conference's 12th assembly, July
24-29 in Winnipeg, now has a program. A
communion service will climax the gathering.
Planners expect 3,000 youth and are offering
morning programs, afternoon concerts and
late-night activities. Morning worship for
adults will include Bible studies in four
languages. Up to 300 interest groups and
seminars will convene in the afternoons. Five
"life centers" will be places to meet people and
learn about Mennonite church work.
The program committee consists of Canadi-
ans Victor Adrian, Abe Bergen, Anna Epp
Enns, Roland Marsch and Jacob F. Pauls
(chair), all of Winnipeg; Jon Bonk, Kleefeld,
Man.; Mary Burkholder, London, Ont.; Vickie
Dyck, Rosthern, Sask.; Holda Fast, Abbots-
ford, B.C.; Joyce Schimpky, St. Catharines,
Ont.; Harvey Sider, Fort Erie, Ont.; and
Edmand Stoesz, Aylmer, Ont.
The next issue of The Mennonite will be about
money: priorities, investments, taxes, mts
CONTENTS
Be prepared; know the facts / 75
Move beyond the facts; face the faces / 76
Do your best and pray / 78
MVS definition / 79
Our faces change / 80
The volunteers helped us remember our goals / 81
News / 82
Why I work against the death penalty / 87
Record / 88
Resources / 90
Letters / 92
Reviews / 92
One-to-one / 92
Quality of mercy / 93
Understatement / 93
Does prayer make any difference? / 94
More than generosity / 96
Cover: Mennonite Voluntary Service worker Sharon Ginter, seated,
center, organized a birthday party in Dallas, Texas, for three children
(foreground) of Julian and Rosa. See page 77 for Julian's story.
Correction: The article "She Spoke to Many" (p. 54) and accompanying photo in
the Feb. 13 issue were by J.O. Schrag.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 14 years of The Mennon-
ite are also available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College, North
Newton, KS 67117, and from University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb
Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106.
MENNONITE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100.
Editor: Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant:
Angela Rempel; art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the
Associated Church Press, Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a
Mennnonite and Brethren in Christ editors' group). It is an associate member of the
Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretary: Doris Yoder. Business adviser: Dietrich Rempel. Special editions edi-
tors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North Newton, KS 671 17; Window to Mission,
Lois Deckert, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 1 4; Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Richard
A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1, Didsbury, AB TOM 0W0; (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2S 1V7; (Central District) Steve
Estes, Box 1 96, Hopedale, IL 61 747; (Eastern District) Curtis Bauman, 429 N. Second St., Em-
maus, PA 1 8049; (Manitoba) Irma Fast Dueck, 693 Ebby Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3M 2G9; (Men-
nonite Conference of Eastern Canada) Margot Fieguth, 99 Veronica Drive, Mississauga, ON
L5G 2B1 ; (Northern District) Winifred Wall, Box 67, Freeman, SD 57029; (Pacific District) Clare
Ann Ruth-Heffelbower, 31 98 E. Menlo Ave., Fresno, CA 93710; (Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger,
125 Rawlinson Bay, Regina, SK S4S 6M8; (Western District) Leland Harder, Box 363 North
Newton, KS 67117.
Circulation: 11,137
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build
the Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the
guidance of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly by the
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Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. ©1989
74 FEBRUARY 27, 1990
Be prepared;
know the facts
From Bill Burdine, Mennonite Housing,
Wichita, Kan.:
•Nearly 10,000 families live in sub-
standard housing in Wichita.
•A third of Kansas homes are in need
of major and minor repairs. The older
the occupant, the more likely major
repairs are needed.
•Three hundred families are now
waiting for help from Mennonite Housing
in Wichita.
•Seven hundred eleven families were
served by Mennonite Housing in 1989.
The average household income for all
families served was $6,467.
From LeAnne McComb, St. Catharines,
Ont.:
•One out of 10 women in Canada is
assaulted by her husband or boyfriend.
•Abused women come from all eco-
nomic and cultural backgrounds and are
of all ages.
•Children witnessing wife assault may
grow up to be assaulted wives or abusive
husbands.
•At Women's Place 1,816 women and
1,849 children have sought refuge since
the haven opened in 1977.
From DeAnna Goering, Kykotsmovi,
Ariz.:
•Population of the Hopi Reservation in
1988 was 9,617.
•The unemployment rate on the
reservation in 1988 was 42 percent.
•Median family income on the reserva-
tion for 1983 (latest year available) was
$4,600.
•Employment structure on the
reservation is government, 75 percent;
wholesale/retail trade, 11 percent; arts/
crafts, 9 percent; construction, 4 percent;
transportation/communication, 1
percent.
From Martin Edmonds, St. Paul,
Minn.:
•Three million homeless people live in
the United States.
•A congressionally funded study
predicts that another 19 million people
face the prospect of homelessness in the
next 15 years.
•At the start of Ronald Reagan's first
term as president, the United States
spent $7 on defense for every $1 on
housing. Today the ratio is $44 on
defense to $1 on housing.
•From 1970 to 1985, the number of
units with gross rents below $125 per
month dropped from 15 million to 2
million.
From Sharon Ginter, Dallas, Texas:
•Approximately 30,000 Central
American refugees live in Dallas.
•Seventy percent of the applicants for
residence in Canada through Mennonite
International Refugee Assistance were
approved in 1989.
•Human rights groups in El Salvador
report an increase in 1989 in numbers of
arrests, disappearances and tortures
(electric shocks, hoods used for suffoca-
tion, rapes and beatings to both men and
women).
•August 1989 (latest month for which
figures were available) had the highest
level of government-sanctioned violence
(political bombings, arrests) in Guate-
mala of any month in the past three
years.
r
From Richard Tuschman, Pilsen area of
Chicago:
•Twenty-one different gangs protect
their turf along 18th Street in the heart
of the Pilsen area of Chicago.
•Gang-related murders in Chicago are
up 40 percent over 1988.
•On the evening of Aug. 23, 1988,
gang- related shootings occurred on 18th
Street at 5:10 p.m., 6:15 p.m., 7:45 p.m.,
8:15 p.m., and two hours later another
victim was found with 30 gunshot
wounds.
•About 70 percent of high school
students in the Pilsen area drop out of
school before graduating.
THE MENNONITE 75
Move beyond the facts;
face the faces
Jerrel Lewis
I am Jerrel Lewis. I came from West
Virginia, where I worked in the coal
mines until I was laid off. It is hard to
find a job when you are in your 40s and
have no education. I worked lots of
different jobs.
When I got to St. Paul, I worked in the
labor pool. I spent my money for bus,
food, shaving stuff, stuff to try to be
presentable to get a job. I didn't have
money for an apartment, so I stayed at
the Gospel Mission as long as they let
me. Then I lived under the bridge.
I started in a job training program that
placed me at Goodwill. I worked there
six months and got an apartment. I
started going to classes to learn to read.
They ran out of work. I got laid off and
lost my apartment. I moved back to the
bridge.
I finally got a job at Anchor Hockey
and was accepted into the union. Just as
I was ready to get an apartment, the
union went on strike. Another stumbling
block. Why, when I'm trying so hard?
Why don't things work?
I am determined to get off the street,
even if it seems hopeless. I won't give up
and get hooked on alcohol or drugs like
so many do. People have to help them-
selves, but something has to be done to
make it easier. Our government is rich.
It accuses other countries of human
rights violations but ignores its own
homeless people. That's not right.
Good news! At the last minute the
strike was avoided. Now I can try to get
an apartment. I want to learn to read,
too. You can do a lot if you aren't
worried about food and a place to sleep.
I am Annabelle Myron. My connection
with Hopi Mission School goes way back
to the beginning, when it was only a
dream. Along with other Hopi Chris-
tians at Oraibi Mennonite Church, I
hoped that a Christian school would be
started on the reservation. We all
wanted a school so children could listen
to God's Word, and the seeds would be
planted here. We prayed for it, and the
Lord answered our prayer.
Hopi Mission School began in the
basement of the church. My oldest
daughter was part of the first group of
seven students to attend. After the
school building was built, I began to
work there as a cook. I cooked to help
pay my children's tuition. Once I had
five children attending the mission
school at one time. I have also had nine
grandchildren in the school. I have
cooked a total of 14 years. This year
I cook for 89 students and 12 staff
members.
Annabelle Myron
I am still a part of the Oraibi Mennon-
ite Church. Although at times it is small
in number, the faith is strong. For Hopis
the Christian walk is not easy. The
church family is a necessary support
group where burdens are shared and
lifted up in prayer. I share my time with
the ladies' sewing group and the chil-
dren's Sunday school class. My hymn
request is often "Because He Lives."
That is a testimony of my struggles and
my hope and strength in Jesus Christ.
I am Fernando. Like most of the
teenagers in my community in Chicago, I
dropped out of high school. I was also a
member of a street gang, although I
maintained a low profile on the street.
Fernando tin black)
In July 1988, my best friend was shot
and killed by rival gang members. I had
just graduated from Latino Youth
Alternative High School, a school staffed
by Mennonite Voluntary Service work-
ers. I was employed as a foreman of
Latino Youth's carpentry program. I was
confused and scared. Since my friend got
shot, I had to choose between taking
revenge and getting more into gang life
or trying to get out.
At Latino Youth I had learned to get
along with rival gang members. I even
made friends, although that had to be a
secret. If one of your own gang members
reports that you have a friend in a rival
gang, you can get a "violation." That
means everyone in your gang will beat or
76 FEBRUARY 27, 1990
punch on you. You can get exempted
from the "violation" if you agree to shoot
some rival.
Gang life is filled with revenge and
anger. Juan was my friend from Latino
Youth. He survived five gunshot wounds
and was in a rival gang. He and I talked
to a group of Mennonite Group Venture
kids once. I told them they don't know
how lucky they are to be able to walk
freely without worrying about being shot.
I was lucky. I got out of the gang. I
learned carpentry from Mennonite
Voluntary Service workers and then got
into an apprenticeship program. I even
passed the exam into the union. I work
at Latino Youth now, training other
dropouts in carpentry skills.
I am Julian. I had been performing
military service with the Salvadoran Air
Force when, in October 1985, unidenti-
fied people entered my house and stole
many of my things. They left a note
demanding that I leave the air force. I
also disagreed with the military's
treatment of the civilian population, but
my request for discharge was denied.
I left the air force anyway and found a
job as a truck driver. Soon I heard the
military was searching for me as a
deserter. I went into hiding.
I spent two years like this until I
decided to come to the United States. I
found an apartment and a job in Dallas.
After several months I saved enough
money to help my wife, Rosa, and our
children join me. They were detained by
Immigration, but finally they arrived.
My biggest fear was that my children
wouldn't remember me after six months
apart. It was a happy day when they ran
to me with open arms.
We have four children, aged 6, 4, 2 and
3 months. We were luckier than many
Central American refugees. I found a job
painting houses, and my boss gave us a
large apartment rent free. But we knew
that our stay in the United States could
only be temporary. So we applied for
residence in Canada through an organi-
zation staffed by Mennonite volunteers.
Our relatives think we are disloyal for
wanting to go to Canada, but we feel
responsible for our children. We want
them to live in safety and without fear of
deportation. We think God is opening
one door for us as another closes. In
faith we wait until the visas are issued.
We have much hope.
I am Sarah. I am scared. I think my
voice shook when I called the crisis line
at the Women's Place tonight. My
husband left in a rage tonight, again. I
didn't know what to do. I was afraid of
what he would do to me when he came
home. I didn't know where to turn.
I've hoped for years that the beatings
would stop, but they never do. He
punches me and kicks me and forces me
to have sex. He criticizes me and
ridicules me. It never stops. It only gets
worse.
The woman at the shelter offered to
send a taxi for me and my kids. I just
wanted to talk. I don't know how I
deserve this. I really tried hard not to do
the things that make him mad, but he is
so suspicious and accuses me of things I
don't do. The woman on the phone said I
didn't deserve it. She said he is respon-
sible for his actions. I don't know. He
says it's my fault.
The woman said I could stay in the
relationship or leave. I am afraid to
leave. My kids need their home and
their friends. The woman said their
safety was important, too. I just don't
know. I've never been on my own.
The woman said the Women's Place
provides shelter, counseling, child care
and referral to other agencies. She said I
can call anytime. I don't know what to
do. I am scared.
I am Hattie. I am 80 and a member of
the Euchee tribe. Our people were
peaceful and were great huntsmen and
fishermen. That was back in Georgia
before the long journey to Oklahoma,
before the hardships. That's why that
trip was called the Trail of Tears. Many
were buried along the way.
I was young when I met and married
my husband, John. His skin was black,
but he was Cherokee. He was humble;
he was sound. He wasn't full of foolish-
ness like most men. We arrived in
Wichita, Kan., in 1949. We had tried un-
successfully to farm in Oklahoma and
had fallen into debt. Soon, though, John
got a job with a groundskeeper for the
schools. We bought a small home and
raised six children there. We even paid
off all the farm debt.
I was lonely here. I was far from my
home and missed my family. I longed for
something else. I went to the Church of
God in Christ and was saved there in
1952. John did not want me to go there
and forbade me to go to worship. I was
dutiful, but I did continue to go to the
morning prayer meetings after John left
for work. I prayed for his salvation and
believed with all my heart in the power
of Jesus. The next months were not
easy, but in 1953 John also accepted
Jesus Christ as his Savior.
Within two years John began a new
life as a minister and bought a church
building. The church became our life.
Four of our children finished college.
The fifth, after John's death, became the
head pastor of the church. As for me, I
am thankful that I can still spend my
days praying for the salvation of others.
Stories were contributed by current and
former Mennonite Voluntary Service
workers who moved beyond the facts to
face the faces. Jerrel Lewis dictated his
story to Martin Edmonds, who works
with the homeless in St. Paul, Minn.
DeAnna Goering met Annabelle Myron
at the Hopi Mission School in Kykots-
movi, Ariz., where they both work.
Richard Rutschman met Fernando at
Latino Youth in the Pilsen area of
Chicago. Sharon Ginter met Julian in
her work with Central American refu-
gees in Dallas, Texas; they are also
neighbors. LeAnne McComb talked to
Sarah at the Women's Place in St.
Catharines, Ont. Bill Burdine met
Hattie when he replaced her door in his
work with Mennonite Housing, Wichita,
Kan. Susan Ortman Goering, Boulder,
Colo., MVS associate director I west
Waiting for a new home: Julian and his children, Samuel, Lupe and Carta, celebrate three
birthdays that all occur in one week.
THE MENNONITE 77
Do your best
and pray
e
An Illinois congregation faces the fa^ts
I and the rest of the Mennonite Volun-
tary Service staff spent a day visiting
projects related to the four units in the
Chicago area: Markham, Woodstock,
Pilsen and Pilsom.
As we walked through the neighbor-
hood surrounding Markham Community
Mennonite Church, Chuck Neufeld
pointed out houses of church members
who were once MVS workers, then re-
mained in the community. They con-
tinue to be involved in the church and a
variety of ministries.
David Ewert, pastor of the congrega-
tion, greeted us as we passed his drive-
way. He is a longtime member of the
church and was called as pastor in 1986.
Soon we are joined by Les Tolbert,
associate pastor. As we gathered around
Dave's kitchen table for coffee, we heard
about their work.
"For the last several days we have
been spending much of our time working
with a homeless man who was referred
to us for help by a Mennonite church in
another part of the Chicago area. He
used to have a good job, a couple of cars,
was doing well. Then there was a cut-
back and he lost his job. Soon his wife
left him alone with their two young
children. He has a few relatives in the
area, but they have all told him to give
the children to the Department of
Children and Family Services. They say
he can always get them back when he is
back on his feet. But he wants to keep
the family together.
"Homelessness is a real problem in this
area. All the shelters have long waiting
lists. Many agencies simply pass people
on to other agencies. I've been told to
contact Community Mennonite Church a
couple of times," laughed Dave. "We
were finally able to get this man in at a
temporary place. It was supposed to
include some food, but there isn't any.
On Thursday he will have to move out or
begin paying rent of $50 per day."
"He does have a job, but it's a long way
from here. We've been driving him to
and from work and keeping the kids at
the day-care center. Yesterday they
were upset and didn't want to get in the
car with me to go home," said Les.
"Finally Aimee McLain, one of the MVS
workers from the day care, offered to
come along. I was grateful. We sang
'Jesus Loves Me' all the way. I could see
them in the rearview mirror. Even the
baby was doing the hand motions."
"What about the Highway Motel?"
Chuck said. "For less than $50 a night
you could put them up there."
"The motel now refuses to take
homeless families," said Dave. "Other
motels in the area have adopted the
same policy. With our resources for
emergency housing severely curtailed,
we face serious problems. We keep
asking ourselves what more we can do."
"Maybe we should buy the motel,"
Dave mused. "The owner has been inter-
ested in selling it if the price is right."
"What would it take?" asked Chuck.
"A couple of hundred thousand?"
"Something like that," said Dave. "It
has about 20 units, and a house goes
Mythology
Keith Lehman
Toothless, shrunken woman
with a dried-apple head
and white, translucent, wisping hair
in the hot, Indian Summer breeze
Ancient earth mother
Who do you wait for?
What do you expect to see?
Perhaps you are waiting
for the clawlike root
that emerges from the black
concrete
to stretch itself into a hand
and then an arm
uprooting street and sidewalk
bricks and wood and glass
reclaiming the earth —
your earth
Or maybe you are just tired and old
and hoping
for a visitor
Keith Lehman, is in Mennonite Volun-
tary Service, 2125 Clifton Ave., Cincin-
nati, OH 45219.
78 FEBRUARY 27, 1990
with it. We could operate part of it as a
shelter and part as a motel to cover costs.
We could hire homeless people to run it,
get them stabilized, give them job
training.... The problems are so difficult.
We have to just do our best and then rely
on prayer." We joined hands around the
table in fervent and tearful prayer.
When we left Les and Dave, they were
still talking. Probably scheming about
ways of purchasing the motel or perhaps
next steps in their effort to keep one
family together.
David Orr, Newton,
Kan., personnel
director for Mennonite
Voluntary Service
Proper forms of worship, without
compassion, do not save us.
Concern for ourselves, without
concern for others, is not life-
giving. Correct theology, apart
from doing justice, gains us
nothing. We cannot love God if we
do not love our neighbor.
Nor is it enough to recognize
need. Both priest and Levite in
Jesus' story (Luke 10:25-37) saw
the injured man's need. But the
cost of helping was high. They did
not get invovled.
Citing statistics is not enough.
We face the facts: homelessness,
neglect, loneliness, hunger. The
Samaritan showed mercy, faced a
face. Barbara Unruh, associate
personnel director, Mennonite
Voluntary Service
Today I work alone, scraping a house in
a 100-mile-per-hour wind and 40-degree
temperature. The day grows on me like
mold on cheese. I question again, Why
am I subjecting myself to such brutal
torture?
I file through the Compound Book of
Answers neatly tucked away on my
memory shelf. I leaf through the pages
until I come to "M" for MVS. The
definition reads as follows:
Upon your own request, you have
elected to commit to paths uncon-
ventionally littered with new begin-
nings. You chose this one because it
was time and you knew it. You also
knew that future paths will cause
you to ask the same questions to an
even larger and more frequent
degree. The challenge in your living
these experiences is to become the
answer to a greater degree than the
last question, and upon your
completion develop yet another
question for your being to become.
Make sense?
The fact that you have looked up
this section (MVS) means that you
are doubting again. You always
seem to do this when you have a
paint scraper in your other hand.
The echoes are in pause. Give them
respect. They will greet you again
and you will feel moved. You will
know you are in the right place. For
now, note how you feel. It is nothing
compared to what the people you are
working for must feel again and
again; a cold house, a hungry
stomach, a lonely heart. Be glad for
the opportunity to share in their
suffering.
Now close the book and get back to
work!
Ron Harder,
Winnipeg,
member of the
Oklahoma City
Mennonite
Voluntary Service
unit
THE MENNONITE 79
Our faces change
Norma Peters Duerksen
A brawl broke out. Someone had to
step in and stop the physical and
verbal violence. Since I was the closest
adult on the campground, I separated
the two fighters at arms' length and tried
to get their reasons. The stories
matched. One was interfering in the
other's business. The other was just
paying back lick for lick (a common
philosophy for inner-city survival). The
one interfering was becoming more and
more violent as we talked, getting kicks
and slugs in around me whenever
possible, punctuated with death threats.
It became clear this was the one that
needed my attention.
With his wrists handcuffed in my
grasp we proceeded to a silent place to
calm down. Hitting, kicking and threat-
ening all the way, be was an angry and
frustrated child. What would be best for
him? I seated him in a soft chair facing
the picture window that overlooked the
woods. I seated myself so that I blocked
the exit. Not knowing what to say in my
own anger and helplessness, I said
where they are planted, and all reach for
the sun. We can learn so much from
nature." Another 10 minutes of silence.
"Evening recreation is starting. Are you
ready to be among people again?"
A calm quiet boy said, "Yes."
On the way out I invited him to look
through the telescope in the room. We
spent a long time showing each other en-
larged items of interest in the distance.
Then we went back to the camp. Before
we arrived I asked what he would do if
he was teased for getting beat up by a
girl. He said, "Nothing. I'll just ignore
it. It doesn't matter."
"It takes a strong person to do that.
You know something, I like you. Is that
all right if I like you?"
"Yeah," he smiled in a non-threatening
way as we joined the group.
Faces of the inner-city become a part of
my memories as a volunteer. Faces
change from stranger to friend, from
anger to smiles, from fear to peace, from
1
Phil Duerksen (right), the author's husband, with Pleasant Valley Outdoor Center children
nothing. We sat in silence for 10 min-
utes, looking out the window. He relaxed
and took interest in a squirrel scamper-
ing along a branch and a dog barking
down below.
Seeing this, I said, "See the trees out
there. They don't fight, push or shove for
their place in the forest. They grow
abused to loved, from insecure to proud.
The face in my mirror changes, too. It
reflects the experiences of simple living
in an intentional community. It reflects
the experiences of a culture in which I'm
the minority. It reflects a struggle with
the meaning of discipleship. The face in
my mirror will never be the same.
"[The trees] don't fight,
push or shove for their
place in the forest. They
grow where they are
planted, and all reach for
the sun."
Faces change: A child at the Pleasant Valley
Outdoor Center displays her work.
Norma Peters Duerksen
is a Mennonite
Voluntary Service
worker in the Pleasant
Valley Unit, Woodstock,
III.
80 FEBRUARY 27, 1990
TOCjEtIiER
The volunteers helped us recall our goals
Preston D. Goering
Where are all the needs?"
"These look like happy, content
kids to me."
"This isn't what I thought Mennonite
Voluntary Service would be like."
These and similar comments were
becoming all too common from volunteers
coming to serve at the Beatrice (Neb.)
Day Care. The original statement of
principles for the day care included
references to concern for the poor, the
fatherless and the afflicted. When we
began in 1974, the number of single-
parent families was rising, and the need
for a day care in Beatrice became
evident. Mennonite churches in Beatrice
responded. Though the philosophy
statement included concern for the poor,
and a few families received free care
from time to time, the primary function
of our day care was to provide Christian
nurture and love to the children en-
trusted to its care.
As other child-care centers sprang up,
ours no longer met a special need. Then
the day came that Mennonite Voluntary
Service challenged the board of directors
(of which I am a member) to clarify the
day care's goals. In 1987 the questions
came from the volunteers. They had
come to work with the poor and the dis-
advantaged. Seeing none, they held this
inconsistency before us. A high turnover
of directors and a shortage of volunteer
personnel finally pushed us to look
seriously at our purpose. Was it simply
to provide a Christian day care? Or was
Children from homes with
problems like alcoholism,
abuse, poverty and poor
education needed services
they could not afford.
Renewed inspiration and interest: Roman Oganda, a Mennonite Central Committee interna-
tional visitor from the Dominican Republic, plays with the Beatrice Day Care children.
Sheryl Bartel from Calgary assists a child.
it also to meet the needs of the poor?
After some study we found a need in
our community for day care for families
unable to afford it. Children from homes
with problems like alcoholism, abuse,
poverty and poor education needed
services they could not afford. They
needed the environment of Christian love
our day care could provide.
Without losing sight of providing
Christian love, the board of directors set
a minimum goal: 30 percent of our
services would be free to qualifying
families. A scholarship fund was set
aside to provide child care for parents in
alcohol treatment, who need respite from
stress at home to avoid abuse, who wish
to look for work. This has been a source
of renewed inspiration and interest in
the day care for the churches and the
community. The day care is reimbursed
by Title XX (U.S. federal funds) for most
of the children who receive free service.
Our hope is that we can expand the
scholarship fund to serve many more.
Preston D. Goering is
pastor at Beatrice
Mennonite Church, 918
N. 12th St., Beatrice.
NE 68310.
THE MENNONITE 81
No bomb was found in the First Mennonite Church building in Berne, Ind., despite a
Jan. 29 phone call to a community woman indicating that a bomb would be placed in the
church Feb. 4. The woman, who was not a member of First Church, informed the local
police. "The police took the bomb threat seriously. They said the phrasing of the threat
indicated that it was not a hoax," said Tim Epp, pastor at the church, noting that this was
the first time the Berne community had received a bomb threat. The police conducted a
thorough search of the church on the evening of Feb. 3 but found nothing. Several
people spent the night in the church. Police are continuing their investigation of the
incident. "We didn't inform the congregation right away. ..because we were afraid general
panic would set in," said Epp. The congregation was notified about the threat at the
evening service on Feb. 4. "If we ever had to go through this again, we would inform the
congregation immediately and tell them that the proper precautions had been taken," he
said.
NEWS
18 years after Anabaptists Four Centuries Later
Mennonites will learn about themselves in new survey
Elkhart, Ind. (AMBS)—
Mennonites and Brethren in
Christ will soon know more
about what's happened in their
family in the last 17 years.
"Church Member Profile II"
follows up a similar survey
done in 1972, published in
Anabaptists Four Centuries
Later by J. Howard Kauffman
and Leland D. Harder (Herald
Press, 1975).
All five denominations that
cooperated in the 1972 survey
participated in the current one:
the Brethren in Christ Church,
Evangelical Mennonite Church,
General Conference Mennonite
Church, Mennonite Brethren
Church, and the Mennonite
Church.
Project coordination is being
carried by an administrative
committee functioning under
the auspices of the Institute of
Mennonite Studies of Associ-
ated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind.
Committee chairman is Leo
Driedger, Winnipeg.
A primary purpose of the
current survey, says project
director J. Howard Kauffman,
"is to identify trends in the
beliefs, attitudes and behavior
of Mennonite and Brethren in
Christ church members."
Compared with 1972,
Kauffman says, the new data
shows that
•Farm residence among
Mennonites declined from 34 to
23 percent; urban residence
increased from 35 to 48
percent.
•Farmers as a percent of all
males were 23 percent in 1972,
14 percent in 1989.
•The percent of married
women employed full or part
time increased from 38 to 52
percent.
•The number of persons per
household decreased from 4.5
to 3.2.
•Scores have eroded slightly
on items measuring adherence
to pacifism, and there is a bit
greater acceptance of non-
combatant service in the
military.
•Scores on the race relations
scale have improved.
•Acceptance has increased
for divorce, remarriage of divor-
cees, moderate drinking and
social dancing.
•Attitudes opposing abortion,
homosexual acts and smoking
have strengthened.
•The proportion of respon-
dents favoring the ordination of
women rose from 17 to 44
percent. Church members are
polarized as to how extensively
women should enter church
leadership roles.
Howard Kauffman and Leo
Driedger aim to complete a
350-page manuscript on the
principle findings by this
summer. Chapters will include
findings on modernization,
secularization and assimilation
among Mennonites.
The project's associate
director, Leland D. Harder,
North Newton, Kan., is using
the data to write a study book
for use in Sunday school
The survey will
"identify trends in
the beliefs, atti-
tudes and behavior
of Mennonite and
Brethren in Christ
church members."
J. Howard
Kauffman
classes and other church or
school groups. Driedger,
Harder and Kauffman will write
articles for church papers.
"I hope that congregations
and church leaders will study
the results as one way to see
what is happening in our faith
family and to reflect on what
Christian faithfulness means for
us in today's world," says
Richard A. Kauffman, interim
director of the Institute of
Mennonite Studies and a
member of the administrative
committee.
The survey findings are
drawn from a data base of
3,083, or 70 percent of the
eligible sample, in 153 congre-
gations. Howard Kauffman
noted that the 1989 survey
included some topics not
covered in 1 972 and about two-
thirds of the original questions.
The researchers are accept-
ing speaking engagements to
interpret the findings. They
also will offer a workshop at
Mennonite World Conference in
Winnipeg in July.
The project has been made
possible by funding from the
five cooperating denominations
plus grants from Mennonite
Mutual Aid Association,
Goshen, Ind.; Mennonite
Central Committee, Akron, Pa.;
Brotherhood Mutual Insurance
Company of Fort Wayne, Ind.;
and the Schowalter Founda-
tion, Newton, Kan. John
Bender
MCC Alberta invites applicants for
the position of executive director,
effective June 1 . Interested
persons should forward completed
applications and personal resumes
by April 30 to E. Jack H. Elias,
943 Kannock Road, SW., Calgary,
AB T2W 1M6, (403) 296-8027 (O),
(403) 281-1729 (H).
82 FEBRUARY 27, 1990
A "Standing Up for Peace Contest"
seeks entries from young people ages 15-
23. Entrants are invited to interview some-
one who has refused to fight in war, pay
taxes for war or build weapons for war and
share the story through writing an essay or
song, producing a video or creating a work
of art. Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
Peace Section is one of nine sponsors of
the contest, a project of the 50th Anniver-
sary Celebration of Conscience. Entries
are due May 1 . Two $500 prizes and 10
$100 prizes will be awarded. Contact
Standing Up for Peace Contest, Fellowship
of Reconciliation, Box 271, Nyack, NY
10960, (914) 358-4601.
NEWS mm—mmmmmmmmmm
Mennonite Urban Renewal Program in
Winnipeg officially disbanded over a year
ago. Through MURP Christians bought
apartment buildings in an effort to provide
decent low-cost housing for low-income
residents. Its spirit continues now through
a MURP Fund for Inner-City Ministry, which
provides financial support to Winnipeg
churches and Christian organizations that
want to begin inner-city ministries. "We
want to encourage local congregations and
church groups who have a vision for the
inner city to experiment," says Dave Dyck,
past president of MURP. "Our commitment
to missions overseas and in Canada rings
hollow if we don't bring God's good news to
poor people in our inner cities."
A retreat for families with gays and
lesbians is planned for March 16-18 at
Laurelville Mennonite Church Center,
Route 5, Mt. Pleasant, PA 15666, (412)
423-2056. Retreat leaders are Gerald and
Marlene Kaufman, Akron, Pa., counselors
in private practice. Ann Showalter of
Chicago will speak on "Dealing with Fears."
"There are numerous families with gay or
lesbian members in Mennonite-related
churches, and this retreat is to provide a
setting for them to make connections and
worship together," said Levi Miller of the
LMCC staff.
A Call to
Kingdom Commitments
funds MVS positions
MDS sends 25 per month
(people, that is) to St. Croix
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)— Two
Mennonite Voluntary Service
projects were recently awarded
funds through A Call to
Kingdom Commitments, the
General Conference Mennonite
Church development plan. The
grants are to enable volunteers
to serve with programs that
would otherwise be unable to
support a volunteer.
The first amount, $2,000,
was granted to help support the
work of MVS
worker Ruth
Entz, a
community
worker at
Samaritan
House
Ministries,
Brandon, Man.
Samaritan
House is a
Christian organization serving
abused women, including many
Native people. Services
include transitional housing, a
URGENT OPENINGS
Entz
drop-in center, boys and girls
clubs, life skills and literacy
training, budget counseling,
Bible studies and Sunday
worship services.
A second $2,000 grant was
awarded to help support the
work of an MVS volunteer who
will serve as community
advocate with West Broadway
Community Ministries, Win-
nipeg. This church-based
program provides services for
poor and marginalized people.
It tries to meet the needs of
children, the elderly, low-
income people and mentally
retarded adults.
A Call to Kingdom Commit-
ments has provided more than
$18,000 for support of MVS
workers. MVS is a program of
the Commission on Home
Ministries. It places more than
100 volunteers in partnership
with local congregations in 30
communities in Canada and
the United States.
Akron, Pa. (MCC U.S.)—
Mennonite Disaster Service
volunteers fixing a roof in
St. Croix after Hurricane
Hugo last September are
(clockwise from bottom left):
Tim Hagey, Telford, Pa.;
Brent Kaufman, Souderton,
Pa.; Alvin Stobbe, Langley,
B.C.; and Bill Steckley,
Miller Lake, Ont.
MDS is "flooded with
requests for roof repair,"
reports Lowell Detweiler,
MDS coordinator. MDS will
work in St. Croix through
May. More than 100 North
American Mennonites have
volunteered to go to St.
Croix, but MDS has been
able to arrange adequate
accommodations for only
about 25 each month.
Peter Heide, Clearbrook,
B.C., says, "One woman
and her son would come
each day to our vehicle,
hold hands and say a
prayer of thankfulness over
us." Lowell Detweiler
BIG BROTHERS CASEWORKER
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
SHELTER MANAGER/EMERGENCY
SERVICE COORDINATOR
Arvada, Colorado
HOMELESS SHELTER INTERVIEWER/
INTAKE WORKER
San Francisco, California
LATINO YOUTH CARPENTRY SUPERVISOR
Chicago, Illinois
VICTIM-OFFENDER CASE MANAGER
Seattle, Washington
MVS BELIEVES in following Jesus through a
lifestyle of service, simplicity, social concern,
and non-violence.
MVS WORKERS are needed in 30
communities in the United States and
Canada. If you can't accept one of
the positions above or one of
our other openings, please
consider helping with
financial support.
Youth leader/assistant pastor
required immediately, to work
especially with youth and young
adults, at Zion Mennonite Church
in Swift Current, Sask.
Please send inquiries/resume to
Hilda Wiens Schmidt, Chairperson,
Pastoral Search Committee, 1150
Jubilee Drive, Swift Current, SK
S9H 2A2, (306) 773-6537.
THE MENNONITE 83
Mennonite Central Committee representa-
tives traveled to Romania in early January
to explore whether MCC can meet immedi-
ate needs there through shipping food,
blankets and other resources. They also
explored long-term program involve-
ments that may include church leadership
training, a small-scale agricultural project or
job creation work. MCC has designated
$15,000 from contingency funds for relief
programs in Romania, said to be the
poorest country in Europe.
North American church workers will be
required to accept living standards equal to
indigenous partners engaged in similar
work, according to an agreement worked
out between the United Church of Christ in
the Philippines and several American de-
nominations. Under the plan, if a mission
agency pays a missionary above the
accepted level, the additional funds will be
placed in a trust to be managed by the
Philippine church. The participating
denominations are the United Church of
Christ, Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ), Presbyterian Church (USA),
Reformed Church in America and the
United Methodist Church.
While Bluffton (Ohio) College president
Elmer Neufeld and his wife, LaVera, were
in Bolivia and Paraguay from Nov. 30-Dec.
23, 1989, the United States invaded
Panama to overthrow the Noriega govern-
ment. In spite of serious reservations
about Noriega, Neufeld said that Latin
American countries mostly opposed the
American military action. "It is unfortunate
that most Americans are oblivious of the
history of American military invasions in
Latin America," Neufeld said.
NEWS
African educators
tell MCC to stay
Akron, Pa. (MCC)— "An orphan
learns from the door of the
granary." An Anglican pastor
from Uganda used this African
proverb to summarize his
feelings about the first All-Africa
Education Conference held by
Mennonite Central Committee.
The conference, held at Christ
the King High School in Roma,
Lesotho, in January, brought
together 15 African educators
and church leaders from eight
countries, 32 MCC teachers
and country representatives,
and seven North American
representatives.
The conference reviewed
MCC involvement in education
in Africa and provided work-
shops for MCC teachers.
MCC first placed teachers in
Africa in 1962 through its
Teachers Abroad Program.
TAP quickly blossomed into
one of the most popular
programs of MCC, peaking at
about 160 people in 1971 . But
the optimism of the 1960s
faded, and education failed to
bring the anticipated develop-
ment. Profound doubts
emerged about the value of the
educational system inherited
from the colonial era. MCC
teachers frequently questioned
whether they should continue
to be involved in education. By
the end of the 1980s the
number of MCC teachers in
Africa had declined to about
30.
The first presentation, by an
African participant from Burkina
Faso, portrayed the weak-
nesses of the
current system,
which, born out of
colonialism, perpetu-
ates inequalities. It
trains youth for jobs
that do not exist and
exacerbates the flow
to urban unemploy-
ment. Based on
European curricula,
much of it is
irrelevant to African
rural life. It fosters
feelings of European
superiority and
African inadequacy.
Such a list of
negatives discour-
ages many teachers.
Should MCC phase out of
education in Africa? African
participants, fully acknowledg-
ing the weaknessess of the
system, encouraged MCC not
to abandon them. Changes
are being introduced: more
African content, more practical
skill development, less memori-
zation, involvement in local
communities, in-service training
of teachers. "We need
teachers like you," they said,
"teachers with sensitivity,
creativity, commitment and
flexibility."
In a joint statement, all
participants encouraged a
system that enhances Christian
values, creativity, problem
solving, critical thinking and the
democratization of society.
African colleagues urged
expatriate teachers "to propose
and not impose, to serve and
Left to right (foreground): Magdalene Andres of
of Jos, Nigeria, and Veronica Phafoli of Maseru, Lesotho, at the MCC-sponsored
All-Africa Education Conference
Boissevain, Man.
Mf~&i i
Martha Adive
not to master, to share and not
to exploit."
"The orphan learns from the
door of the granary." The
Ugandan pastor was alluding to
the orphan who remains
outside the hut when all the
other children are called inside
by their parents. The orphan
lingers outside, listening and
learning. The pastor said this
was his experience at the
conference — listening in as
people shared.
Virtually every person at the
conference took a turn listening
from the granary. An MCC
worker with 25 years of
teaching experience in North
America, feeling depressed
about the system in Africa,
listened as a black South
African woman showed him
ways to involve the whole
community in his school. MCC
teachers learned from each
other; MCC workers and
African colleagues swapped
insights; African participants
developed new and deep
relationships with each other.
On Sunday morning many
participants attended an early
Mass held by a Catholic priest
from Uganda. In the evening
all gathered for a Mennonite-
style communion service,
breaking bread together,
drinking from a common cup,
singing an African hymn during
communion and concluding
with a joyful rendition of #606 in
the Mennonite Hymnal, "Praise
God from Whom All Blessings
Flow."
At the end all could "join the
family inside the hut," drawn
together by the Spirit of Christ.
Ray Brubacher, MCC director
of Overseas Services
84 FEBRUARY 27, 1990
Signs of the kingdom
Mennonite Central Committee
1989 Annual Report
Where, amidst the suffering in this world, are small,
kingdom-building seeds being sown? In 1989 Mennonite
Central Committee (MCC) workers in more than 50
countries sowed seeds of peace, education, health care and
friendship on your behalf. At the same time they saw signs
of God's kingdom among the people they came to know.
They saw neighbors gather to plant gardens and dig wells;
they saw people with few resources share generously; they
saw polarized people reconciled, community health
promoters administer medicines and adults learn to read.
These signs inspired MCC workers to walk with and learn
from their world-wide neighbors, many of whom are poor,
oppressed and powerless.
This year in Burkina Faso, colleagues of MCCers affirmed
the greatest strength of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ
service through MCC: people, and the understanding that
comes with presence. "You have become real Burkinabes,"
local people told MCCers. "You hear our language."
In El Salvador, MCC workers were your eyes and ears as
they witnessed the pain of war. MCCers there recall a
popular Salvadoran song: "We are still singing. We are still
pleading. We are still dreaming. We are still hoping." It
was sung at the funeral of Cristina Gomez, teacher and
member of an MCCer's host family, who was captured by
armed men in civilian clothes, tortured and murdered April
5, 1989.
"The words were an encouragement to us," they write.
"Our goal is to participate in local churches and
communities and allow ourselves to be transformed. We
see our efforts as an opportunity to live with and learn
from Salvadorans as they work for the kingdom."
In West Germany your support enabled an MCC worker
to help plan the 40th anniversary celebration of Church
and Peace, a European network of Christian congregations
and communities. "The assembly included a wonderfully
ecumenical service" she wrote, where Quakers, Lutherans,
Baptists and Mennonites held a communion service
together. "I left feeling like I had experienced a foretaste
of the kingdom of God."
We hope this summary of MCC work in 1989 opens your
eyes to the signs of God's kingdom around you and inspires
you to continue to pray for and support MCC's ministry.
Job Creation
Through cracks
in concrete
I see signs of God's kingdom as I walk down the street
between my unit house and my work in MCC's SELFHELP
Crafts warehouse. I look carefully and see grass growing
between the cracks of the sidewalk; they are small and
seemingly insignificant, but they live courageously.
I am reminded of India where hundreds of millions of
people are trapped in the concrete of poverty, a life I really
cannot understand. Then I think of the few hundred people
in India that SELFHELP Crafts, through providing
meaningful jobs, has helped to rise up just a little above
this concrete, through a crack, like blades of grass. This
reminds me of God's work in the world.
* * * Russell Koop
MCC Akron
2 MCC Contact/February 1990
Other job creation work
• • •
Last summer, 17 Native
Canadians and Kanadier
Mennonites who had been
receiving social assistance,
received six months of work
and job training in forest
management through MCC
Canada's Employment
Concerns Program.
• • •
In Laos MCC worked with
leprosy villages by developing
village economies to help
improve living conditions. In
one village, residents cultivated
cotton which they sold to
purchase rice.
• • •
In Chad, MCC provided grants
to a vocational training center
for the hearing impaired.
• • •
In Bangladesh MCC helped
provide jobs for more than
6,000 people whose livelihoods
were destroyed by a 1 988 flood.
Participants worked at raising
the playing fields of 1 6 schools
above flood level, constructing
roads, clearing land for rice
cultivation and building an
embankment to protect 1,880
acres from monsoon flooding.
• • •
Photo:
Bill Palliser shows a carving he
made at his home in Labrador.
MCC is helping him and others
to market crafts.
Material Resources
Everyone has
something to offer
Poverty has forced hard choices on families in Bolivia like
the Pintos, who live on the outskirts of Santa Cruz. Alberto
and Rosemary ride the bus to work each morning, leaving
their four children behind, alone in their home, a hastily
constructed 8-by 10-foot wooden lean-to. Rosemary has
given responsibilities to each child, and Alberto has made
plans to return home for lunch.
I don't like to see them leave, knowing the loneliness of
6-year-old Liseth, hearing the cries of the 6-month-old
baby, and wondering about the safety of 4-year-old Carlos.
I can tell that 9-year-old Reinaldo feels the weight of being
responsible for them all.
In the evening, Rosemary's face and tired walk show the
wear of a day's work. More, her eyes reflect the strain of
a mother whose family life is shattered. "I don't want to
leave them," she says. "It should not be this way."
The family hopes to purchase a lot one day and build their
own house. The Pintos' present home was offered to them
after they were unfairly forced off another. Alberto's
income barely covers food and other essentials. Without
Rosemary's job it would be almost impossible to buy a lot
of land.
So I was surprised one Sunday when I saw the Pintos
preparing lunch for the entire church and some visiting
evangelists. I remembered those scenes of their children
alone, and the meager food they have on their own table.
"Why are you doing this?" I asked. "You needn't, you
know. Serving a meal just for the visitors would be more
than enough!" Their simple response, "In this life, one must
give."
The Pintos' hope is to someday have a house, shelter from
wind and rain. On the way toward that goal, they have
made choices that seem to me, a neighbor from the North,
altogether too costly. I consider the fragile family life which
they place at risk. But they seem to understand the risk we
take if we ignore opportunities to share, losing sight of love
for others. They understand that everyone has the capacity
to offer something. Therein lies the real hope for the life
of the Pinto family.
• • • Sara King
MCC Bolivia
Sharing material resources
• • •
In 1989 MCCers in the Santa
Rosa region of Bolivia worked
closely with Heifer Project
International to provide animals
to local farmers. Five families
received milk cows, 28 families
received laying hens and nine
families each received two
sheep.
• • •
More than $65,000 worth of
groceries were collected by
church members last year and
shared in Philadelphia, New
York City and other East Coast
cities through the MCC U.S.
Grocery Sharing Project. Eight
Beachy Amish, Brethren in
Christ and Mennonite church
conferences participated in the
project, which has distributed
35,539 bags of groceries since
its beginning in 1982.
• • •
Following a cyclone in West
Bengal, India, MCC shared
medicines, milk powder,
tarpaulins, clothes and water
purification tablets in affected
villages.
MCC donated wheat, chain
saws and labor to CEPAD, a
Christian Nicaraguan
development organization,
following an October 1988
hurricane. By August, 151
houses had been built by
Mennonite Disaster Service
(MDS) labor. Local chainsaw
operators, using MCC-donated
saws, cut wood for 537 more
houses.
• • •
In northern Guatemala, MCC
supported a feeding program
for 125 displaced orphans and
their widowed mothers. A local
Methodist church runs the
project. In January MCC-trained
health promoters visited the
project and helped a doctor
treat 163 people; 80 percent of
them suffered from malnutrition
and parasites. MCC also helped
Guatemalan widows by
purchasing handcrafted items
to sell in North America through
its job creation program,
SELFHELP Crafts.
4 MCC Contact/February 1 990
"Recipients of material
resources were pleased with
the quality of goods they
received from MCC and were
thankful for the assistance,"
write MCCers in Ethiopia.
Quilts, soap, sheets and towels
were shared with two hospitals.
• • •
In Sudan MCC distributed
blankets, clothing, soap and
school and sewing kits among
people displaced by war.
• • •
The year's annual MCC
Christmas donation to
Salvadoran refugees living in
Honduras included 4,350
school kits, 990 health kits and
1,200 towels. In January MCC
donated 800 sacks of wheat
flour to the refugees' bakery
project.
• • •
Photo:
During the 1988-89 meat
canning season, MCC
constituents processed 246
tons of meat that was
distributed overseas and in the
United States.
\
Agricultural work
Beit Sahour: Model of peace
amidst violence
Since the beginning of the Palestinian uprising against the
Israeli military occupation, Beit Sahour, a city of 10,000
located on the edge of Bethlehem, has modeled a nonviolent
response.
Residents have been able to use mostly Palestinian products
by growing their own produce and raising chickens and
rabbits. Residents of Beit Sahour have also organized
neighborhood committes for the welfare of the community.
And they have refused to pay taxes since they felt the money
was used to fund the military occupation instead of
community services. In fall 1989 the Israeli government
responded by making the town a closed military zone and
by placing it under nightly curfew. During the month-long
seige the military, with Israeli tax officials, made daily tax
raids on homes and businesses and confiscated without
trial several million dollars worth of property.
When the raids ended, the people of Beit Sahour
immediately scheduled a prayer for peace, to be held in a
local church Sunday morning, November 5. An invitation
was sent to Muslim, Christian and Jewish religious leaders
as well as representatives of the international community,
members of the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) and
Palestinians and Israelis from the peace movement.
Although the town was put under military closure early
Sunday morning, many guests bypassed roadblocks,
walking through fields or on side roads. The service was
held. The message from the people of Beit Sahour is that
they wish to live together with Israelis in a just peace, two
peoples in two free and secure states.
In 1989 MCC workers supported the people of Beit Sahour
through agriculture, health and education projects. In other
areas of the West Bank, MCC assisted with a reforestation
project, helped build roads, assisted in vegetable seedling
distribution, supported chicken projects and provided relief
to farmers whose crops were damaged by frost.
• • • Kent Stucky
MCC West Bank
Other agricultural work
• • •
Two MCCers supervised work
at tree nurseries owned and
operated by Faith and Farm, an
agricultural extension program
of the Church of Christ in
Nigeria.
Rice planting in Haiti where
MCC promotes erosion control
farming techniques.
• • •
In St. Elizabeth, Jamaica,
participants in the Mennonite
Ventures program learned
about crop rotation, responsible
use of pesticides and fertilizer
and contour farming.
• • •
An agriculture group in El
Salvador harvested their first
peanut crop. "Peanuts seem to
be self-promoting," write
MCCers there. "Word about this
new crop has spread through
the community, and several
people have asked us for
planting seed. Peanuts improve
the soil, improve nutrition and
are a potential source of
income."
• • •
In Laos, the first phase of an
extensive gravity-fed, clean-
water system was begun with
MCC and Quaker assistance.
When complete, this system
will provide clean water to more
than 4,000 people in eight
villages.
Agricultural workers in Brazil
accompanied cooperative
members working on goat and
bee-keeping projects,
alternative agriculture and
produce marketing.
MCC Contact (USPS 689-760) is
published in February, April, June,
August and November by Mennonite
Central Committee, PO Box 500,
Akron, PA 17501-0500. Editors are
Charmayne Denlinger Brubaker, Ardell
Stauffer, Andrea Schrock Wenger and
John Longhurst. Graphic design by
Veronica Isaak. Copies are sent in bulk
to church addresses upon request.
Address correspondence to MCC
Contact Editor, 21 South 12th Street,
PO Box 500, Akron, PA, 17501-0500.
In Canada address correspondence to
MCC Contact Editor, MCC Canada,
134 Plaza Dr., Winnipeg, MB, R3T
5K9. Second class postage paid at
Akron, Pa., and additional mailing
offices. POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to PO Box 500, Akron, PA
17501-0500. Printed in U.S.A.
Photo credits: Page 1, Lori Weiler; page
3, Bob Bartel; page 4, Earl Epp; page 5,
Marilyn Nolt; page 6, Doug Brubacher
and Emily Will; page 7, Lowell
Detweiler; page 8, Ruth Keidel Clemens
and Ruth Kroeker; page 9, Terry
Clarbour; page 10, Rodney Stutzman;
page 11, Charmayne Denlinger
Brubaker; page 12, David Bergen and
Jim Bishop; page 13, Mark Beach.
6 MCC Contact/February 1990
Work for peace
A joyous reunion
"You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky,
as you offer them the message of life." Philippians 2:15-16
A story of extreme brokenness unfolded when I talked with
a man who called our Mennonite Conciliation Service
(MCS) office for possible assistance in visiting his children.
The man had not seen his 8-year-old son or 7-year-old
daughter for almost three years. He had spent those years
struggling with his failed marriage and his own alcoholism.
He had been "hiding out" from his former family in an
attempt to avoid court enforcement of child support
obligations.
I imagined the incredible barriers to reconciliation that
stood between this man and his children. I agreed, however,
to contact his former wife. Surprisingly, she said she felt a
strong leading to work at father-child reunion despite her
anger, frustration and fear about the turmoil she and the
children had experienced.
Efforts to set an initial meeting failed repeatedly, so after
a few months, I closed the file. Almost a year later the
mother called to ask if I would try one last time. The
children were grieving for their father. This time the father
agreed to meet his former wife at my office. While it was
painful for them to face each other, they were also relieved
to begin this new part of their journey. They agreed that
the father would have a reunion with the children in my
presence.
The time came, a beautiful late summer evening. The
children, in their Sunday best, laughed, played and talked
excitedly with their father in the playground next to the
MCC Akron office. The father had brought UNO cards
and the children were proud to display their skills. The
father is an artist — and so too, he discovered, is his
daughter.
As evening faded, I visited with the mother. Her emotions
were strong and mixed, but she had prepared her children
well. I asked her how she had been able to trust this difficult
matter to mediation after such extensive breaches of trust
and court actions. She looked at the MCC building and
said: "When we were first married as teenagers, we found
a little apartment in Chester County [Pa.] next door to a
Mennonite family. I didn't know anything about
Mennonites, but they befriended us. And over the years,
this friendship continued, through all my upheavals,
transitions and relocations and through theirs, as they've
come and gone on church-related assignments. It's hard to
explain. They're special people and that helped me to trust
coming here for help."
After that night, the parents agreed that the father would
have limited, but regular visits with the children for six
months on a trial basis.
• • • Alice Price
MCC Akron
Other peace work
• • •
In 1 989 the U.S.-based MCS led
eight two-day mediation
training seminars and 40
shorter workshops. Staff also
were involved in mediating 22
cases and served as a resource
to the MCS network which was
involved in dozens of conflict
resolution training seminars
and mediation sessions across
the country. MCS also helped
plan and lead a conflict
management seminar in
Spanish. Thirty-six people from
Hispanic Mennonite churches
participated.
• • •
In West Germany an MCCer
related to U.S. military
personnel and their families,
encouraging Christians in the
military to rethink their vocation
and views by taking another
look at Christ's teaching on
peace.
In the Israeli-occupied West
Bank, MCC workers cultivated
relationships with both Israelis
and Palestinians in attempts to
understand and interpret the
situation there and support
those working toward peaceful
and just solutions.
• • •
In September an MCCer co-led
a five-day conciliation training
seminar at Makerere University
in Kampala, Uganda, together
with author and professor
Hizkias Assefa. More than 70
people gathered to reflect on
the implications of mediation
for many aspects of Ugandan
life, drawing on local knowledge
and ways of handling conflict.
• • •
Together with local partners,
MCC workers in Costa Rica
provided family counseling and
conflict resolution training
workshops for Mennonites and
other groups in the region.
• • •
In South Africa, MCC supported
groups working for peace and
nonviolent change. "The ability
of people to live under much
harassment and to retain their
faith and their willingness to
forgive makes us feel humble,"
write MCCers there. "The
growth in understanding of
nonviolence and the use of
nonviolent means to work for
change is for us a sign of joy
and hope."
7 MCC Contact/February 1990
Health work
Pok Oeurn
Some people make us better for having met them. So it is
with our friend Pok Oeurn, a small energetic nurse at an
orphanage in Phnom Penh. She cares for the small babies
and loves them as well. Many of the babies have been
abandoned by mothers overwhelmed with the idea of
another mouth to feed.
Pok Oeurn works hard at home when she is not at the
orphanage. She is often tired, though she says so cheerfully.
Her fine-featured face easily breaks into a smile, which
belies her life's experiences. She has had hardships beyond
our imaginations.
During the four brutal years of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge in
the late 1970s, one-sixth of Cambodia's population died.
Pok Oeurn's husband was killed because he refused to fight
for the Khmer Rouge. Alone, she cared for her family of
five small children. Eighteen-hour work days and a diet of
rice-water soup were the norm. Death by starvation, disease
and killing was an ever present possibility. Oeurn fed her
children tree leaves so they would not starve. She also raised
chickens to feed them. But she had to prepare and cook
them in secret to avoid being killed.
Now the Khmer Rouge are threatening to return. The fear
of our Khmer friends sometimes borders on panic. The
genocide and atrocities committed during the Pol Pot years
are well known worldwide. Still, it seems the world has
not yet taken measures to prevent the Khmer Rouge from
again taking power.
When hope seems far away, the gentleness of Pok Oeurn
is an example for us. Her work at the orphanage is more
than a job for her. Oeurn shows the babies the affection
and warmth they need. Despite these days of anxiety and
danger, the future of these babies is still worth working for.
God works through Pok Oeurn to build the kingdom, and
we are trying to learn from her example.
* * * Jonathan and Ruth Keidel
Clemens
MCC Cambodia
Health work
• • •
Tansen Hospital is one of only
two hospitals in western Nepal
that offers general anesthesia.
An MCC physician is a surgeon
at the hospital, where about 500
outpatients are treated a day.
Community health workers with
the hospital examine and treat
local people and talk with them
about clean drinking water,
sanitation, tuberculosis and
leprosy control.
Your gifts to MCC made
possible an MCC-sponsored
medical team in Cambodia. The
team included a French
physician and a physician/
nurse-midwife couple from the
United States. They supported
a series of one-week midwifery
courses for traditional birth
attendents throughout the 13
districts of Cambodia's Prey
Veng province. The provincial
health committee organized the
courses; Khmer medical staff
taught them.
• • •
An MCCer in Zaire worked with
a physical rehabilitation
program for people disabled by
polio.
Two MCC nurses worked in a
Menouf , Egypt, hospital leading
classes in basic nursing care
and surgery. Your support also
provided medical equipment for
clinics in several areas.
• • •
An MCC nurse lived in Beirut,
Lebanon, through six months of
shelling this year, working at
the American University
Hospital, which urgently
needed nurses. MCC also
provided emergency medicines
to clinics in all areas of Beirut
and in the south of Lebanon.
8 MCC Contact/February 1990
Photo:
MCC-trained health promoters
in Bolivia taught preventive
health courses in rural village
mothers' clubs and church
youth groups. Lessons were
also aired on a weekly women's
radio program. In two barrios
MCCers participated in a
breakfast-feeding program
where they charted children's
growth.
• • •
In Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso,
an MCCer helped staff medical
clinics for street children and
juvenile prisoners. The worker
also met with women's church
groups and prisoners to talk
about physical health and
spiritual growth.
In Chad MCCers helped a group
of community women put
together birthing kits which
were sold at a church
dispensary in order to promote
cleaner, more sanitary birthing
processes.
• • •
In Vietnam MCC continued to
support a project involving
simple preventive dental
practices and basic oral
hygiene among elementary and
secondary children.
Work with women
Xalimo
Last year MCC provided small loans to members of a
self-help group for refugee women in Somalia. The first
loan of 20,000 shillings ($49 U.S.) went to Xalimo; she
was selected to receive the money by others in the group.
Xalimo came to the Suriya refugee camp 10 years ago from
Ethiopia with her husband and five children. Two years
later her husband died of malaria. Now she has eight
children, 2 to 1 6 years old. Her ration card only provides
enough food for five children, so Xalimo has to supplement
her income.
The MCC loan allowed her to do that. With the loan,
Xalimo bought a sack of white flour which she sold. Using
the profit she bought two more sacks of flour. Profit from
the sale of those was used to buy wheat, grass mats and
maize meal, all of which she sold in the refugee camp at a
profit. Eventually, she began buying candy, wooden beds
and other goods at villages outside the camp which she
sold to camp residents.
"Since I received this loan from MCC I got different ideas
on how to survive and my life got better," says Xalimo.
"My children and I thank MCC. The money was small,
but we made it big."
MCC was instrumental in
developing a women's society
in the Bedouin area of Mufrak,
Jordan. To raise money for their
activities, the society produced
cheese made from sheeps' milk
and operated the only bakery in
the area. Profits went to
women's projects that include a
local sewing center and
kindergarten.
In Haiti 350 women attended a
seminar planned by local
women in the Bois de Laurence
zone. The time included songs,
discussions and skits reflecting
women's struggles, rights and
responsibilities. Five women's
groups there also used fabric
donated by North American
Mennonite and Brethren in
Christ churches to make
patchwork comforters to use
and sell.
• • •
Funding was provided for two
Sudanese women to pursue
Christian religious training in
Kenya. The goal is to help
address the tremendous
shortage of Christian religious
teachers in Sudanese schools.
Education
25 years in Appalachia
1989 marked the 25th year of MCC presence in Appalachia.
Work began in 1964 in the health field and expanded into
housing, agriculture, social work, craft industries and
education. Now 20 MCCers serve in four counties. Primary
involvements are low-cost housing and adult education.
MCCers in Kentucky have strengthened community
organizations and helped people learn to read, counseled
abused women, organized Bible studies and planned
activities for neighborhood children and senior citizens.
They have also benefited from their time in Kentucky. One
MCC Kentucky worker Carol Loeppky writes:
"We have received a glimpse of what it is like to apply
for food stamps, to wait for heat assistance and to be
unable to read. We have learned about giving, from local
churches and individuals who are involved in the
day-to-day struggles of their neighbors on fixed incomes.
We have learned what it means to be faithful and we have
come to love this place and its people."
Other education work
• • •
Your support enabled an MCCer
in Northern Ireland to teach
youth workers leadership skills
and how to deal with young
people who have had drug and
alcohol problems.
• • •
In Zimbabwe MCC provided
scholarships for two students
to attend the Ekuphileni Bible
Institute.
• • •
An MCC couple taught English
at the Methodist College in
Warsaw, Poland. Another
MCCer in Poland began music
studies at the University in
Warsaw, while making contact
with Baptists and other
Christians in Lublin, Warsaw
and beyond.
• • •
Two MCC workers in Hindman,
Ky., were honored as
outstanding adult education
volunteers of the year by the
Kentucky Department of
Education.
• • •
In Botswana, an MCCer taught
cooking and catering at the Girl
Guides Youth Training Center,
a school that trains primary
school drop-outs to sew and
cook so they can get jobs as
seamstresses, waitresses and
cooks.
MCC Bangladesh distributed
20,000 school kits donated by
North American church
members to about 250 schools
and orphanages. Through
MCC's Global Family Program
281 children in Bangladesh
received support in 1989.
Supporters of the program
provided funds for school fees,
uniforms, books, supplies and
medical assistance. Forty
percent of the children came
from tribal groups which are
seriously disadvantaged and
oppressed.
• • •
Seventeen MCC Egypt workers
taught in church schools and in
English as a second language
programs. A literacy program
with over 300 participants was
sponsored by MCC in upper
Egypt.
11 MCC Contact/February 1990
Work with homeless people
Umsiedler
Archangelsk? The name echoes around the small room in
Unna-Massen, a West German reception center for recent
arrivals from Eastern-bloc countries. In one of my daily
visits to those of Mennonite background, I encountered a
small, white-haired woman whose face bears the imprint
of a trying life, especially the past 44 years in remote
Archangelsk. With little prompting, she shares how God
has been at work in her life.
The church had been officially dead for 10 years. As a
29-year-old mother of three children, she saw her husband
disappear into the Stalin terror machine during World War
II. Evacuated with the German front from the Ukraine in
1943, she endured the hopeless disappointment of being
returned to the Soviet Union at the war's end. Her elderly
mother and six sisters, five of whom were also young
widows with children, accompanied her.
In fall 1945, they ended up near the Arctic Circle around
Archangelsk. Trading her last treasures from home in
nearby villages for food, she eked out an existence. Her
youngest child and only daughter died as a result of
malnutrition. She was buried beside her grandmother, aunt
and sister who also perished. There was no church, no
minister and few men.
The people had no theological training; their only resources
were a few Testaments and songbooks carefully protected
through thousands of kilometers of travel and many
searches. They met in homes to read the Bible and sing.
When conditions eased in the late 1950s and early '60s,
people moved to other parts of the Soviet Union in search
of better living conditions. But she remained with her family
and a few Mennonites in the place she had learned to call
home.
In 1972, at age 60, she was baptized by a minister from
Latvia. The service took place in a frigid Arctic river, under
the "midnight sun" to avoid difficulties with local
authorities. Many times she, her sons and other participants
in the infrequent gatherings around God's word were
arrested and threatened. Their radios, books and precious
cassette tapes were confiscated. Her main source of contact
with a larger church was via shortwave radio. On a clear
Sunday she would listen to as many as eight sermons.
Today, 77 and healthy, she has arrived in West Germany.
She will be able to freely participate in organized church
services. Her eyes cloud with tears as she shares with me
the miracle of God's work in her life.
As a 40-year-old North American who has been surrounded
by opportunities to worship and study God's word, I am
humbled to meet someone whose faith has flourished under
these conditions. We are thankful for the miracle of God's
presence, which has led, comforted, strengthened and
nurtured her.
• • • James Schellenberg
MCC West Germany
Other work with
homeless people
Two MCC couples worked at
Phanat Nikhom refugee camp
this year in Thailand. They
provided cultural orientation
and English language
instruction to refugees
accepted by Canada. They also
did advocacy work for the
refugees and provided a link
between refugees needing
sponsors and churches
interested in sponsoring.
• • •
A container of clothing,
layettes, health and school kits
was given to the Malindza
Reception Center in Swaziland
where about 3,000 Mozambican
refugees make their home.
Individual refugees received
financial help from MCC and an
MCCer sat on a national refugee
coordinating committee.
At this Virginia relief sale and 34
others in North America more
than $4 million was raised for
MCC.
• • •
MCC responded to damage
caused by Hurricane Hugo in
the United States and the
Caribbean. More than 1,000
Mennonite Disaster Service
(MDS) workers cleaned up and
repaired roofs in North and
South Carolina. In the
Caribbean, Mennonite and
Brethren in Christ church
members went to the Virgin
Island of St. Croix and the
French territory of Guadeloupe
to assist local reconstruction
efforts. In Puerto Rico, MCC,
together with Mennonite Board
of Missions, gave funds to a
Christian evangelical relief
agency.
12 MCC Contact/February 1990
MCC financial
Income
U.S. constituency contributions
Canada contributions*
Other contributions
Grants — Non-Governmental
Grants — Governmental
SELFHELP Crafts
Other revenue
Material aid in kind — U.S.
Material aid in kind — Canada
Total income
Disbursement
Agriculture & integrated
development
Emergency assistance
Economic & technical assistance
Education
Health
Social services
Religious & peace
Support services &
constituency relations
Material aid donated in kind
Funds applied to long-term assets
Total disbursements
Excess of income over expenses
MCC U.S. financial
**
Income
Designated contributions
General contributions allocated
Grant income
U.S. Service Program stipends
Refugee resettlement income
MHS member contributions
SWAP/DOOR
Literature and seminar fees
Other income
Total income
Disbursements
MCC U.S. Service Program
MCC U.S. Peace Section
Mennonite Disaster Service
Mennonite Health Services
Urban Ministries
Immigration and Refugee Program
Criminal Justice
Special Programs
Material Aid
West Coast MCC
MCC Central States
MCC Great Lakes
MCC East Coast
Executive Office
Headquarters expense
Funds applied to long-term assets
Total disbursements
Excess of income over expenses
*in U.S. dollars
"Does not include SELFHELP Crafts
10,566,512
3,182,636
428,663
1,561,928
3,504,865
4,780,604
1,656,725
2,660,337
5,442,520
33,784,790
3,567,353
3,589,734
4,934,601
1,908,102
1,363,000
3,525,804
2,407,990
2,314,820
8,102,857
903,021
32,617,282
1,167,508
828,515
2,185,000
87,711
680,156
55,405
170,710
48,072
81,567
9,610
4,146,746
1,069,236
360,040
173,037
329,747
141,532
152,150
61,246
128,143
312,812
188,133
209,212
84,229
47,298
99,115
383,178
5,990
3,745,098
401,648
MCC Canada financial
***
Income
Contributions
Consituency
Other
Grants
CIDA
Other
Earned income
SELFHELP Crafts (20 months)
Voluntary service
Interest
Other
Material/food aid
Contribution
Grants
Interest
Total income
Disbursements
Program
Coordination
Development education
Disability concerns
Employment concerns
Kanadier concerns
Material/food aid
Mennonite Central Committee
Mental health concerns
Native concerns
Peace and social concerns
Refugee assistance
SELFHELP Crafts (20 months)
Victim offender ministries
Voluntary service
Women's concerns
East/West concerns
Other
General administration
Total disbursements
Excess of income over expenses
*** All in Canadian dollars
6,138,387
170,535
4,213,730
236,076
4,944,354
766,913
298,456
372,128
736,343
5,088,330
129,200
23,094,452
405,638
109,742
45,602
121,539
298,925
6,547,648
7,787,577
71,214
164,161
78,782
57,811
3,856,030
82,819
1,035,137
56,590
105,237
309,321
665,297
21,799,070
1,295,382
14 MCC Contact/February 1990
Personnel charts
c
3 '§3
1 3-
B -if
3 :S
•a j
i <
o
Oh c/5
Q, U
3. ii
U.S. service workers
>.
-a
3
C/3 C
U
5 -o
<
UJ
eel
t/5
<!
r-1
Africa
40
14
14
14
17
11
33
143
Botswana
5
3
4
3
15
Burkina Faso
3
3
3
1
2
2
14
Chad
2
1
3
2
8
Ethiopia
2
2
4
Ghana
2
2
Kenya
2
1
1
3
7
Lesotho
2
1
4
2
2
11
Mozambique
1
1
2
Nigeria
2
2
2
2
8
South Africa
4
1
3
8
Sudan
3
1
3
2
9
Swaziland
3
1
1
2
7
Tanzania
2
1
3
6
Uganda
2
2
1
1
2
8
12
Zaire
7
2
3
Zambia
4
1
1
1
1
2
10
Zimbabwe
2
2
Youth Discovery Teams
10
10
Asia
26
18
4
14
12
4
22
100
Bangladesh
17
10
1
1
3
32
Cambodia
1
2
1
3
7
China
10
10
Indonesia
6
1
5
12
Japan
1
1
Laos
2
2
Nepal
4
1
3
8
Philippines
1
1
1
9
2
14
Taiwan
3
3
Thailand
1
2
3
2
8
Vietnam
1
2
3
2
24
6
32
Belgium
1
1
East Germany
1
1
Ireland
7
7
Poland
2
1
3
Portugal
2
2
Switzerland
1
1
2
West Germany
11
5
16
Latin America/Caribbean
37
15
28
14
17
11
32
154
Bolivia
12
3
6
5
3
2
9
40
Brazil
5
3
3
1
3
4
2
21
Costa Rica
2
2
El Salvador
2
5
1
3
2
13
Guatemala
3
1
3
1
2
10
Haiti
11
6
1
5
23
Honduras
1
1
5
7
Jamaica
2
3
6
2
13
Mexico
1
1
3
2
7
Nicaragua
2
4
2
3
11
Paraguay
2
2
4
Youth Discovery Teams
3
3
Middle East
4
17
1
8
30
Egypt
3
17
1
1
22
Jordan
4
4
Lebanon
1
1
West Bank
3
3
North America
3
31
9
14
100
14
353
524
Canada • volunteer
3
7
5
2
42
14
24
97
• local VS
9
19
38
66
•salaried
6
1
10
77
94
• other
U.S.A. 'volunteer
8
4
9
26
68
115
•local VS
1
1
11
13
•salaried
2
2
135
139
• other
106
78
1 59
75
171
40
454
983
California
Colorado
District of Columbia
Florida
Georgia
Kentucky
Louisiana
Pennsylvania
Total
2
2
12
8
21
5
56
115
Canadian voluntary service workers
>
LVS
SALT
Total
British Columbia
19
12
6
37
Alberta
11
11
Saskatchewan
8
5
13
Manitoba
14
17
6
37
Ontario
22
27
49
Quebec
2
3
5
Maritimes
1
2
3
Nfld./Labrador
8
8
Total
85
66
12
163
Material resources in 1989
MCC shipped 23 million pounds (10.4 million kilograms) of material
resources to 32 countries in 1989. Of that, 22.5 million pounds (10.2
million kilograms) were food resources, including beans, corn, flour, meat,
milk, oil, rice and wheat. Other items shipped were:
26,664 blankets, comforters and quilts
3,671 layettes
3,087 sheets
4,1 19 towels
6,361 health kits
11,037 school kits
3,878 sewing kits
25,000 yards (22,860 meters) of fabric
97,348 pounds (44,099 kilograms) of medical supplies
115,119 pounds (52,115 kilograms) of soap
140,358 pounds (63,582 kilograms) of clothing
526,730 pounds (238,609 kilograms) of canned meat
15 MCC Contact/February 1990
Material aid projects
A message from
the executive secretary
The kingdom is at hand
MCC is in the business of sign-making. We believe that
teaching a lesson well, cultivating a good crop, repairing a
house, healing a body, caring for the helpless, befriending
the refugee, planting a tree, digging a well, joining the
struggle for peace, inviting people to faith, encouraging life
in the Spirit, are all signs of the kingdom which demonstrate
the "righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" God
intends for all creation.
I have recently been impressed again by the story of Jesus'
healing of the blind man as recorded in the Gospel of John
(chapter 9). Observers wanted an explanation of why this
person was blind and the nature of the healing process.
Jesus responded noting that these are not the issues. Rather
this healing was "that the works of God might be made
manifest."
Many times I am drawn to this account. The enormity of
world need is obvious and our efforts appear so futile. It
is humbling to recognize that the physical and social
situation for most people is worse now at the beginning of
the 1990s than atthe beginning of the 1980s. The quality
of life index is down for all continents save Australia. There
is more hunger, more homelessness, more addiction, more
needless deaths among children, not to mention
environmental and urban disintegration.
In this context the concept of "sign" as found in the gospels
is important. When Jesus healed or preached, fed or invited
belief, he usually did it through signs. People saw a glimpse
of the divine and the divine will for human well-being. The
divine strategy was not to change people or the situation
through some spectacular demonstration of power or some
arbitrary action. Rather, new life and change require
working from the bottom up, reminding people of new
opportunities through symbolical actions. These signs
demonstrate that hunger is unnecessary; homelessness can
be avoided; disease and sickness can be treated; salvation
is for the present, not the future; peace and justice are
historical possibilities. When we pray "thy kingdom come,
thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" we commit
ourselves to sign-pointing deeds that announce that the
kingdom is at hand. This report confirms, I believe, what
a recent contributor wrote: "We feel MCC is doing the
work of Jesus." May it always be so.
(April) Blankets and quilts: In
1989 MCC sent more than
26,000 blankets overseas and in
the United States. So far MCC
has requests for 40,000
blankets to be sent in 1990.
1 2,000 blankets have gone to
Sudan for people displaced by
civil war there. Bedding made of
entirely new material that does
not show stains and dirt easily
is preferred. Suggested sizes
are 60 to 72 inches (152 to 183
centimeters) wide and 80 to 90
inches (203 to 229 centimeters)
long. However, all sizes are
acceptable.
• • •
(May) School kits: This year
MCC will send 2,000 school kits
to Chile. MCC will also send
school kits to Haiti, Sudan,
Nicaragua and Jamaica. To
prepare a school kit, place
these items in a 10- by 16-inch
(25- by 41 -centimeter)
drawstring bag: 4 unsharpened
pencils, 1 plastic metric ruler
(30 centimeters long), 4 spiral
notebooks (a bit smaller than
the cloth bag and about 75
pages each), 1 package of 1 2 to
16 crayons or colored pencils
and 1 pencil eraser.
Cash projects
• • •
(April) Kindergartens, West
Bank: Many kindergartens in
villages and refugee camps in
the Israeli-occupied West Bank
need basic facilities such as
sinks, windows, fences and
playground equipment. MCC
assists kindergartens by
providing funds for some of
these things. $20 benefits one
kindergarten child. $20,000 is
total budget of this project.
• • •
(May) Aprons for Burkina wells,
Burkina Faso: Many villages in
Burkina Faso have hand-dug,
cement-lined wells as their
major water source. Women
draw water from the wells with
containers on long ropes;
shepherds draw water for their
sheep. These wells provide
clean water if they have cement
aprons around them to prevent
water from spilling and making
mud where people set
containers. $7 buys a bag of
cement. $30 buys cement for
one well apron.
ndudethefoUo^ng
cashP'°»eCtS-
• • • John A. Lapp
Executive Secretary
16 MCC Contact/February 1990
With the growing awareness that humanity
is facing a global crisis, 550 representatives
of the World Council of Churches member
churches, other faith communities, includ-
ing the Roman Catholic Church, ecumeni-
cal organizations and concerned move-
ments, will gather March 5-13 in Seoul,
Korea, for the World Convocation on
Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Crea-
tion. Speakers will include German
physicist and philosopher C.F. von Weiza-
cker, Brazilian ecologist Jose Lutzen-
berger, Indian economist Ms. Devaki Jain
and Julius Nyerer, former president of Tan-
zania. The convocation will include daily
liturgies.
Church Extension Services, a subsidiary
of the General Conference, had $350,000
(U.S.) in loanable funds as of Jan. 31 .
Recent loans were to Grace Mennonite
Church, Lansdale, Pa., for a building
addition ($335,700); Markham (III.) Com-
munity Church for emergency repairs
($1 ,500); the Conference of Mennonites in
Canada ($240,000 Canadian) and the
Conference of Mennonites in Manitoba
($235,000 Canadian) for the completion of
their office building in Winnipeg; Faith Men-
nonite Church, Minneapolis, for purchase
of a meetingplace ($1 10,000), and First
Mennonite Church, Champaign-Urbana, III.
for the purchase of land for constructing a
new building ($150,000).
The number of people participating in
Mennonite Service Venture in 1989 totaled
726. This included 499 youth and 169
youth sponsors, plus 58 from adult Sunday
school classes and small groups. In 1988
there were 695 youth and 244 youth
sponsors, but Nancy Thiessen, Group
Venture coordinator, attributed the decline
to the large number of youth groups that
attended Normal '89. Mennonite Service
Venture is sponsored by the Commission
on Education of the General Conference
and Mennonite Board of Missions of the
Mennonite Church.
NEWS
John and Tina Bohn
relish rural life in Lesotho
Tabola, Lesotho (GCMC) — A
sign above John and Tina
Bohn's washroom sink reminds
visitors that "every drop of
water in these faucets was
hand pumped."
Hand-pumped water is one
John Bohn pumps the water for
household use.
of many unique features about
the Bohns' life here. "We try to
be as much a part of the village
as possible," said John in an
interview here, noting that like
their neighbors they function
without electricity. As a result
they go to bed at around 8 p.m.
and rise the next day at 4 a.m.
In the evenings they some-
times use a small flourescent
light that is charged by a 1 2-
volt battery, he said.
The Bohns, missionaries with
the Commission on Overseas
Mission and Africa Inter-
Mennonite Mission, are not
bothered by the fact that their
daily chores take longer than if
they were living in the capital
city of Maseru. "It's one of the
valuable things about our
work," said John. "We enjoy
operating on 'rubber' time."
Tina recalled how one day a
village woman stopped by to
visit. Tina offered her a cup of
tea and proceeded to continue
with her knitting. The woman
was offended and said, "You
don't have time today."
"People here know how to sit
and listen," said Tina. "They
don't rush. I appreciate what
I've learned from them."
Much of the Bohns' work
involves development projects
with African Independent
Churches in Tabola and
surrounding villages. "We don't
want to set the agenda," said
John.
One of his projects involves
buying vegetable seeds in bulk
and distributing them to village
women to sell to local farmers
at a higher price. The women
receive a commission for each
sale they transact. The Bohns
also use the garden plot
outside their home to experi-
ment with different kinds of
vegetable seeds.
Tina meets regularly with
groups of women for sewing
classes. "Often we will discuss
other things during the classes.
One time the women wondered
whether to listen to the people
who were encouraging them to
buy the expensive vitamins
they were selling. I told them
how they could get proper
nutrition through food instead."
She publishes a newsletter
for the churches three times a
year in the Sesotho language.
It includes a children's story,
health tips and a calendar of
events for the churches.
"People like it because there is
A typical village with houses in the foreground and aloes stalks
showing against the sky
so little to read in Sesotho,"
said Tina.
The Bohns also provide Bible
teaching to the independent
churches. "Our presence as
Mennonites has given the
churches encouragement," said
John. "The leaders are
basically untrained. That's why
they asked Mennonites to
"When I returned
to Canada in 1987
for my mother's
funeral, [the
villagers] sent
money with me so I
could 'buy a towel
to dry my tears.' "
come here to teach the Bible."
He believes that the villagers'
material poverty "draws them
closer to God. The less they
have, the more they give."
"They are extremely gener-
ous," agreed Tina. "When I
returned to Canada in 1987 for
my mother's funeral, they sent
money with me so I could 'buy
a towel to dry my tears.' They
don't worry about tomorrow.
They believe God will provide."
John and Tina Warkentin
Bohn are originally from
Pandora, Ohio, and Kerrobert,
Sask., respectively. They are
members of Grace Church,
Pandora. Carla Reimer, news
service editor for the General
Conference Mennonite Church,
who traveled in Africa Jan. 2-
Feb. 4, 1989
THE MENNONITE 85
Since May 1989 a small group has been
meeting monthly in San Jose, Calif., for
worship, discussion and fellowship.
Organized by members of First Mennonite
Church, San Francisco, the group's goal is
to grow into a self-supporting congregation
in San Jose.
Larry and Kori Leaman-Miller, Mennonite
Central Committee workers in El Salvador,
visited Bluffton (Ohio) College in early
January. "The church used to act as an
ambulance service, binding up the wounds
of people who hit the boulder of poverty in
the middle of the road," said Kori Leaman-
Miller. "Now the church is trying to remove
that boulder so no one will hit it. The
[Salvadoran] government views these
efforts as treason." The Christians in El
Salvador, they said, "have a deep under-
standing that God understands suffering, a
strong identification with Christ and hope in
the resurrection. One woman whose son
was killed by the military reminded us, 'God
lost a son, too.'"
Eastern Mennonite College and Semi-
nary, Harrisonburg, Va., will sponsor a
Conference on Menno Simons March 23-
24. The program coincides with the 450th
anniversary of the publication of the Ana-
baptist leader's most important book, Dat
Fundament Des Christelychken Leers
("The Fundamentals"). Walter Klaassen,
retired professor of history and theology at
the University of Waterloo (Ont.) and
Conrad Grebel College, will give the
keynote address. Registration is $30,
which includes a banquet. Contact Albert
Keim, Eastern Mennonite College, Harri-
sonburg, VA 22801, (703) 432-4468.
NEWS
Mennonite Church of Zaire
seeks partnership with AIMM
Tshikapa, Zaire (GCMC)— "We
want to be like other churches
in Africa who are moving
ahead," said Tshibelenu
Sakaimbo, president of the
45,000-member Mennonite
Church of Zaire (CMZ), in an
interview here.
"I was born and raised in this
church. I don't see any
difference between the church
today and the one in the past
because we are still economi-
Polio breaks out in Zaire;
MCC workers help victims
"We need to train
our people to be
leaders in a variety
of areas."
cally dependent [on Africa
Inter-Mennonite Mission], he
said. The Commission on
Overseas Mission of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church works in Africa under
Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission.
"We need to teach local
churches to live the Word of
God. The members think that
they don't need to give their
money to the church because
the mission has supported
them for so many years. It will
be difficult to change their men-
tality, especially since our
country is poor and disorgan-
ized," said Tshibelenu. The
majority of CMZ's churches are
located in rural areas with few
resources.
Even though missionaries
Tshibelenu Sakaimbo
are often seen as the source of
money and resources, Tshi-
belenu feels their presence is
necessary to make the
transition to an independent
church. "We need to work
together to train our people to
be leaders in a variety of areas,
including theology, develop-
ment and medicine," he said.
AIMM missionaries in Zaire are
accountable to CMZ.
"We hope to become
partners with AIMM. We want
interdependence. If AIMM has
a need for a missionary to work
in North America or Botswana,
we want to be able to send one
of our leaders," said Tshi-
belenu. "A church that is
spiritually independent also
needs to be materially inde-
pendent. Jesus told people to
feed themselves." Carla
Reimer
Mbandaka, Zaire (MCC)— An
epidemic of polio here during
the last year left nearly 20
children handicapped. Most of
the children had been vacci-
nated previously.
Three reasons are
possible: that the
vaccine was no longer
good, that it didn't
attack all three strains
of polio, or that
administration of the
vaccine was faulty.
Pam Kirkendall,
Mennonite Central
Committee worker
from Seattle, a
physical therapist, has
been treating many of
these children at a
government-operated
polio rehabilitation
clinic. This new clinic
offers services
previously available
only at places distant
from Mbandaka.
The new polio
victims were from 6
months to 3 years old
when they contracted
the disease. Parents
of the paralyzed
children in many
cases thought that
their child was
suffering from a
severe cold and took
them to health clinics.
"Our goals are to
teach parents how to
care for handicapped
children and to begin
physical rehabilita-
tion," says Kirkendall. Rehabili-
tation includes prevention of
deformities, muscle re-
education and bracing.
Howard D. Good
Molemba, assistant to MCC worker Pam
Kirkendall, in the polio clinic in Mbandaka,
Zaire, makes a leg brace for a 12-year-old
boy paralyzed by polio as a child.
86 FEBRUARY 27, 1990
A group of 22 North American mental
health professionals visited the Soviet
Union last October under the direction
of Walter Sawatsky, Mennonite Central
Committee Canada East/West Con-
cerns director. The three-week visit
was the first part of an exchange of
North American and Soviet mental
health professionals sponsored by
Mennonite Health Services. Soviet
participants are scheduled to visit North
America in the second half of 1990.
Pictured above, from left, are Arkory Schnilolovich, deputy chief physician at Kashchenko,
a 2,600-bed psychiatric hospital in Moscow; Ludmila Faikman, interpreter; Al Dueck,
director of pastoral and family counseling at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary,
Fresno, Calif., and Vladimir Kozyrev, chief physician and chief executive officer at the
hospital.
I
"We're holding other countries hostage
to our economic policies," said Wes Prieb,
Hillsboro, Kan., Mennonite Brethren repre-
sentative to Mennonite Central Committee
U.S. Peace Section, at its November 1989
meeting. "We're waging war by quietly
endorsing economic policies that are un-
christian." Between $30 and $40 billion a
year flow fromThird to First World countries
in interest payments on loans made in the
late 70s and early '80s.
NEWS COMMENTARY
Why I work against the death penalty
Michael Bauman
I am a volunteer coordinator for
Death Penalty Focus of
California. DPF is a statewide
organization that aims to
abolish the death penalty in
California and to establish a
national model to be used
across the United States.
No issue is more important in
the United States than capital
punishment. The death penalty
is the symbol of all that is
wrong in American society and
the world— the attempt to let
deadly violence solve our
problems.
While almost every Christian
denomination opposes capital
punishment, I am aware that
many Christians are in favor of
the "eye for eye, tooth for tooth"
concept, despite its condemna-
tion by Jesus Christ.
Our Lord gave us a different
way — to turn the other cheek
(Matthew 5:39), to love one's
neighbor as yourself (Luke
10:27) and to not seek revenge
(Leviticus 19:18)— to deal with
those who hurt us.
Instead of using our human
and financial resources to help
the victims of crime and to
prevent further crime through
education, anti-poverty and
employment programs — proven
crime reducers — we mistakenly
focus on the execution of the
prisoner.
Capital punishment does not
protect society. Actually some
The death penalty
is the symbol of all
that is wrong in
American society
and the world — the
attempt to let
deadly violence
solve our problems.
studies have shown that the
murder rate increases immedi-
ately following an execution in
the area where the execution
occurred. Furthermore,
according to Federal Bureau of
Investigation statistics from
1976-1986, the 12 American
states that have carried out
executions during that time
have the highest murder rates,
while the states without the
death penalty have the lowest.
In the United States alone at
least 23 completely innocent
people have been executed,
while over 350 more have been
on Death Row awaiting death
before they were finally found
innocent. Also the mentally
retarded and the mentally ill
have been executed.
Race and income are
primary reasons that some
people are sentenced to death
while others who committed
similar crimes are not. A study
of Georgia murders — the most
comprehensive death sentenc-
ing study ever done — found
that the race of the victim and
defendant determined who
received the death penalty
more than any of the more than
200 factors examined. And, as
a Louisiana prosecutor recently
stated, "There is virtually no
chance of someone wealthy
getting the death penalty."
It is disturbing that the United
States is now in company with
Iran, South Africa, Uganda,
China and the Soviet Union as
the major users of capital
punishment.
We cannot allow the criminal
to teach us justice. We do not
rape those who rape, and we
should not kill those who kill.
State-sanctioned murder does
not show that murder is wrong.
It only further devalues human
life and continues the deadly
cycle of violence.
For more information about
the death penalty write or call
me at Death Penalty Focus,
Box 806, San Francisco, CA
94101-0806, (415) 621-2493.
Michael Bauman
is a Mennonite
Voluntary
Service worker.
Youth leader/assistant pastor
required immediately, to work
especially with youth and young
adults, at Zion Mennonite Church
in Swift Current, Sask.
Please send inquiries/resume to
Hilda Wiens Schmidt, Chairperson,
Pastoral Search Committee, 1150
Jubilee Drive, Swift Current, SK
S9H 2A2. (306) 773-6537.
Goshen College seeks applicants
for the position of director of
nursing beginning July 1, 1990.
This is a full-time, tenure-track
position for division chair and
program director. Starting date is
negotiable, with preference given
to candidates who will be available
by fall 1991 or before. Rank and
salary commensurate with
experience and degree. Qualifica-
tions include a D.N.S. or a Ph.D. in
nursing or related area preferred.
Persons working toward such a
degree will be considered.
The director serves as chairperson
of the division of nursing and
reports to the dean of the college.
The director represents the division
within the college as well as to
professional agencies in which the
division holds membership. The
director provides leadership in
curriculum and faculty develop-
ment, recruitment of faculty and
students, supervision and
maintenance of records and the
planning and allocation of
resources. The director serves as
liaison between clinical field
agencies and the nursing division
and facilitates relationships with
local, state and national govern-
mental and health-care organiza-
tions. The director carries advising
and teaching responsibilities.
Send resume and three profes-
sional references to Dr. John W.
Eby, Academic Dean, Goshen
College, Goshen, IN 46526, (219)
535-7503. Applications will be
accepted until May 1 . Minority
persons are particularly invited to
apply.
THE MENNONITE 87
The United States spends more money
per capita on the military than any other
country, according to the National Coalition
on Television Violence. About 25 percent
of all government expenditures go to
current military spending. No other
Western democracy spends more than 10
percent. The United States also has the
highest levels of violence in its television
and film entertainment, says NCTV.
RECOltd
About 200 people, ages 14 months to 80
years, were to leave Los Angeles Feb. 1 to
trek 3,300 miles of The Global Walk for a
Livable World. The group plans an educa-
tional and environmental hike across the
United States that will stop at 25 Indian
reservations in the Southwest, trek through
northern Texas, the Ozarks and Appala-
chian mountains and end at the United
Nations Plaza in New York on UN Day,
Oct. 24. The walkers also plan to plant
trees, collect and recycle litter and demon-
strate sustainable technologies. Part two
of the walk is to leave London in 1991 , sail
to Egypt, traverse Israel, proceed to India,
cross China and end up in Hiroshima Aug.
6, 1 993. {National Catholic Reporter)
Increases in hunger, homelessness and
poverty are "one of the most dramatic
changes that swept across our country" in
the 1980s, said Boston Mayor Ray Flynn,
chairman of the U.S. Conference of
Mayors' task force on hunger and home-
lessness. "If you could bring all the people
who have been homeless and hungry in
the 1980s to our capital, you would have a
gathering of Americans that would far
exceed any gathering you have seen in
Warsaw or Prague or Budapest," Flynn
said.
dEAThs
Charles Edwin, former assis-
tant director of the MCC India
program, died Jan. 1 1 . He
served with MCC in India from
1972 until June 1986.
Joyce Gautsche. 30, died
Jan. 20 after an extended
illness. Along with her
husband, LaDell, she had
worked in Denver since 1987 in
community service programs
with Mennonite Urban Minis-
tries and MCC U.S. Prior to
that they served with MCC in
Jamaica.
WOrI<ERS
Wilma Bailey, Grantham, Pa.,
David Chiu, Saskatoon, and
Jeanette Flaming, Dallas, Ore.,
were re-elected to the MCC
board as members-at-large.
Mary Burkholder, London, Ont.,
Sam Resendez, Del Rey, Calif.,
and Ann Sawatzky, Vancouver,
were elected to the MCC
board.
Amy Becker, Viborg, S.D.,
has begun as Spanish instruc-
tor at Freeman (S.D.)
Academy. Vesta Bergland,
Slayton, Minn., is the new
guidance counselor, and Diane
Neth, Menno., S.D., has
replaced Cindee Evenson as
home economics teacher.
Abe Bergen, Winnipeg, is the
coordinator of the youth
convention of MWC Assembly
12. He is also secretary-elect
of youth education for the
Commission on Education.
Katherine Black , Christine
George, Betty E. Hart, Robert
Koehn and Newton and Amelia
Old Crow, Oklahoma Mennon-
ites, have been trained to use
Here's Looking at You. 2000, a
curriculum aimed to stop drug
and alcohol abuse among
students. Lawrence H. Hart,
Koinonia Church, Clinton,
Okla., was one of the teachers.
Julie Brothers, Indian Valley
Church, Harleysville, Pa., is
serving with Youth Evangelism
Service (YES) of Eastern
Mennonite Board of Missions.
In April, after discipleship
training in Philadelphia, she will
become part of a team of six
assisting the Prensa Nacional
Mennonite Church in Mexico
with its members' church-
planting efforts. She is the
daughter of Ron and Eileen
Brothers, Telford.
Florence Driedger, Regina,
and Larry Kehler, Winnipeg, will
leave their positions on the
MCC board and executive
Brothers
committee after nine years of
service.
Wanda Dutcher, Ken
Dusenbury and Eric Clymer
spent January interterm in
Denver with DOOR (Denver
Opportunity for Outreach and
Reflection). Dutcher and
Dusenbury are students at
Bethel College, North Newton,
Kan., and Clymer is a student
at Hesston (Kan.) College.
MCC workers Becky and Mike
Hofkamp coordinate DOOR.
Mark J. Fretz, most recently
of Ann Arbor, Mich., has
accepted a position as assis-
tant professor of religion at
Bluffton (Ohio) College.
Louis Goertz began Feb. 1
as interim pastor at New
Hopedale Church, Meno, Okla.
Paul F. Goossen has
resigned as pastor of Eicher
Emmanuel Church, Wayland,
Iowa, effective July 18.
Daniel Heinrichs has been
named medical director at
Prairie View Mental Health
Center, Newton, Kan. Hein-
richs was formerly a staff
psychiatrist at Kings View
Psychiatric Hospital, Reedley,
Calif., and has been in private
practice in San Jose, Calif., for
the past 12 years.
Jean Hendricks, pastor at
Lawrence (Kan.) Fellowship, is
on a study leave of absence
February through April.
Walter J. Hollenweger. will
lecture at AMBS March 8-10 on
"Priorities in Pentecostal
Research" and "A Brief for a
Theologically Responsible
Syncretism." He is a leading
missiologist in Europe.
Manoel Pedro Joao was sent
to Angola as a church planter
by the Angolan Mennonite
Community in Zaire, a church
association made up of
refugees who became Men-
nonites through contact with
the Zaire Mennonite Church.
Kori and Larry Leaman-Miller
returned to El Salvador in mid-
February to continue coordinat-
ing MCC work, which supports
local congregations and
provides the international
witness feared by the Salva-
doran military. The Leaman-
Millers spent the last two
months traveling in U.S.
churches.
Jack Mace, First Church,
Hutchinson, Kan., was licensed
Feb. 18 to a ministry in hospital
chaplaincy.
Richard K. MacMaster,
professor of history, Bluffton
(Ohio) College, has been
selected to write an interpretive
history of the Mennonites in the
New York City area. The
project is sponsored by the
Lancaster Mennonite Historical
Society, Eastern Mennonite
Board of Missions and Chari-
ties, and the churches of the
AMBS — Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries
CMC — Conference of Mennonites in Canada
MCC — Mennonite Central Committee
MWC — Mennonite World Conference
88 FEBRUARY 27, 1990
Canadians lead the world in per capita
generation of waste, writes Leona Penner
in Mennonite Reporter. Japanese recycle
50-60 percent of their waste compared with
2 percent recycling in Canada. The
average Canadian household produces 20-
40 liters of hazardous waste each year,
according to the Ontario Public Interest
Research Group. Meanwhile the United
States is pouring more than 10 billion
kilograms per year of toxic chemicals into
the air, water and land. (Figures, unless
otherwise noted, are from the Winnipeg
Free Press)
RECORd
The first Into the Darkness Award, given
by the Religion Newswriters Association,
went to the U.S. National Conference of
Catholic Bishops. The award recognizes
"that individual or group in religion that has
done the most during the year to stifle the
people's right to know." The Catholic
bishops "went behind closed doors for an
entire afternoon" of their November 1989
meeting, according to RNA members.
"They refused to say what the topic was.
1988, despite the objections of RNA, the
bishops met in private to talk about AIDS
and the use of condoms." Runners-up for
the award included the Southern Baptist
Convention and the Episcopal Church's
House of Bishops.
In
New York City area.
Elijah McKay, CMC Native
Ministries staff member, has
been elected chief of his home
reserve, Sachigo Lake, Ont.
His story has been written by
Cornelia Lehn in / Heard Good
News Today (Faith and Life
Press, 1983).
John Miller, religious studies
professor at Conrad Grebel
College, Waterloo, Ont., is on
sabbatical for 1990, working on
a commentary on Proverbs,
part of a new Bible commentary
series being published by a
consortium of Anabaptist-
Mennonite groups.
Gordon Myers has begun as
interim pastor at First Church,
Nappanee, Ind. He will
graduate from AMBS in May.
Stephen Ndlovu, MWC vice
president for Africa, has
resigned as bishop of the
Zimbabwe Brethren in Christ
Church. He is succeeded by
Martin Senda, the third African
to serve in this position.
Clare Neufeld has resigned
as pastor at Grace Church,
Prince Albert, Sask., effective
this summer.
Elna Neufeld, Winnipeg, is
co-editor of the magazine
Intotemak for Native Ministries
of CMC. She succeeds Neil
Funk-Unrau and works with co-
editor Edith Von Gunten,
Riverton, Man.
Kathleen M. O'Connor,
associate professor of theology
at Maryknoll (N.Y.) School of
Theology, gave four lectures in
the AMBS theological lecture-
ship Feb. 14-15.
Philip Osborne, professor of
psychology, Hesston (Kan.)
College, discussed parenting
and child care at the Bluffton
(Ohio) College forum on Jan.
30. Osborne wrote Parenting
for the '90s.
Calvin Redekop, director of
the Institute of Anabaptist-
Mennonite Studies and
sociology professor at Conrad
Grebel College, Waterloo, Ont.,
has taken a research leave in
Harrisonburg, Va., until he
retires in June.
Werner O. Packull, pre-
sented the 10th annual
Benjamin Eby Lecture at
Conrad Grebel College,
Waterloo, Ont., Feb. 4, entitled
"Between Paradigms: Anabap-
tist Studies at the Crossroads."
Henry Poettcker, retiring
president of Mennonite Biblical
Seminary, will begin a three-
year assignment in July in
development, focusing on
special gifts, on wills and on
endowments.
Leona Schrag, First Church,
Pretty Prairie, Kan., completed
her service in Zaire with the
Commission on Overseas
Mission/Africa Inter-Mennonite
Mission. She worked with the
Zaire Mennonite Church since
1969 in Christian education.
Paul F. Schrag, Eden
Church, Moundridge, Kan.,
began Jan. 8 as mail clerk for
Faith and Life Press.
Carmen and Luke Schrock-
Hurst were dedicated as co-
pastors of Richmond (Va.)
Fellowship on Nov. 19, 1989.
Eugene and Gladys
Sprunger, First Church, Berne,
Ind., have begun working in the
Tucson, Ariz., voluntary service
unit housing renovation
program.
Richard Weaver, Bluffton
Arrests of anti-nuclear protesters in
1989 outnumbered those of any previous
year, according to a 1983-89 study by The
Nuclear Resister newsletter. In 1989,
5,500 protesters were arrested in 145
actions at 74 sites. The second-highest
number of arrests a year was 5,300 — in
1987 and 1983.
Administrator/adjunctive
therapist. For McKerracher
House, Swift Current Sask., a
mental health rehabilitation house
with five residents and three staff.
The house is administered by a
local Mennonite Central Committee
board in consultation with the Swift
Current Mental Health Clinic and
the Department of Social Services.
L. Schrock-Hurst Yamasaki
(Ohio) College emeritus
professor of physics, visited
Nicaragua in January with
Witness for Peace to observe
the preparations for the
elections scheduled for
February.
Gary Yamasaki, Peace
Church, Richmond, B.C., has
been appointed to fill a position
in biblical studies at Columbia
Bible College, Clearbrook,
B.C., beginning in August, after
he completes doctoral work in
New Testament at Union
Theological Seminary in
Virginia.
June Alliman Yoder has been
reappointed for a three-year
term as instructor in communi-
cations at AMBS.
Liu Zongzhou, lecturer of
English at Sichuan Normal
University, Chengdu, China, is
teaching at Bluffton (Ohio)
College until May through
China Educational Exchange.
— compiled by Angela Rempel
Qualifications: Training and/or
experience in management,
financial administration and human
resources services. Experience in
a caregiving facility is an asset.
Strong interpersonal and communi-
cation skills essential. Ability to
work within the statement of faith
and philosophy of Christian service
as outlined within the constitution
of Mennonite Central Committee
Saskatchewan.
Job duties: Includes administra-
tion of the home: budget prepara-
tion and financial management:
staff recruitment, development and
evaluation; management of the
physical plant and equipment;
public relations and adjunctive
therapist responsibilities.
This is a full-time position. Salary
is based on Saskatchewan Mental
Health Services guidelines.
Please send resume with
references by April 2 and direct
inquiries to Marie Fast. Box 32,
Herbert, SK S0H 2A0, (306) 784-
3558.
Opportunity to serve low-income
children at Beatrice Day Care in
southeast Nebraska.
Gain valuable experience at state-
licensed facility for 22 children,
ages 18 months and older.
Emphasis on quality care and
service. Attempt to provide loving,
homelike atmosphere with
Christian values.
Positions available for a half-year
commitment or summer voluntary
service. Contact Mennonite
Voluntary Sen/ice, Box 347,
Newton, KS 671 14, (316) 283-
5100.
THE MENNONITE 89
Paper, not plastic, is the major problem in
landfills, says William L. Rathje, an archae-
ologist at the University of Arizona, who
has been excavating landfills in search of
the truth about garbage. In spite of paper's
alleged superiority to plastic in terms of bi-
odegradability. Rathje has found that once
most substances get into a landfill, they
stop degrading. The percentage of plastic
by volume in landfills is quite small and has
remained essentially unchanged since
1970, Rathje said.
Nicaragua's contra rebels were respon-
sible for the murder of two nuns in a Jan. 1
ambush, charged the human-rights
monitoring group Americas Watch in a Jan.
28 report. The 53-page report resulted
from four days of interviews with witnesses
and visits to the ambush site, Americas
Watch said. Ronald Mairena and Jaime
Lopez told Americas Watch they were
kidnapped by the contras and watched the
attack on the church vehicle. St. Agnes
Sisters Maureen Courtney, 45, and Teresa
Rosales, 24, a Miskito Indian, were killed in
the attack. The report said the rebels fired
"without warning to stop but also without
knowledge that the vehicle belonged to the
church." (National Catholic Reporter)
The number of missionaries sent from
Third World countries has increased 248
percent since 1980, according to a survey
published by World Vision: From Every
People by Larry Pate. India and Burma
lead in Asia. Nigeria and Zaire have
fielded the most in Africa, with Zimbabwe
showing dramatic increases. Brazil leads
in Latin America, with 2,040 missionaries;
second is Mexico, with 224. Pate esti-
mates that within 10 years missionaries
from developing countries will outnumber
all others 16,000 to 1 1 ,000.
RESOURCES
tooks
Christian Theology, Volume II
by Thomas N. Finger (Herald
Press, 1989, $29.95, $37.50 in
Canada) is one of the first
systematic theologies written
from a Believers' Church —
chiefly an Anabaptist-Menno-
nite — perspective. Volume I
considered eschatology,
revelation and the work of
Christ; volume II covers
anthropology, justification,
sanctification and ecclesiology
and ends with the doctrine of
God.
Nigel Cameron believes that
if we believe in Christ's
humanity, we must affirm our
own. His book Are Christians
Human? An Exploration into
True Spirituality (Zondervan,
1989, $7.95) tells readers not
to be ashamed to be the men
and women God has called
them to be in him.
A Disciple's Christology:
Appraisals of Jesus Christ Our
Lord (Institute of Mennonite
Studies, 1989) includes essays
and reviews of C. Norman
Kraus' book.
The 1989-1990 Mennonite
Central Committee Resource
Catalog describes audiovisual
and printed resources distrib-
uted by MCC, Box 500, Akron,
PA 17501-0500.
Keeping Your Parish
Financially Healthy: An Easy-
to-Read Guide to Parish
Finances for People Without
Financial Backgrounds by
Harold B. Averkamp (Paulist
Press, 1989, $4.95) is a plain-
English guide that explains the
financial problems parishes
face and offers practical
solutions to them.
John Houghton seeks to
bring together the scientist and
the lay person in his book
Does God Play Dice? A Look
at the Story of the Universe
(Zondervan, 1989, $7.95).
The Concise Dictionary of
the Christian Tradition:
Doctrine, Liturgy, History by
J.D. Douglas, Walter A. Elwell
and Peter Toon (Zondervan,
1989, $19.95) is a quick-
access, one-volume reference
work containing over 3,200
entries.
A resource packet on child
sexual abuse, Broken
Boundaries ($5) is available
from Mennonite Central
Committee, Box 500, Akron,
PA 1 7501-0500. It includes an
introduction to child sexual
abuse, the church's response
to abuse, worship resources,
articles on related concerns
and a listing of suggested
readings and resources.
Commitment: Key to
Christian Maturity by Susan
Muto and Adrian van Kaam
(Paulist Press, 1989, $8.95)
focuses on the importance of
commitment in the Christian
life.
Five new resources are
available from Mennonite
Central Committee, Box 500,
Akron, PA 17501-0500, or 134
Plaza Drive, Winnipeg, MB R3T
5K9. A Middle East Reader
provides basic information on
the Middle East, its religions,
Kelsey Yoder places coins in
one of the MCC photo cubes.
major political players and
conflicts. Caretakers: Earth
Stewardship for Children is
the new MCC children's
learning and giving project.
This free project teaches
children to be good stewards of
God's creation and includes
learning activities, fund-raising
ideas, information on the
environment and MCC work,
and a board game. A set of
six color postcards is
available to commemorate
MCC's 70 years of service. A
new MCC photo-cube bank is
designed to display inserts
depicting MCC work. Jottings,
a bulletin insert of MCC news in
brief, is now available in
Spanish. Apuntes is published
five times a year and is
available to churches in bulk
upon request.
The Amish Quilt by Eve
Wheatcroft Granick (1989,
$45), The Central Market
Cookbook by Phyllis Pellman
Good and Louise Stoltzfus
(1989, $19.95, $11.95 paper)
and The Country Love Quilt
by Cheryl A. Benner and
Rachei T. Pellman (1989,
$12.95) are new books from
Good Books, Main Street,
Intercourse, PA 17534.
The first issue of a new
German-language newspaper
intended to address the
educational needs of Kanadier
Mennonite youth, Das Blatt
("The Paper"), a 24-page
magazine-style publication,
was included as a supplement
in the Sept. 15, 1989, issue of
Die Mennonitsche Post. It is
intended to be a fun way for
youth in Mennonite colonies in
Latin America to learn gram-
mar, geography, history,
science and about the world.
Das Blatt is offered monthly on
a subscription basis from MCC
Canada, 134 Plaza Drive,
Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9.
Creative Writing: For
People Who Can't Not Write by
Kathryn Lindskoog (Zondervan,
1989, $14.95) is written "to
enable people who want to
write or have to write to do it
better and to enjoy it more."
In his book Truly Ourselves,
Truly the Spirit's: Reflections
on Life in the Spirit (Zondervan,
1989, $9.95), Laurence W.
Wood invites readers to accept
the Spirit's view of them as
"children and friends who
deserve his attention."
Mission Is a Two-Way
Street; Behold, God Makes
90 FEBRUARY 27, 1990
Charles Benjamin, assistant professor of
political science at Bethel College, North
Newton, Kan., announced his candidacy
Feb. 1 for the Democratic nomination in
Kansas' fifth U.S. Congressional District.
Benjamin, 39, has been a Harvey County
commissioner since 1980 and has served
as the commission's chairman three times.
The Bethel professor has completed his
teaching duties for this academic year and
will devote full time to his campaign. If he
wins the Aug. 7 primary, he plans to take a
leave of absence from Bethel to campaign
this fall.
Several Mennonites were among a dozen peace ac-
tivists who protested the U.S. role in El Salvador's civil
war Jan. 26 at a plant that maintains 50 helicopters for
the Salvadoran military. Duane Ediger, a Mennonite,
was one of three protesters arrested for trespassing.
According to Mennonite International Refugee Assis-
tance of Dallas, Texas, "The protesters were roughed
up by the plant guards, who were obviously ill-
prepared to handle an act of civil disobedience. There
were also incidents in which Bell Helicopter employ-
ees assaulted the three peace activists as they were
attempting to kneel at the plant gate." Supporters of
the action held signs, crosses and photographs of
Salvadoran victims of mutilation and torture. They
offered a leaflet to workers explaining the ethical and
religious reasoning behind their action.
RESOURCES
Admissions counselor. Bluffton
College, a General Conference
Mennonite college, is looking for a
bright, enthusiastic and motivated
individual to assume the responsi-
bilities of admissions counselor.
Extensive travel during the fall.
Bachelor degree required,
experience in a college setting is
preferred. Strong commitment to
liberal arts and Christian values a
must. Starting date and salary
negotiable.
Send letter of application and
resume to Mr. Michael Hieroni-
mus, Director of Admissions,
Bluffton College, Box 638.
Marbeck Center, Bluffton, OH
45817.
All Things New and Blessed
Are the Feet of Those Who
Bring Good News are the
themes of three new bulletin
board displays by the Commis-
sion on Overseas Mission, Box
347, Newton, KS 67114.
Mysticism in the Wesleyan
Tradition by Robert G. Tuttle
Jr. (Zondervan, 1989, $14.95)
sifts through Wesley's diaries,
letters and sermons, and
through mystic writings that
influenced Wesley.
Substandard Christian living
is a problem, but "lordship
salvation" is not the answer,
says Zane C. Hodges in
Absolutely Free! (Zondervan,
1989, $14.95).
— compiled by Gordon Houser
MVS ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS
Mennonite Voluntary Service is seeking two associate directors to admin
ister units in Canada and the Western United States. Will conduct recruit
ment and share responsibility for the overall MVS program.
Starting date: Spring 1990
Requires: Commitment to Christian service
Excellent communication skills
Strong administrative skills
Willingness to travel extensively
Service experience preferred.
MVS is a program of the Commission on Home Ministries.
Speech/communication. Full-
time, tenure-track position for
communication generalist
beginning September 1990.
Qualifications: advanced degree
in field, Ph.D. or ABD preferred:
able to teach some combination of
the following areas — public
speaking, rhetoric, group commu-
nication, mass media, broadcast
journalism, advise student
forensics program and/or student
publications. Rank and salary
commensurate with academic
background and experience.
Send letters of application, resume
and transcripts and arrange for
three letters of reference to be sent
to Dr. Burton G. Yost, Interim Dean
of Academic Affairs. Bluffton
College. Bluffton, OH 45817. An
AA/EO employer.
" 1970-1990
TOUR MAGIN ATION'S 20th ANNIVERSARY
You can trust your travel to 20 years of
experience. Our 1 970 hope was to
translate the compelling "Anabaptist
Vision" into the very lives of people
through travel. That has happened! Our
1 990 tours are strong. Of course, after
20 years you would expect it.
Europe 90A
Europe 90B
Europe 90C
Western Canada 90A
Souderton to MWC 1 2
May 14-23 Arnold Cressman, Henry D. Landes
June 11-30 Jan Gleysteen, Neat Weaver
June 25-July 3 John L. Ruth, Wilmer Martin
July 13-24 Arnold & Rhoda Cressman
July 19-Aug. 6 Hubert Schwartzentruber,
Henry D. Landes
Western Canada 90B July 29-Aug. 18 Jan Gleysteen, Alfred Willms
m
1210 Loucks Ave. 131 Erb Street W. 569 Yoder Rd., P.O. Box 376
Scottdale, PA 15683 Waterloo, ONT N2L1T7 Harleysville, PA 19438
GCKKSI 412-887-5440 519-747-0517 215-256-3011
412-887-9436 519-745-7433 215-723-8413
TOUR-
m
Elementary education: full-time
instructor/professor of elementary
education beginning September
1990. Advanced degree in ele-
mentary education, Ph.D. or Ed.D.
preferred. Rank and salary
commensurate with academic
background and experience.
Evidence of effective teaching is
crucial. Appreciation of and
support for Christian/Mennonite
values important.
Responsibilities: teaching areas
in elementary education such as
curriculum methods, classroom
management, supervision of
student teachers and introduction
to special education.
Send letter of application, resume
and transcripts and arrange for
three letters of reference to be sent
to Dr. Burton G. Yost, Interim Dean
of Academic Affairs, Bluffton
College, Bluffton, OH 45817. An
AA/EO employer.
THE MENNONITE 91
Letters
Clean of corruption
In The Mennonite [Dec. 12, 1989], "God
Loves Us Anyway" is true, but God
leaves the punishment for not obeying
his laws to Satan, who comes in the
disguise of love through fellow humans.
On the other hand, God's good and
perfect gifts are not pie in the sky. They
are his whole, natural foods, which beget
wholeness. Good health is a side effect.
Then we will stop being prey to sin
against our body, the temple of God, but
keep it clean of corruption, as Jesus tried
to do with the temple in his time. Erich
Gellert, 212 S. Lawn, Bluffton, OH 45817
More stories, please
I appreciate stories of how people
attempt to serve God in their own
communities, such as "Ministry Goes
Forth from a $1 Building" [Jan. 9]. It
would be helpful further to read about
problems that have been faced by various
churches and how they were solved, such
as mixing races in a congregation.
Eleanor Beachy, Box 236, Pawnee Rock,
KS 67567
Poettcker recognition
In June of this year Henry Poettcker
retires as president of Mennonite Biblical
Seminary. He will have served as MBS
president for 12 years, and that after 24
years (including 19 as president) at
Canadian Mennonite Bible College,
Winnipeg. Throughout that career
Henry and his wife, Agnes, have also
been deeply involved in both local church
and broader denominational ministries.
Dedicated and distinguished service of
such long duration surely calls for a time
of recognition and celebration.
As one gesture of recognition, Associ-
ated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries
wants to gather written testimonials
from Henry's colleagues at CMBC,
AMBS and elsewhere, his former
students and his many friends and co-
workers. We invite readers of The
Mennonite who fit these categories to
prepare testimonial letters that can be
incorporated into a book to be presented
to Henry at a recognition event being
planned for early June. Testimonials
should be recorded on paper (8 1/2 x 11),
preferably on one page (use back side if
needed) and sent to me. To allow enough
time for binding we would like to have
submissions by April 20. Jacob W. Elias,
Dean, AMBS, 3003 Benham Ave.,
Elkhart, IN 46517-1999
Thanks
I enjoy The Mennonite. God bless you in
1990. Ronald Sommerfeld, 311-645
Townsite Road, Nanimo, BC
Thanks for the editorial "Tell the Truth:
Are We Becoming One People" [Jan. 9].
Let's get serious. Alberto Quintela,
Coordinator of the Many Peoples pro-
gram of the General Conference, 576 S.
Robert, St. Paul, MN 55107
Money and youth groups
After reading Eddy Hall's article on the
poor [Jan. 23[ I am impelled to write.
Often in the past few years I have been
disturbed at the trend in our church to
make Christian Endeavor and youth
fellowship groups into "social outing"
clubs. Instead of a program for the
young people (at the church) with a
social time afterward, a typical program
now is a visit to the cosmosphere ($4)
with a stop at McDonalds afterward
(another $4 — no one ever gets just a
hamburger and a drink); or a skating
party ($3) with a stop at Pizza Hut
afterward ($5.50 — if you are lucky).
These trips are not once-a-year special
events but standard monthly fare. The
youth fellowship works to earn money,
then talks about using it for part of the
expenses for a ski trip. (You only need to
add $150 or so.)
REVIEWS
One-to-one
Side By Side: Mentoring Guide for
Congregational Youth Ministry by
Lavon Welty (Faith and Life Press, 1989,
108 pages)
Reviewed by Glyn Jones, 60 New Dundee
Road, Kitchener, ON N2G 3W5
Mentoring is an intergenerational
setting for youth ministry that offers the
opportunity for a one-to-one relationship
between a youth and an adult. In our
rapidly changing world the connections
between adults and youth that people
used to take for granted no longer exist.
Where youth used to relate to a large
My family's income has also been
strained recently and we have felt the
pinch — sometimes not sending our child,
sometimes cutting other corners — and all
the time feeling that this is not what
youth groups should be about.
My questions are (1) How do we
change? (2) Do we let what the kids
want determine our program, or do we
guide them into right thinking and plan-
ning? (3) How does the larger church
structure help or hurt (e.g. ski trips)?
Thanks for the well-put ideas. I
thought I was the only one who felt this
way. Name withheld by request
Celebrating mission
Thanks for printing the story of Glenn
Lamb [Nov. 14, 1989]. We first learned
of him several years ago when he wrote
to us in Taiwan to tell us he had become
a Christian and was praying for us. It
was a source of great encouragement to
us. At the time we did not realize that
all the missionaries listed in the COM
Prayer Directory were the objects of his
prayers.
In this year when we are celebrating
90 years of overseas mission, I hope
there will be a renewal of prayer support
for missionaries. Moreover, I hope that
our circle of concern is expanded to
include national Christians and leaders.
Verney and Belva Unruh, 1120 S.
Harrison, Newton, KS 67114
number of adults, often they now only
relate to their parents. Lacking other
adults in their lives to "bounce off ideas,"
they turn to other youth, sometimes
youth with faith and maturity, often not.
Mentoring is an intentional relation-
ship that provides a young person with
an adult other than his or her parents
with whom he or she can talk. It
provides a relationship in which youth
can look at their life direction, faith and
day-to-day concerns.
Mentoring is not new. In Mennonite
churches, in a planned fashion, it dates
back over 10 years. Lavon J. Welty in
Side by Side outlines the practice and
possibilities of mentoring as it is done in
Mennonite churches today. Welty
describes how mentoring works in a
variety of churches, from a small urban
92 FEBRUARY 27, 1990
SIDE
DY
SIDE
church with a few youth who are pulled
in many conflicting directions to a much
larger rural church with a stable youth
group. In both settings
he describes not only the
how but the feelings of
participants, youth and
adult. Welty writes
sg*- about the concepts of
■ J£2fe' mentoring, uses many
iHg^gHM examples, retells stories
■K^IMIr*! an<* provides practical
^^"^ri**,. steps toward setting up
**J**>m and nurturing youth-
adult relationships.
For any church contemplating men-
toring or wondering what youth ministry
should look like in the 1990s, this book
must be read. Side by Side is important
reading for a pastor or anyone coordinat-
ing the mentoring relationships in a
congregation. Many chapters would also
be useful for parents and the adult
mentors themselves.
Quality of mercy
Outcast But Not Forsaken: True
Stories from a Paraguayan Leper
Colony collected by Maureen Burn
(Plough Publishing House, 1986, 157
pages)
Reviewed by Arthur P. Boers, 477 Lincoln
Road, Windsor, ON N8Y 2G6
These stories from a leper colony are
simple and astonishing. Most center
around Dona Maria's long sojourn as a
leper. She was married and had a son
when she was diagnosed with leprosy.
Immediately cut off from her family, she
was eventually exiled to the colony.
I was struck by her suffering and
alienation. The book's theme is taken
from Psalm 139: "If I make my bed in
hell, thou art there." These are called
"parables from the underworld," and
Maria encounters God in the midst of
this hell.
Lepers are faced with awful questions
about suffering. There seems to be no
pattern as to who gets the disease, who
improves and who dies. Maria is honest
about despair: "After this, a long time
passed, in which my only wish was to die
and forget my misery. I had lost faith in
everything. I believed neither in God nor
the devil, and I never thought of the
Bible anymore. I thought, What good
had it been — it hadn't saved me from all
this. I had quite forgotten how to smile."
The lepers are all too aware of the
world's attitude. One man, looking for a
medicinal root, wandered outside the
colony. "The poor fellow had forgotten
his face was all nodules and discolored
patches, so he was recognized at once as
a leproso by a gang of tree-fellers, who
killed him with their machetes." Else-
where Maria recalls a newspaper account
of a murderer sent to her colony. "The
story ended up by saying no further
punishment, like hard labor, was needed,
as banishment to a leprosarium was
punishment enough." The lepers hoped
for changed societal attitudes, "when
ostracism and family breakup and leper
colonies would be a thing of the past."
We learn much about the life and
society of a leper colony. People went to
great lengths to overcome their loneli-
ness; many were never visited by their
families.
Maria never learned to write or do
math. She learned to read to be able to
read the Bible. Her suffering was a
means of insight into the world, enrich-
ing us. "But though I have seen so many
hardhearted things, I have not lost hope,
for I know God can do what seems
impossible to us." The Holy Spirit
transformed her personality, emotions
and attitudes. "I say to myself: God
knows it all. He can look after my boy
and husband better than I can. He
knows it all, and maybe he will make it
all come right one day."
These are simply told stories and
reminiscences, full of daily details. And
through it all is an astonishing quality of
mercy, love, forgiveness and faithfulness.
Dona Maria was fortunate; she was
eventually reunited with her husband.
The book is amply illustrated by draw-
ings, many of them by Maria herself.
Considering the despair of someone else,
she concludes that "no place anywhere
is. ..hopeless and 'outcast'... for no place is
out of reach of God." This is inspira-
tional in the best possible ways.
Tilivis
Understatement
Driving Miss Daisy, written by Alfred
Uhry, produced by Richard D. Zanuck
and Lili Fini Zanuck, directed by Bruce
Beresford
Reviewed by Gordon Houser, assistant
editor
Based on Uhry's Pulitzer Prize-winning
play, Driving Miss Daisy features two
superb acting performances in a gentle,
powerfully understated story about
friendship.
Miss Daisy Werthan (Jessica Tandy) is
a stubborn, bossy Jewish widow in
Atlanta who wrecks her new 1948
Packard as the film opens. Her son
Boolie (Dan Aykroyd), against his
Profound friendship:
g
s
Tandy and Freeman
mother's wishes, hires a chauffeur
named Hoke (Morgan Freeman).
Eventually the wry, whimsical Hoke
wins Miss Daisy's reluctant approval,
and over the next 25 years their relation-
ship develops from one of master/servant
to a profound though never informal
friendship.
The Jewish widow and the black
chauffeur are each an object of prejudice
in that Southern society, yet the anti-
Semitism and racial bigotry inherent in
the story are never baldly stated. Rather
they remain in the background. What
goes unsaid between Hoke and Miss
Daisy is as important as what is said.
Director Bruce Beresford has expanded
the original three-character play, adding
Idella (Esther Rolle), Miss Daisy's
housekeeper, and Florine (Patti LuPone),
Boolie's wife. His touch is perfect, as he
returns to the form of his earlier films
(Tender Mercies and Breaker Morant,
which I consider one of the best of the
last decade).
If there is a weakness in the film, it is
in the character of Boolie and his wife.
Boolie is a bit too gentle; he needs to
show a harder edge. And Florine is
almost a cardboard stereotype. But
these flaws are forgiven because our
attention is on Tandy and Freeman, both
of whom deserve Oscar nominations.
(Freeman won best actor from the
National Board of Review, while Driving
Miss Daisy was named best film.)
This funny, poignant film is surely one
of the year's best. And its final image, a
spiritual evocation of love, is indelible.
THE MENNONITE 93
biblE
World Day of Prayer is March 2
Does prayer make any difference?
Levi Kciciel
We pray our brief perfunctory prayers but have a hunch
they won't make any difference because God will deal
with the matter anyhow. But the irrefutable witness of
Scripture and history is that prayer does make a difference.
Prayer alters the events of history: When Abraham
learned of Sodom's pending fate, he begged God to spare the
city. He interceded on behalf of the righteous, pleading God's
justice. He bargained with God, as it were, until the number of
righteous people needed for the city's salvation was reduced
from 50 to 10. I have no question that, had 10 been found, God
would have withheld his judgment (Genesis 18>.
In August 1964, guerrilla insurgents, by massacring, tortur-
ing and terrorizing, controlled t wo-thirds of Zaire and were
threatening the city where I and my family lived. I went to the
hospital to visit an elderly evangelist who had a terminal heart
condition.
"If God is the same yesterday, today and forever, isn't he
strong enough to stop these rebels?" he asked.
My mind Hashed an instant replay of all the fallen cities
where also, presumably. Christians had prayed.
"Yes, if God wants to, he has power to stop them," I said
lamely.
"Well. I'm going to pray that God will do something like he
did in the book of Acts," he said.
Prayer turns people to God:
iian Orthodox man
pray
About two days later, outnumbered government troops
suddenly encountered rebel forces approaching our city. In a
brief but bloody battle, rebel forces were decimated and the
backbone of t he insurrection was broken.
Prayer effectively addresses human need: Blind Barti-
maeus sat by the toad outside Jericho. When he learned of
Jesus' approach, he began persistently crying for mercy. Jesus
commanded him to come, announced that his faith had made
him whole, and gave him sight. He prayed, and Jesus met his
need (Mark 11:46-52).
While we served in Zaire, over a period of 18 months my
wife, Eudene, lost 25 pounds while doctors observed the growth
of an ovarian cyst. When it reached the size of a grapefruit
they recommended we return to the United States. Our family
doctor and a surgeon confirmed the diagnosis. The night before
Eudene was to undergo surgery, I stayed with a pastor friend.
We made her need a special matter of prayer.
The following morning, after surgery, a befuddled surgeon
explained to me that they had made a long incision, had
searched thoroughly and could find no cyst. It had mysteri-
ously disappeared. Later I recalled that that pastor had
related to me how God had sometimes miraculously answered
his prayers for physical healing. That surgery was 35 years
ago: Eudene has had no recurrence of the problem.
Prayer has an impact upon the
power of demons: A gentile
woman begged Jesus to help her
daughter who was "suffering
terribly from demon possession"
(NTV). The woman's importunity
surmounted the prejudice of the
disciples and the suggestion that
she was not worthy of benefits
accorded the Jews. Jesus blessed
her for her faith and expelled the
demon.
In Zaire late one afternoon,
Eudene. another missionary nurse
and two African midwives were
beside the delivery table in a
maternity hospital, assisting a
woman. She had had two stillborn
babies. Suddenly she became
uncooperative, puckered her face
and chattered incoherently.
"She is talking with Satan." a
midwife said.
The room seemed to darken; the
air was oppressive: Eudene felt a
tightening constriction around her
throat.
"Go across the hall and pray," the
other nurse told the midwives.
Thev did. The darkness lifted, the
8 at an outdoor service in eastern Poland.
94 FEBRUARY 27. 1990
Prayer addresses human need: One farmer mowed this message in a
hayfield near Pleasant Gap, Pa.
constriction ceased and the woman gave birth to a normal, live
baby.
Prayer turns people to God: Elijah, distraught with the
apostasy of Israel, confronted the prophets of Baal on Mount
Carmel and prayed, "Oh Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and
Israel, let it be known today that you, O Lord, are God, and
that you are turning their hearts back." Fire from heaven
consumed the sacrifice. The people, seeing this, fell prostrate
and cried, "The Lord — he is God! The Lord — he is God" (1
Kings 18).
In Zaire I had talked with leaders of a charismatic faction in
an effort to bring it back into the larger Mennonite church.
Three Africans and I organized a four-day retreat at a rural
district center. Some 40 area leaders, representing both sides
and spirited by the anticipation of confrontation, were present
at the opening session. A loquacious evangelist, Andrew, took
the floor.
"They say we don't have the Holy Spirit. You, Levi, have
been consorting with them. You show us the power of the Holy
Spirit," he challenged, wagging his finger. "Perform some
miracle. We want to see the Holy Spirit with our eyes."
I felt powerless. Every morning, daylight found me kneeling
on an old blanket on the crest of a hill, imploring God to resolve
this dilemma. On the last day a team member appealed for
reconciliation. The four of us took up our chairs, left the chapel
and sat at separate locations. Slowly men formed lines in front
of us. They were broken, humble, penitent. Leaders of the two
groups met and confessed their sins one to another. We were
all kneeling at a closing prayer meeting when I heard the loud
cry of Andrew: "My God, truly we have seen your power with
our eyes. I am a sinner, a great sinner. I beg you to forgive
me.
History reinforces these personal examples. Rees Howells, a
Welsh evangelist, gave much of his life to intercessory prayer.
He saw World War II as a Satanic scheme to obstruct the
ongoing enterprise of worldwide evangelism. He mobilized the
students of his small college into a prayer band that submitted
to the discipline of hours-long daily intercession until the
United Nations was founded. Because he saw a correlation
between specially burdened prayer times and the outcome of
crucial military battles, he believed that prayer altered the
events of history.
In 1836 British clergyman George Muller opened an orphan-
age, telling only God of his needs. About 40 years and $8
million later, he had fed, clothed and sheltered over 10,000
orphans. Prayer addresses human need.
Omar Cabrera, an Argentinian evangelist, has planted 40
large churches. Their membership has grown from 30,000 in
1979 to 150,000 today. Before he opens a campaign in a city,
he shuts himself up alone in a hotel room and commits himself
to prayer and fasting until the Holy Spirit has broken the
ruling authority of demonic powers Cabrera believes controls
"You show us the power of the Holy Spirit,"
he challenged, wagging his finger. "Perform
some miracle. We want to see the Holy Spirit
with our eyes."
the city. Upon emerging from this vigil he finds that the Holy
Spirit has already begun the works of conversion, healing and
deliverance. He believes that prayer has an impact upon the
power of demons.
Many Korean churches, in counting their members, use
mega-numbers: a Methodist church of 10,000; a Presbyterian
church of 50,000; a Full Gospel church of 270,000. Christians,
virtually non-existent in Korea in 1900, today comprise over 30
percent of the population. Why? Since the mid- 1940s believers
have met at 4:30 or 5 a.m. daily for prayer. Over 100 individ-
ual prayer grottos have been dug in the sides of Fasting Prayer
Mountain; every one is occupied almost 24 hours a day. Ac-
cording to a recent study, no Korean pastor spends less than
one hour a day in prayer, and 47 percent of them spend two
hours or more. Prayer turns people to God.
In the light of such witness, how can we be immobilized by a
suspicion that prayer doesn't make any difference? What
might our world look like today if we Christians corporately
believed otherwise?
Levi Keidel, former missionary to Zaire, is
on the faculty of Columbia Bible College,
Clearbrook, B.C.
THE MENNONITE 95
NEWS
01 00 2? 031 31-
ASSOC ME MM 6I8LICAI SEM
3003 BENHAM A V F
ELKHART IN 46517
EdlTORIAl
More than generosity
Twenty-six years after Maynard Shelly's rhubarb-pie
editorial in The Mennonite first went to press
[Nov. 20, 1962], I got a phone call. The caller wasn't
entirely sure what he wanted or where he had seen it,
but it had been in The Mennonite and it had to do with
a pie that someone wanted to give away and a "taker"
who refused to receive it. It had much to say about
"giving charity." Could I find it and send him a copy?
Yes, as a matter of fact, I could. I remembered what
and where and when because I was then on staff, copy-
editing The Mennonite, and this piece was unforget-
table. (Every editor should be so lucky as to write one
unforgettable editorial.)
Here is an excerpt from the original masterpiece:
Receiver: I guess I should take your pie and say thank
you. But I wonder if we might not talk about it a bit.
Giver (holding out brown paper sack with pie in it):
You don't like my pies?
Receiver: Frankly, I've had better. But that's not the
point. Even if your pie were a good pie, I wonder why
you want to give me a pie.
Giver (still holding sack): I just felt I ought to help
you over this rough spot....
Receiver: Your need to give is bigger than my need to
receive....
Giver (s. h. s. ): For a hungry person you're sure philo-
sophical.
Receiver: It helps to be hungry....
Giver (s. h. s.): You don't think it's wrong for me to be
giving you this pie?
Receiver: Certainly not.... You felt guilty about having
so many pies? If you give me one, you won't feel so
guilty about still having one pie plus one cake, three
boxes of assorted crackers and cookies and a gallon of
ice cream.
Giver (s. h. s. ): You're drooling on the sack.
Receiver: You're avoiding the question.... We receivers
need a lot of grace. It's not easy to take all this stuff and
keep your self-respect. But it helps me to remember
that I'm giving you givers something by taking what you
offer.. ..I like you. You're kind of honest.
Giver (s. h. s. ): You've driven me to it....
Receiver: You've made me feel like somebody, not just
a pie-taker.*
And that, folks, is what Mennonite Voluntary
Service helps do: drive people to honesty. It's one
of the best vehicles around. MVS helps knock down
walls and build relationships. Personnel director David
Orr says (with more than 10 years of experience to back
it up): "Volunteers live in the communities they serve.
They live simply. They try to respond to local needs in
partnership with the needy. The barriers of distance,
class and paternalism are slowly ground down."
Without this solidarity the gremlins of condescension
take over and you may as well hang up any idea of
"service." Even with solidarity, the gremlins lurk at
every turn, and you may have detected some in the
preceding pages. They are sly. They are smooth. They
have been around so long we hardly recognize them.
Their names are these:
"Minister-to-^/iem, "
"We-have-much-to-give,"
"Giving-makes-me-feel-good,"
"I'll-have-a-lot-to-tell-my-friends-back-home,"
"Lord-«;e-thank-you-for-giving-us-all-these-blessings,"
"Lord-be-with-^Aose-who-don't-have-as-much-as-a;e-
do."
If any of these gremlins (devils?) live at your house,
you know what to say to them. And you know where to
tell them to go.
May it be so, Lord Jesus. Amen. Cleanse us. Have
mercy on us. Teach us your will. Thank you for your
solidarity with us human beings, shown in your willing-
ness to take human flesh and live with us, breaking
down the walls that made us feel separate from God.
*For a copy of the entire editorial, which is an excellent
discussion starter, send a self-addressed envelope
(stamped if you live in the United States) to me at Box
347, Newton, KS 67114, U.S.A. Muriel T. Stackley
pitoloquE
1990 Winnipeg
Life is full of surprises. My most recent one is
learning about the volume of communication
that happens after people read The Menno-
nite. Brian Arbuckle (Letters, Jan. 23) told
me that when he got home from Panama there
was "a pile of letters" waiting for him from our
readers. Yesterday Eddy Hall told me that
Aaron Epp came to his door in Goessel, Kan.,
for more information about Eddy's article (also
Jan. 23), this in preparation for a Sunday
school class discussion.
My response is pure joy that this magazine
results in people talking to one another.
Get ready for Assembly 12
of Mennonite World
Conference: John Dyck,
MWC coordinator in Win-
nipeg, says that as of Feb. 8
he had received 4,200 regis-
trations for the
July 24-29 gather-
ing, "the big event
on our doorstep,"
as he calls it.
Registrations
from the United
States are lagging
a bit, says John. I
promised him I'd
give a plug in this
space. The travel
fund for Menno-
nites in developing
countries to come
to Winnipeg is going quite well — $320,000 of
the hoped-for $500,000 is in or pledged. This
money is coming primarily from congrega-
tions. Contributions can be directed to MWC,
465 Gunderson Drive, Suite 200, Carol
Stream, IL 60188.
The next issue of The Mennonite will focus
on evangelism, mts
John Dyck holds a T-shirt
that carries the MWC logo.
CONTENTS
Fight to live, be willing to die / 99
Susan's faith / 100
MAMA links Pennsylvanians and Hondurans / 101
A large catch of fish / 102
Manage those financial resources / 103
Why I agonize over paying war taxes / 104
Who will win the peace? / 105
News / 106
CMC celebrates new building, financial health / 106
The Russians aren't coming / 1 1 1
Record / 112
Resources / 1 14
Letters / 117
Reviews / 118
Human fallibility / 1 18
Church and economics / 118
Jesus, lover of my soul / 119
Today's Menno Dow Jones report / 120
Cover: Susan Classen, Mennonite Central Committee nurse in El Sal-
vador, weighs a child at a health clinic. Photo is by Maureen McKenzie.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 14 years of The Men-
nonite are also available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College,
North Newton, KS 67117, and from University Microfilms International, 300 N.
Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106.
<W tUe MENNONiTE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100.
Editor: Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assis-
tant: Angela Rempel; art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of
the Associated Church Press, Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse
(a Mennnonite and Brethren in Christ editors' group). It is an associate member
of the Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretary: Doris Yoder. Business adviser: Dietrich Rempel. Special editions edi-
tors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North Newton, KS 671 17: Window to Mis-
sion, Lois Deckert, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14; Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries,
Richard A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1, Didsbury, AB TOM 0W0; (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2S 1 V7; (Central District) Steve
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Emmaus, PA 18049; (Manitoba) Irma Fast Dueck, 693 Ebby Ave.. Winnipeg, MB R3M 2G9;
(Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada) Margot Fieguth, 99 Veronica Drive, Mississauga,'
ON L5G 2B1 ; (Northern District) Winifred Wall, Box 67, Freeman, SD 57029; (Pacific District)
Clare Ann Ruth-Heffelbower, 31 98 E. Menlo Ave., Fresno, CA 9371 0; (Saskatchewan) Viola
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Circulation: 11,012
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build
the Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under
the guidance of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly
by the General Conference Mennonite Church, 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton,
KS 671 14. Subscription rates: one year, $18 U.S., $21 Canada; two years, $32
U.S., $38 Canada; three years, $44 U.S., $52 Canada. Outside North America
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copies: $2 U.S. Five or more: $1 U.S. each. Paid advertising accepted from
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additional mailing offices. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMASTER: Send Form 3579
to The Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. ©1989
98 MARCH 13, 1990
Resetting a body of broken bones
Fight to live, be willing to die
Susan Classen
We dedicated you to God when you
were a baby, and we meant it."
My parents first spoke these words to
me in May 1981. We had just learned
that the breast cancer my mother had
been battling for a year had metasta-
sized, and I was agonizing over whether
or not to continue with my plans to go to
Bolivia with Mennonite Central Commit-
tee. I went to Bolivia, and my mother
died six weeks later. Although it was a
painful time, God's leading was clear. I
haven't regretted that decision.
Eight years later my father spoke the
same words one hour before his brain
surgery. I was in the United States on a
speaking tour when the message came
that my father was in the hospital with a
brain tumor. After traveling all night, I
arrived just before surgery. "I recognize
your call from God," he told me. "We
dedicated you to God when you were a
baby to follow that call. Some people
may think that because you're single you
should change your plans to be with me
if necessary, but I don't feel that way."
Tears blinded me as we embraced.
Those were to be some of his last
clearly spoken words. Five hours later
the surgeon told us as gently as possible
that the tumor was large, aggressive and
malignant. He gave no hope for recov-
ery. Although mentally alert since
surgery, my father has lost the ability to
speak. He has no use of his right hand
and his right leg is weak.
Why did my mother die of cancer?
Why does my father have a brain tumor?
Is it because of sin as some people say?
A well-meaning Christian told the family
that my mother would have been healed
if she had had enough faith. Where is
God when Christians suffer?
As my family once more faces a painful
battle with terminal illness, I find myself
thinking of my Salvadoran friends who
deal daily with suffering and death.
Pedro, an 80-year-old man in the village
where I live in El Salvador, has been an
impressive teacher. I never really knew
him until I observed him during a con-
frontation between the villagers and gov-
ernment soldiers last March. About 150
people had gathered outside my house
demanding the release of a villager
whom soldiers had unjustly arrested
hours earlier. Violence seethed beneath
the surface, rumbling convulsively and
erupting briefly from time to time. The
people, though angry and scared, were
determined to stand firm. The soldiers
seemed to be gloating, hungry at the
prospect of blood. They egged the people
on, hoping to force them to lose control so
that bloodshed would be justified.
Pedro stood out in the crowd. Even the
soldiers noted that he didn't cower from
their threats and insults but looked them
calmly in the eye. He was not angry or
scared but determined to hold his
ground. The standoff ended when the
prisoner's wife stepped forward to
demand her right to speak to the officials
in charge. The soldiers saw their
opportunity and began swinging their
clubs. Other soldiers came running up
from behind, firing round after round of
shots above the people's heads. After the
shots died down, Pedro was the first to
take his place again and the villagers
gathered around him. But by that time
it was almost dark, and when the officer
threatened to shoot anyone on the streets
after 15 minutes, the crowd dispersed.
The prisoner was released the next
morning, and I decided that I wanted to
get to know Pedro.
I went to his house and asked him how
he felt during the confrontations. "I
wasn't scared," he said, "because I'm
willing to die." Then he told me about
four experiences when he almost died but
then his strong will to live pulled him
through. To be willing to die as we fight
to live is the key to victorious living or
dying.
For my father this means accepting
the doctor's grim prognosis but still
dedicating his energy toward fighting for
his life. Fighting to live without being
willing to die makes us deny the facts of
a terminal illness or our own finiteness.
Without a willingness to die, we hang on
to life, protect it, save it and thus,
ironically, destroy the vitality that
makes life worth living. At the other
extreme are those who are willing to die
but don't fight to live. They fatalistically
resign themselves to whatever happens
and so lose their lives long before they
die.
About suffering Pedro said, "For those
who trust in God, no ground is barren."
A piece of myself died the moment the
doctor said that my father's tumor was
malignant and that they didn't get it all.
Is that piece of myself lost forever? Or
will it be like a kernel of wheat that falls
to the ground and dies, thereby produc-
ing many seeds (John 12:24)? Will it fall
on the path to be eaten by birds, on
Violence beneath the surface: "1 need your
prayers in returning to El Salvador," said
Susan at the January meeting of Mennonite
Central Committee Canada, "but you also
need my prayers. Violence is clearly defined
in El Salvador. It's much more diffuse here.
Something is eating away at your values."
Wanting to live
without being
willing to die
makes us deny
our finiteness.
rocks, amid thorns. Or will it fall on
fertile ground, allowing God to perform
the miracle of transforming death to life?
If Pedro's words are true, then even
suffering is not barren ground because
God transforms suffering into persever-
ance, character and hope (Romans 5:3,4).
Something good like hope cannot come
out of anything as evil as suffering
unless God is alive and transforming
what was meant to destroy us into
maturity and strength.
Pedro is not angry at God for the
suffering he has experienced. "God
doesn't cause suffering," he explained to
me. "God didn't cause this war. Our
THE MENNONITE 99
Menno Wiebe
Susans
FAITH
you sent me to el Salvador
to heal the people's hurts
the land of God's own name
and now i speak to you
i saw it in el Salvador
death for others
the kind that resurrects
a death not wasted
to members of the board and to friends
she said last night
it is our commitment
not our fear
that determines what we do
like free-floating rocks in a whirlpool
circling, suffering, rubbing fine the faith, sinking deep
polishing one another as gems for the kingdom
quiet reservoirs above
and
peaceful flows below
provide the hope
within this churning turbulence
the church at home
fasted for a day and prayed
father, mother facing illness, facing death
dedicated me at birth
on monday
i'm returning to el Salvador
the place of hurt
the place to heal
the place where Jesus is
if we will be
Menno Wiebe, 10 Concord Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3T, 1H7, wrote this poem
about Susan Classen at the Mennonite Central Committee annual meeting
on Jan. 19.
Suffering results
from our
inability to live
interconnectedly
with God's
creation.
suffering results when some people don't
realize that we're all members of one
family. The big ones walk all over the
little ones." Pedro recognized that God
created the world as an interconnected
network. What one person does affects
another. Four of Pedro's children died,
not because God was punishing him or
because it was God's will but because
some of God's family have more than
their share, leaving Pedro too little to
adequately provide for his children.
Some Christians assume that all
illness and suffering are a result of
personal sin. We reap what we sow. If
we don't take care of our bodies we get
sick. But we don't just reap what we
sow, we also reap what the people
around us sow. Innocent people are
sometimes the victims of other people's
sins. Because God created us as an
interconnected body, the whole body
suffers when one part doesn't function
properly.
Suffering can also result from our
inability to live interconnectedly with
God's creation. "The earth is defiled by
its people; they have disobeyed the laws,
violated the statutes and broken the
everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse
consumes the earth: its people must
bear their guilt" (Isaiah 24:5,6). Air
pollution, toxic dumps, chemical wastes;
our bodies are contaminated by our drive
to dominate God's creation through
power and technology. My great aunt
and uncle both died of cancer that was
traced back to a fly spray they used in
their dairy barn when they were young.
But living in an interconnected world
does not just mean suffering from our
own and other people's sins. It also
means enabling each other. My decision
to go to Bolivia while my mother was
dying was based on a discernment
process in which our congregation prayed
and fasted. Other family members and
the church body enabled me to leave my
mother by assuming responsibilities that
I otherwise would have had. My father
is now enabling me to continue working
in El Salvador because he is willing to let
go of me and allow God to meet his needs
through other supportive family and
friends. And the many people supporting
him enable him to let go with the
confidence that they will stand by him.
Upon return to El Salvador I left a piece
of myself behind and take part of my
father and his supportive community
with me.
I am reminded of Thomas Merton's
words, "As long as we are on earth, the
love that unites us will bring us suffering
from our very contact with one another,
because this love is the resetting of a
Body of broken bones." Christ's body is
being broken in violence, hate, individu-
alism and inequality, but the bones are
being reset as Christians recognize our
interconnectedness and strive, by God's
grace, to find wholeness.
Susan Classen has worked in El Salva-
dor since 1984 and returned in late
January after an autumn speaking tour
in the United States. She is a member of
Northridge Christian Fellowship,
Springfield, Ohio.
100 MARCH 13, 1990
A Honduran woman works in the sewing class in Sandoval Sorto. "The people [in Honduras]
have a dynamic faith," says Priscilla Benner, MAMA's founder and director. "They aren't just
'rice Christians' (people who are there only because of the help). The people are earnestly
seeking God, and their lives are changing."
MAMA >
Will Schirmer
The MAMA project is a partnership
between Mennonite women of
Honduras and North America. MAMA
stands for "Mujeres Amigas (Women
Friends) Miles Apart." The MAMA
project began almost four years ago to
provide nutritional aid to Honduran
children. Local women's church groups
baked nutritional granola bars ("super-
barras"). Now MAMA has expanded to
medical, educational, housing and self-
help assistance.
Last summer 30 Mennonites from 10
Pennsylvania Mennonite churches
worked on two building projects, one a
church in an area called Seis de Mayo
and the other a child-care center in a
village called Sandoval Sorto. They
visited families in these villages, distrib-
uted worming medicine, weighed and
measured children and had meetings
with the Honduran volunteers who
coordinate MAMA in San Pedros Sula. It
was the third year that a service team
has gone to Honduras in this capacity.
"As Christians we've all made the
commitment to follow Christ, and we
can't ignore his command to seek out the
poor, the sick, the needy," explained
Priscilla Benner, MAMA's founder and
director. "We've all made a commitment
to be missionaries."
People who went last July had various
reasons for going. Lisa and Alan
Roberts, members of Indian Valley
Mennonite Church, Harleysville, saw
this as a "new area of Christian life, a
different way of serving the Lord." What
they learned from the trip was to be
more thankful for what they have and to
be concerned for others. Lisa also com-
mented, "I never knew that missionary
work was this hard."
Mary Young, also of the Indian Valley
congregation, worked at one of the
construction sites and at a distribution
center giving worming medicine to
children. "It was much harder distribut-
ing worming medicine than laying
cement blocks in the hot sun," said Mary.
"I could only distribute the medicine one
day; it was too emotionally draining."
Judy Jones, Springfield Mennonite
Church, Quakertown, went because of
her interest in helping children. "It
showed me that we could all live more
simply," she commented. "It's hard to
explain the small things to my children,
like, Do we really need those bags of
gummy bears or chips?"
The Honduran family that hosted Judy
also hosted Wanda Schirmer, a member
of Grace Mennonite Church, Lansdale,
who has been serving as MAMA's
secretary for the past three years. "I
wanted to see what MAMA was all
about, " she said.
"This was an excellent opportunity for
me to serve the Lord," Wanda said.
"MAMA is meeting the specific needs of
the people, trying to curb malnutrition
and help better their lives."
The trip to Honduras had a tremen-
dous impact on those who went from
Pennsylvania, but what impact is MAMA
having on the people in Honduras?
"In the four areas MAMA is working
there are new Mennonite churches," said
Priscilla. "The people have a dynamic
faith. They aren't just 'rice Christians'
(people who are there only because of the
help). The people are earnestly seeking
God, and their lives are changing.
"We are also encouraging those in the
villages to have their own leadership,
and they are beginning to think of
themselves as a community," she said.
"That is a role that MAMA is playing
that will outlast it's presence there."
Production of "superbarras" (the
original granola bars) is now shifting to
Honduras. The pump has been primed,
and the Honduran people are now more
actively participating in MAMA.
"Right now we are still a resource for
them, for ideas, money and donations,"
said Priscilla. "If there comes a time
when they don't need us, I hope we have
the sense to let go. I hope that we in
North America won't lose interest
because it isn't something 'we do' any
more. And if the need for money be-
comes greater than the need for dona-
tions, I hope it does not bring our
legitimacy into question."
"I think about Honduras every day,"
said Mary Young. "I can't forget the
poverty. My priorities have changed. I
am spending less. When I go to a mall, I
can now pass by a dress and say, 'Do I
really need that?'"
About the trip to Honduras Mary
concluded, "There is hope, however, for
the people in Honduras. I could feel it."
Will Schirmer, Norristown, Pa., is a member
of Grace Mennonite
Church in Lansdale,
Pa. For this article he
used research and inter-
views provided by
Trish Hoover of
Plains Mennonite
Church, Lansdale,
Pa., and Mary Young,
Indian Valley
Mennonite Church,
Harleysville, Pa.
THE MENNONITE 101
*j*^«fi%»S5s fish
James Schrag
As the pastor of a rural Kansas Men-
nonite congregation in the late '70s,
I watched the brightly lit "Christmas
trees" (oil-drilling rigs) sprout in the
wheat fields that surrounded the church.
At the height of the energy crisis new oil
exploration had become profitable. I
fantasized that one day a drilling crew
would rumble onto our churchyard and
sink their drills into our parking lot in
search of that oh-so-profitable sub-
terranian goo that holds our society
captive. Then we too could cash in, and
our perennial church budget woes would
come to an end. But the drilling crews
never arrived.
Several years later, after moving to an
Ohio congregation, I learned that my
new church had already been visited by
the "Christmas tree" crew. But the
windfall of wealth that had descended
upon the church had not come in the
form of an oil rig in the parking lot. In a
less dramatic fashion the "fortune" had
made its appearance as a large bequest
from a member. I soon learned that
whether it's an oil well in the parking lot
or cash in the bank, the effect on the
congregation is much the same: chal-
lenge, dilemma, opportunity.
Remember the story from Luke 5:1-11
about the great catch of fish? Much like
a preacher delivering yet one more
stewardship sermon to a drowsy congre-
gation, the disciples had thrown their
nets into the sea all night and caught
nothing. But at Jesus' direction they
cast the nets once more, and the fish
filled the nets. Boats overflowing with
good fortune began to sink. Was our con-
gregation facing a similar dilemma in the
abundance of a large bequest?
We soon discovered that our problem
was not unique. Lyle Schaller of the
Yokefellow Institute reports that the
number of bequests received by Protes-
tant congregations in the United States
annually is triple the number received in
1960. Many members display a shrink-
ing loyalty to denominations, choosing to
leave a bequest to their congregation or
to a cause unrelated to their denomina-
tion. This may also be a spinoff of the
efforts of a burgeoning population of
"development officers" in church colleges,
hospitals and conferences.
Whatever the cause, the cash we
received seemed to have its own person-
ality and developed a voice of its own,
almost daring us to tame its power or to
determine its direction.
The next generation will judge
whether we were up to this challenge.
We defer judgment to our children
because we have learned from asking
other churches that the receipt of
bequests has long-range consequences.
We learned that one church, a half-
century after receiving a large bequest,
still struggled from adverse effects of
that too-large catch of fish.
Our congregation, pushed into
dangerous waters, took it as a
challenge to become better sailors.
Surely God had a purpose in presenting
this "catch" to our comfortable church.
In true churchly form we appointed a
committee. Its deliberation and its
prayer produced this counsel:
1. Go slow. Don't make hasty deci-
sions. Resist impulses. Let no single
voice in the congregation dominate. Tell
those who want to get rid of the money
quickly that the "filthy lucre" theory
serves only to short-circuit an important
learning opportunity for an entire
generation of this congregation. And tell
those who want to keep it all and build
some kind of monument to the giver that
we doubt that God wishes the money to
memorialize anyone but himself.
2. Take a positive view. Believe
that this occurrence did not happen by
chance. Recognize that a unified
decision-making process can build confi-
dence and set patterns for future
decisions on other issues.
3. View the issue as what to do
with ourselves as God's stewards
rather than what to do with the
money. Before asking what to do, first
ask why God allowed the stewardship of
this money to come to us. Resist the
temptation to quickly assume that we
are only the middlemen, destined only to
pass the money on to its real caretakers.
Deny all notions that this possession was
ours in any ultimate sense and believe
that all that we are and have — mind,
talent, time, wealth — belongs to God.
Thus began a two-year process of dis-
cernment— committee work, congre-
gational meetings, consultation with
Sunday school classes and testing
written proposals.
We distilled the options to two: (DA
proposal for an endowment fund to be
managed by an independent congrega-
tional board, which could use the pro-
ceeds of the bequest for benevolence
causes at home or in the wider Mennon-
ite church. (2) A list of causes in the
Mennonite church and surrounding
community to be used if the congregation
wished to give the bequest away
immediately.
When the congregation approved these
options, members were asked to treat the
money as if it were all their own,
indicating by ballot the percent they
wished to keep in endowment and the
percent they wished to disburse right
away. This served two purposes: (l)It
challenged each member with a personal
responsibility for this bequest. (2) It
resulted in a congregational decision that
was a composite of the congregation as a
whole, not just the congregation's
positive or negative vote on a commit-
tee's proposal. In all voting an averaging
of individual percentages determined the
final disbursement amounts.
We report widespread satisfaction with
the decision-making method. The
congregation directed immediate disbur-
sal of half the bequest to mission boards,
MCC, Mennonite colleges and commu-
nity causes. The other half was invested
with The Mennonite Foundation of
Goshen, Ind., in the form of an endow-
ment. A governing board is ready to
receive requests from the wider church
for the proceeds of this endowment.
We are still learning:
1. A large catch of fish doesn't have to
sink your boat.
2. An "oil well" in the parking lot that
keeps producing wealth (our endowment
fund ) challenges us to grow in steward-
ship, testing our management skills. We
know that the wealth this "well" pro-
duces dare not be allowed to replace the
well-established sources of giving from
individual income given through the
offering plate.
3. As in the Parable of the Talents
(Matthew 25:14-30), God's distribution of
more talents to those who already have
many is a humbling reminder of the
meaning of the totality of their posses-
sion and its application to work in the
reign of God.
James Schrag is pastor
of Oak Grove Mennon-
ite Church, Smithville,
Ohio.
102 MARCH 13, 1990
Manage those financial resources
Richard Reimer
The question of how best to manage
financial assets is one of the larger
questions of Christian stewardship.
Four stories by Jesus give us insight into
this question: The Rich Young Ruler,
The Rich Farmer Who Built Additional
Storage, The Good Samaritan and The
Story of the Talents. Theologians may
disapprove of my oversimplification, but
these stories show us four principles: (1)
There are more important things than
wealth, and we should not allow wealth
to determine our values. (2) Wealth
cannot be used to obtain security and
should not be used for self-indulgence.
(3) Those in need ought to be treated
with compassion and generosity, regard-
less of who they are. (4) Assets are to be
managed with skill and care.
We must also note the concern Jesus
expressed for the sick, the handicapped,
the poor. Given these general principles,
it should be possible to suggest guide-
lines for financial investment.
But before doing this let's examine the
nature of financial instruments bought
and sold in financial markets. Generally
these instruments are of two types:
equities (stock certificates) and debt
instruments (which include bonds, cer-
tificates of deposit, savings accounts).
Stock certificates denote ownership.
Generally, when sold, they simply
change the ownership pattern of the
corporation but do not add to the capital
of the company. However, occasionally a
corporation will issue additional shares,
and the purchase of these provides the
corporation with new capital.
Similarly, bonds that are purchased
may be existing debt or newly issued
bonds that would increase the debt of the
company. The important thing to note is
that the holder of stocks is a partial
owner of the company but has virtually
no say in the management unless one
owns a substantial portion of the shares
outstanding. Bond holders, on the other
hand, are creditors of the company who
have loaned money to the company.
How best to manage financial assets,
then, given the biblical principles out-
lined above? What type of company
would a person wish to be a part owner
of or loan funds to? This involves these
aspects of the firm's operation:
1. What is the nature of the
product or service the firm pro-
vides?
Obviously one should invest funds in
corporations that produce products or
services that improve the quality of life
for people around us. These may include
health care, hospital equipment, housing,
certain food products and possibly mass-
transit equipment. Companies to be
avoided include those that produce
military products, tobacco products,
gambling companies.
2. What is the corporation's
record with respect to employee
relations?
While there are usually two sides to
most problems, a company with a history
of work stoppages and employee griev-
ances with respect to unsafe working
conditions should perhaps be avoided.
On the other hand, a company with a
good record of minority hiring and
promotion may be one to include in a list
of stocks or bonds to purchase. In this
regard, companies located in South
Africa should currently be excluded.
3. What is the impact of the corpo-
ration's activities on the environ-
ment, both in terms of the product
produced and the production
process?
Consider firms that produce pollution
control equipment or firms that have
managed to control pollution in a
significant way. Avoid those that pollute
our environment or produce hazardous
products.
Other factors may be considered, but
these are a beginning point. Most people
who have relatively small amounts to
invest simply do not have the time or
inclination to obtain the information
needed to make ethical investment
decisions. A desirable alternative is
investment in mutual funds that have
investment guidelines similar to the ones
listed above. Many of the mutual funds
managed within the constraints of
ethical guidelines have competitive
financial returns. In fact, the theory of
financial markets tells us that these
funds, provided they are reasonably
diversified, should perform as well as the
market in general.
What do you do when you own stock in
a corporation and discover a problem?
One possibility is to sell the stock. An
alternative is to attempt to influence the
company's behavior. Join with like-
minded shareholders in voting proxies,
sponsor shareholder resolutions or write
company officials. Many examples exist
in which corporate behavior has changed
because of the actions of concerned
shareholders. But you must recognize
that unless the concerned shareholders
wield considerable power in terms of
votes, they may not modify corporate
behavior.
Related to this is the role of church
and church-related agencies with
respect to investing. Agencies may find
themselves with substantial funds, at
least temporarily. Some also hold large
endowment funds. Surely church
members have a right to expect that
these funds be managed in accordance
with biblical principles. It is reasonable
to assume that these agencies will
provide leadership in articulating a code
of ethical investment.
Good stewardship
promotes justice
and opportunity
for all people.
Some church agencies have a fiduciary
responsibility, which means they are
obligated to manage funds for the sole
benefit of the beneficiary in accordance
with the reasonable person doctrine (in a
reasonable manner). Some fund manag-
ers take this to mean that to use any
ethical considerations in fund manage-
ment would be contrary to their fiduciary
obligations. However, many church
agency fund managers use ethical con-
siderations in their investment decisions.
Ethical considerations need not result in
lower performance. Reasonable ethical
guidelines will not cause problems with
regard to the fiduciary obligations.
Mennonite church agencies should
consider ethical problems and articulate
them to members. Mennonite Mutual
Aid, an inter-Mennonite agency, has
devised a carefully thought-out document
that merits a more general consideration.
Good stewardship of our financial
resources means that we manage these
resources in order to promote justice and
opportunity for all people. To ignore the
ethical implications of our actions is
contrary to our Mennonite heritage of
practicing our faith as part of our daily
living.
Richard Reimer, Oak Grove Mennonite
Church, Smithuille, Ohio, is on the
faculty ofWooster (Ohio) College.
THE MENNONITE 103
Why I agonize over paying war taxes
Linda Peachey
I recently attended a meeting that
focused on the question of paying the
military portion (about 50 percent) of our
[U.S.] federal income taxes. I left the
meeting troubled, not because there were
varying viewpoints but because many
people appeared unconcerned about the
issue and failed to address what I believe
are key questions on the matter.
The question for me is not whether we
should honor our government or whether
a government has the right to collect
taxes. The crux of the matter is to
determine when Caesar's demands
conflict with our obedience to God. I fear
that if I were to give Caesar all that he
demands in war taxes, I would fail to
honor God in four important ways.
1. I fear that by paying the military
portion of my income taxes I fail to trust
God alone for my security. Throughout
history nations have tried to secure their
well-being and safety through military
solutions. Again and again in the Bible
God asks us to resist such solutions and
to trust him instead:
War horses are useless for victory;
their great strength cannot save. The
Lord watches over those who have
reverence for him, those who trust in
his constant love. He saves them from
death. ...We put our hope in the Lord;
he is our protector and our help (Psalm
33:17-20).
If I work several months each year to
pay my nation's military dues, am I not
giving legitimacy to the military estab-
lishment's answers for my security? If I
am willing to invest so much of my time
and energy in a military solution, can I
honestly say that God is my protector?
2. I fear that by paying my war taxes I
fail to give my primary loyalty to Christ's
worldwide church. My war taxes would
purchase planes, bombs, guns and
military training to be used in Third
World settings. Although our country is
not involved in any declared war, our
military might is felt keenly in Central
America, the Philippines and the Middle
East.
In fact, in recent years the United
States has adopted a policy of promoting
"low-intensity conflict" in countries that
threaten to move out from under our
sphere of influence. This means keeping
warfare away from the American public
eye and avoiding the involvement of
American soldiers in the fighting. Yet
our brothers and sisters in Christ do die
in the struggle. Can I say that my first
loyalty is to the worldwide kingdom of
God if I comply with structures that do
violence to my neighbors around the
world?
3. I fear that by paying my war taxes I
fail to follow Christ as he calls me to love
all people, even my enemies. In Matthew
5 Jesus no doubt surprised his listeners
by challenging them to love not only
their friends but all people, just as God
does. This has not been an easy teaching
for the church. Peter struggled with it
when he was called to go to Cornelius, a
gentile, and Paul reminded the early
church often that the gospel was not only
for Jews but also for gentiles.
Ephesians 2:14 points this out: "For
Christ himself has brought us peace by
making Jews and gentiles one people.
With his own body he broke down the
wall that separated them and kept them
enemies." Do we believe that this can
also apply to Americans and Soviets, rich
and poor, capitalist and communist?
Can I believe this and at the same time
contribute to the forces that are designed
to destroy these very people whom Christ
called me to love?
4. I fear that by paying my war taxes I
fail to respect God's creation. In today's
world, militarism not only threatens
people but all of creation as well. While
militarism is not the only way we
dishonor God's creation, it is through
nuclear weapons that we dare to
threaten all that God has made. Can I
claim to truly honor God if I continue to
help pay for such weapons?
I think these questions have special
poignancy for us as Mennonites. We
claim to be conscientious objectors to
Taxes for Peace
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Peace Section invites American citizens to
contribute to the 1990 Taxes for Peace fund. The fund, established in 1972, gives
U.S. citizens who want to withhold war taxes a way to contribute their money
toward peaceful purposes.
While contributing to this fund is a symbolic action and not a legal alternative
to paying the tax, many people have found it a meaningful way to demonstrate
their commitment to peace.
In 1989, $5,750 in Taxes for Peace funds were divided between the National
Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund and Christian Peacemaker Teams; 1990 contri-
butions will be divided the same way. The National Campaign for a Peace Tax
Fund seeks to enact the U.S. Peace Tax Fund Bill, which would give those consci-
entiously opposed to war a way to pay 100 percent of their taxes by designating
the military percentage to a separate fund for peace-enhancing programs.
Christian Peacemaker Teams is an initiative of North American Mennonite and
Brethren in Christ churches to develop and support more assertive peacemaking,
here and abroad.
Since 1977 MCC constituents have contributed more than $75,000 to Taxes for
Peace. Among other projects, the money has funded reconstruction efforts in
Indochina, aided victims of violence in Guatemala and supported the MCC U.S.
Peace Section.
Contributions to the fund can be made payable to MCC, Taxes for Peace,
mailed to MCC U.S. Peace Section, Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-0500.
For more information write National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund, 2121
Decatur Place NW, Washington, DC 20008. For information about Christian
Peacemaker Teams, write Christian Peacemaker Teams, 1821 W. Cullerton,
Chicago, IL 60608.
An information packet on military tax opposition is available from MCC U.S.
Peace Section. The $3 packet contains varying theological positions on the war
tax issue and materials about tax laws and legal concerns for the tax resister.
Updated materials are available for those who purchased earlier editions of the
packet. Linda Peachy, MCC U.S. Peace Section
104 MARCH 13. 1990
TOqEThER
Who will win the peace?
Robert Hull
If, as U.S. President George Bush
claims, the Western allies have won
the Cold War, who will win the peace?
Where are the ideas that will lead us
from the current pattern of gradual
military reductions to a situation in
which military weapons are not needed
because nations have found other, more
effective means of resolving their
conflicts? Only then can we truly say we
have found our way toward peace.
Former Mennonite Central Committee
U.S. Peace Section director John Stoner
has contributed one novel idea: "Let us
accept the discipline of a simple rule —
people should not kill people" ("A Conflict
Management Model for World Peace" in
Ways Out: the Book of Changes for Peace,
1988). Stoner then responds to some
immediate challenges to his deceptively
simple idea.
"'Could this simple rule be imple-
mented in practice?' Two things urge an
affirmative answer. First, it already has
been almost universally implemented.
Over 5 billion people observe it in inter-
personal relationships on a daily basis.
That is a high level of observance for any
rule. Second, the discipline of a rule that
people should not kill people does not
have to be easy in order to be right.
"Why do those who defend the necessity
of war so glibly assume that the first
requirement of any alternative is that it
PERSONAL
war. Yet in a low-intensity conflict or in
a nuclear war it is almost irrelevant to
say that we will not serve in the military.
These kinds of wars do not demand our
bodies but our dollars and our consent.
Thus we cannot ignore this issue of war
taxes.
I recognize that sincere people differ
on this issue. Some encourage elected
leaders to reorder our nation's priorities.
Some give away more of their income so
that they owe less income tax. Some live
in community so that they can live on
lower incomes. Some withhold a sym-
bolic amount of all of their military
taxes. Some support legislative efforts
that would allow conscientious objectors
to designate the military portion of their
federal taxes to a peace tax fund. What
must be easy? Why should non-violence
be easy? Why should it not require
training on a scale as grand as the vast
educational establishment of the armed
forces? Why should it not require
funding on a scale just as vast?
"Non-violence," says Stoner, "has not
been tried and found wanting. It has
been found difficult and left untried.
This is not good enough for the potential
of human society and the reach of the
human spirit. God has something better
in mind."
How can we make a good start on the
way toward non-violent societies —
toward societies that have tested and
proved and therefore trust better ways to
resolve conflicts than killing people?
How can we fund such new beginnings?
Contributing to the peacemaking efforts
of our Mennonite conferences is surely
one effort we can make.
But how small are such contributions
in comparison to the military taxes we
pay. Both the U.S. and Canadian gov-
ernments have already established
national "peace institutes" whose man-
dates are to develop the emerging
techniques of conflict resolution. Yet
both the U.S. Institute of Peace and the
Canadian Institute for International
Peace and Security struggle on at such a
low level of funding (compared to that of
is important is not so much that we all
agree but that we agonize together on
these questions.
Let us pray for wisdom as we wrestle
with what this issue means for our faith
in God, our witness as a Christian
church, our faithfulness to Christ and
our reverence for God's creation.
Linda Peachey is co-
secretary, Mennonite
Central Committee U.S.
Peace Section.
the military establishments ) that little
innovation and testing of new peace
techniques can be expected from them.
This situation thus defines the prob-
lem: our governments rely ever more
extensively on taxes for military solu-
tions to conflicts, while the institutions
that could lead us to develop new
alternatives sit hamstrung for lack of
adequate funding.
There are first-step solutions to this
problem. They begin with the concept of
redirecting our taxes away from military
uses toward these peacemaking institu-
tions. In the United States the Peace
Tax Fund legislation directly names the
U.S. Institute of Peace as one of the
primary recipients of military taxes re-
directed to peacemaking by conscientious
objectors. Conscience Canada is pursu-
ing in the courts whether the recent Ca-
nadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
(which protects "freedom of conscience")
also protects conscientious objection to
paying military taxes. It has plans to
introduce such legislation into Parlia-
ment if the test case is successful.
How can we Mennonites make an
offering? First, both the national Cam-
paign for a Peace Tax Fund (2121
Decatur Ave., NW, Washington, DC
20008) and Conscience Canada (Box 601,
Station E, Victoria, BC V8W 2P3) need
contributions. Second, both need active
members who will talk with other church
members and people in their local
community about what these organiza-
tions are trying to do. Third, they need
active members who will write letters to
their Congresspeople or Members of Par-
liament to express their agony of con-
science when they see their taxes being
used to kill people.
As the old camp song goes, let us
"study war no more." Rather let us
"know what makes for peace" (Luke
19:41).
Robert Hull serves as
associate executive
secretary and secretary
for peace and justice of
gfl^- 3^. the Commission on
* Home Ministries.
i
THE MENNONITE 105
"I love the church and the work of the
church and pledge myself to help build the
spiritual life of our congregations and the
conference," said Helmut Harder, Win-
nipeg, responding to the announcement
Feb. 10 that he would become the new
general secretary of the Conference of
Mennonites in Canada. He will succeed
Larry Kehler, who has served in that
capacity for the past nine years. Harder
has been acting president of Canadian
Mennonite Bible College during John H.
Neufeld's four-month stay in South
America. Kehler will become director of
Mennonite Central Committee's U.S.S.R.
program in September.
Members of St. Louis Mennonite
Fellowship recently passed a proposal to
faithfully resist payments of the U.S. federal
phone tax applied monthly to the fellow-
ship's phone bill. The revenues will be
redirected to Mennonite Central Commit-
tee. "We wish to respect the convictions of
our members and Anabaptist forebears and
to be disciplined followers of Jesus Christ,"
said Scott Neufeld, coordinator of St. Louis
Mennonite Peace Witness. Federal phone
tax revenues, first collected in 1914,
contribute directly to the U.S. Armed
Forces and other systems of war, Neufeld
said.
NEWS
Operating a budget of $3.74 million
CMC celebrates new building, financial health
Winnipeg (CMC)— Quiet
satisfaction typified the Feb. 8-
10 sessions here of the Council
of Boards of the Conference of
Mennonites in Canada.
Participants celebrated the
completion of the second
phase of a four-part building
program. Work in Chinese
ministries and planning for
seminary education can now
move forward because 97.6
percent (instead of the 1989
figure of 94.2 percent) of the
budget has been realized.
One of the major tasks facing
new general secretary Helmut
Harder (see top of this page) is
the continued processing of a
priorities document that may
result in a restructuring of the
conference. CMC boards and
committees discussed the
mission and goals aspects of
the document, to be presented
to the delegate sessions July 6-
1 1 in Edmonton.
The General Board allocated
special funds to the Congrega-
tional Resources Board (CRB)
for its initiative to plant two new
Chinese Mennonite congrega-
tions over the next four years.
CRB will present plans for its
church planting efforts by
September. Paul Boschman,
Abbotsford, B.C., will help
facilitate this.
CRB is also developing a
Peace Shelf at its resource
center and a missions hand-
book. It will install a WATTS
line for telephone accessibility
for one year, beginning in
September.
A second priority is seminary
education within Canada.
Funds were allocated so that
the Winnipeg-based seminary
education. The task force will
present its recommendations
by July, after holding hearings
in the provinces and regions.
Native Ministries is planning
urban programs for Winnipeg
and Saskatoon. The Winnipeg
work will be redirected as a
Canadian Women in Mission are supporting the Chinese Mennonite
Newsletter edited by Juliana Tarn (at right). Others are (left to right)
Phyllis Wiebe, president; Helen Hildebrand, Canadian vice president
for the binational Women in Mission organization; Edna Zacharias,
vice president; and Betty Nachtigal, secretary-treasurer.
consortium, of which Canadian
Mennonite Bible College is a
member, could continue its
experimental existence for two
more years. A task force was
struck in July 1989 to develop a
long-term policy statement and
a funding proposal for such
result of the extensive review
over the past year. The board
is continuing to explore oppor-
tunities for leadership training
for Native people.
The Canadian Mennonite
Bible College board did long-
range planning in light of the
number of faculty members
who will retire within the next
decade. The board also
detailed the newly formed
youth ministries program, which
is to begin in September,
directed by Abe Bergen. The
next two phases of the building
program include a residence
center, gymnasium and lecture
theater for CMBC.
The Committee on Ministerial
Leadership (CML) is encourag-
ing congregations to choose
lay leaders from within their
ranks. CML is also preparing a
document on pastoral ethics for
pastors and congregations and
assembling a packet on women
in church leadership.
At the July annual sessions
in Edmonton, delegates will
IT vote on the recommendation
| that CMC become an associate
" member in the Canadian
1 Council of Churches and the
I Evangelical Fellowship of
Canada.
The Council of Boards put a
salary review committee in
place and adopted a budget of
$3.74 million for presentation to
the delegate sessions this
summer.
The new CMC office
facilities, which also house the
Conference of Mennonites in
Manitoba, were dedicated at
the close of the board
sessions. Margaret Franz,
CMC editor
106 MARCH 13, 1990
The Kenya Mennonite Church had an
increase of 800 members in December
1989 when an independent group called
the Nukuru Happy Church was received
into membership. The Nukuru Happy
Church is led by Joseph Kamau, a Kenyan
who trained at Rosedale Bible Institute, a
Mennonite Church school in Ohio. Kamau
taught the group he founded the theology
and practice of Anabaptists and their
understandings of the church. He applied
to have his group join the Kenya Menno-
nites, since the government encourages all
congregations to relate to a recognized
body.
A program to train deaf people for
Christian leadership is being established in
Washington in cooperation with Washing-
ton Community Fellowship and Eastern
Mennonite College, Harrisonburg, Va.
Nancy Marshall, director of the Deaf
Christian Leadership Program, said that
locating the program in the nation's capital
will make it available to the large deaf
population there, including people at
Gallaudet University. According to Myron
Augsburger, on the pastoral team at WCF,
Gallaudet University is the leading school
for deaf people. Marshall hopes the
program can begin in September.
The annual Manitoba Women in Mission
conference will be held May 5 at the
Sargent Avenue Mennonite Church
building in Winnipeg. This year's theme is
"Witnessing to Christ in Today's World."
Rena Kroeker will speak in the morning,
and others will speak in the afternoon.
Registration begins at 9:30 a.m.
NEWS
CMinBC analyzes inreach,
seeks outreach
Kelowna, B.C.— "Think church
planting. Pray church planting."
This clarion call by George E.
Janzen, Mission City pastor,
defined the 55th annual
sessions of the Conference of
Mennonites in British Columbia
here Feb. 16-17.
"Plant five new churches in
the next three years" is the goal
of the 27-congregation confer-
ence. To the questions of
"English-speaking?" and "Not
just splits?" the answer came,
"Whatever is plantable."
"Accept and own this mission
statement," said chairperson
Jake Tilitzky, Abbotsford. The
statement has one basic item:
active evangelism.
The goal appears reason-
able. The church in Vernon is
"bursting at the seams."
Kelowna Gospel Fellowship
(the hosting congregation,
pastored by Larry Schramm) is
praying about outreach in
nearby Rutland, Glenmore and
Westbank. Eben-Ezer Church,
Clearbrook, hosts a Laotian
congregation. Peace Church,
Richmond, shares its building
with Peace Chinese Church.
Sherbrooke Church, Vancou-
ver, supports a Punjabi (Indian)
congregation.
Among the committee "report
cards" was Tilitzky's on
demographics, noting a net
loss of 18 members in 1989.
"We used to depend on our
large families for church
growth," he said. "Now it is
clear that we need to reach out.
May this report card look
different next year."
Tilitzky had also launched
the conference theme, "That
the World May Believe," with
his opening message on a five-
fold amen to Jesus' prayer in
John 1 7: the amens of a saved
life, a sanctified life, a "sent"
life, solidarity and "shekinah"
(glory).
Marlin Miller, president-elect
of Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart,
Ind., followed the outreach
theme with his sermon on living
so that the world will "see
Jesus," will see the character of
Christ in us and thus come to
salvation.
Surprisingly the three-
session schedule allowed a full
90 minutes for visioning the
1990s. Vice chairperson
Walter Patkau, Clearbrook, set
the pace, and people were
ready to talk. "By the year
2000," he proclaimed, "we will
move beyond Mennonite
kinship groups and be bound
by friendship and choice. We
will become comfortable with
being personal evangelists."
Peter Neudorf, Black Creek,
tied the subject to Jesus'
transfiguration (Matthew 17),
after which the disciples were
told to have no fear. Palmer
Becker, Vancouver, asserted
that this agenda must be
carried out "on our knees."
Laura Erickson, Delta, re-
minded the gathering that
"teaching our children" is of
utmost importance. Daniel
Cheung, Vancouver, reminded
"We want to belong to you,"
says Lois Rojas, wife of the
associate pastor of the Spanish
congregation that is meeting at
First United Mennonite Church,
Vancouver. She and the
congregation's pastor, Hipolito
Vallejos, attended the confer-
ence in Kelowna.
the delegates of the vast scope
of the outreach goals. Larry
Schramm, Kelowna. said, "I for
one am willing to give my sweat
and prayers."
As if in response, delegates
affirmed the use of LIFE
("Living in Faithful Evangelism")
study materials for local con-
gregations. "We must," stated
Eudene Keidel. Clearbrook.
The conference also "opened
the door" to a Spanish congre-
gation that is meeting at First
United Mennonite Church in
Vancouver and is a member of
the Northwest Conference of
the Mennonite Church.
Formalities of this arrangement
will be completed next year.
Meanwhile one enthusiastic
delegate suggested, "Take a
love offering for them."
Youth of the province are
planning a major service
venture, a building project in
Cuahtemoc, Mexico, in March,
having raised (at that point)
$25,000. The conference is
also hosting an ACT (Aid to
Christian Teaching) weekend in
May and a family life workshop
in November. The province's
school, Columbia Bible
College, reported adding early
childhood education.
Strong objection prevented a
surplus of $10,000 from being
frozen. "It's better to make it
available." said Jake Gies-
brecht, Surrey, who gives
pastoral leadership to an
(Asian) Indian congregation.
Delegates adopted a budget
of $678,877. "We want to be in
prayer about this budget."
concluded Tilitzky. "I think
we're going to make it." Muriel
T. Stackley
Regier resigns
from WM post
Newton, Kan. — Sara Regier,
coordinator of Women in Mis-
sion, has resigned effective in
September in order to attend
Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, Elkhart. Ind.
She began her current
assignment in August 1986,
following three different stints
with her husband, Fremont
Regier, as a missionary:
Mexico, 1961-63; Zaire, 1965-
1976; Botswana, 1981-85.
During her four years at the
WM helm Regier has given
leadership especially to the
process of evaluation, goal
setting and learning tours.
THE MENNONITE 107
On Feb. 28, 1947, and in the days follow-
ing, Chiang Kai-shek's soldiers slaughtered
an estimated 20,000 civilians in Taiwan for
protesting the ruthless policies of the gov-
ernment. Known as the "2-28 incident," it
was a taboo subject for about 40 years.
Since the lifting of martial law in 1987, it
has been mentioned in the press and was
openly discussed during the December
1989 elections. For more information see
Formosa Betrayed by George Kerr.
Meadows Mennonite Church, rural
Chenoa, III., is celebrating its centennial
this year. Organized on Jan. 2, 1890, the
congregation invites former church
members, friends and families to a celebra-
tion June 8-10. Planned activities include a
slide history of the church, a historical
pageant and a two-hour morning worship
service with special music, sharing by
former ministers, comments by former
members and others. A history book by
Steve Estes will be available for purchase
in June. Contact Ralph Streid, Route 1,
Chenoa, IL 61726, (309) 747-2737, or
Cheryl Slotter, 519 S. Division St., Chenoa,
IL 61726, (815) 945-7898.
Mennonite Your Way Tours, a Pennsylva-
nia-based tour organization, has a variety
of tours for 1 990. The tour program is an
outgrowth of the Mennonite Your Way
Travel Directory, a listing of 2,000 host
families across North America willing to
host overnight guests in their homes.
Tours for 1990 include Southern states
(March-April), Canadian Rockies/Vancou-
ver (July-August), Alaska (August), Ozarks
(October). For more information contact
MYW Tours, Box 1525, Salunga, PA
17538, (717) 653-9288.
NEWS
Repression of church work
eases in El Salvador
Akron, Pa. (MCC)— Some
reports indicate that life has
returned to normal in El
Salvador after the most intense
fighting of a decade-old civil
war, says Kori Leaman-Miller,
who returned to that country
Feb. 1 7 to con-
tmue as a
Mennonite
Central
Committee
country repre-
sentative.
Last
November,
Leaman-Miller FMLN
guerrillas
launched an offensive in three
major Salvadoran cities,
touching off a wave of military
repression against labor
unions, students' and mothers'
groups, farmers' organizations
and church workers. The
Salvadoran military bombed
city neighborhoods, creating an
estimated 40,000 to 70,000
new refugees in San Salvador
alone. No one knows the
number of civilians killed.
The Salvadoran military's
attempts during the offensive to
stop the humanitarian and
peacemaking efforts of the
church have eased since the
beginning of the year, says
Leaman-Miller, but uncertainty
and fear remain. The attempts
included the murder of six
Jesuit priests, the imprisonment
and torture of Salvadoran
church workers, and the
ransacking of two MCC
locations in San Salvador.
In the months following the
offensive, churches and the
U.S. Congress pressured the
Salvadoran military to clean up
its act. In the case of the Jesuit
priests, this pressure led to the
arrest of a high-ranking military
officer implicated in their
murders, a first in Salvadoran
history. And the U.S. Congress
is once again questioning
sending the Salvadoran
government $1 .4 million daily.
MCC workers do not want the
congressional debate about aid
to El Salvador to center solely
on the conviction of one military
officer.
"Thousands and thousands
of people have suffered at the
hands of the military in the last
10 years," wrote an MCC
worker. "The indictment of one
colonel, though a step in the
right direction, is not going to
significantly change the way
the military takes care of
business in El Salvador."
Human rights organizations
blame the military for most of
the 70,000 civilian casualties of
the war.
On Nov. 21, 1989, shortly
after the offensive began,
soldiers entered two MCC
locations in San Salvador and
carried off work-related
equipment, files and other
valuables. MCC workers re-
covered the stolen property at
the end of January, with help
from Salvadoran lawyers and
the U.S. Embassy. They also
received a letter from the
military unit responsible for the
ransacking, stating that it had
not found MCC guilty of any
wrongdoing.
The 14 MCC workers, most
of whom remained in the
country throughout the offen-
sive, plan to continue their work
with churches in El Salvador.
"God has been present with the
church through this crisis and,
though it's been a tough time
Thousands struggle
to rebuild lives and
homes in the midst
of poverty and a
war that appears
far from over.
for the churches, their faith and
witness to a God of love in the
midst of so much violence and
hate gives us the strength to
continue," explained one
worker. "If they haven't lost
hope, how can we?"
Despite these encouraging
signs, the results of the
offensive will be felt for some
time. Thousands struggle to
rebuild lives and homes in the
midst of poverty and a war that
appears far from over. Several
church leaders, including long-
time MCC friend Bishop
Medardo Gomez, who fled El
Salvador because of death
threats, still feel unable to
return to their country safely.
"Salvadorans have taught us
to live by the two 'Ps,'" an MCC
worker explained. "Be in
prayer and be pendiente
(pending). We never know
what's going to happen, but we
know that God is with us."
The MCC El Salvador team
asks that Mennonite and
Brethren in Christ congrega-
tions also pray for the church in
El Salvador and for an end to
the fighting there. They further
urge them to write to govern-
ment representatives, asking
that the United States cut the
military aid that fuels the war in
El Salvador.
Three MCC workers, Nancy
and Gary Guthrie and Noel
Wiggins, will return to the
United States in March at the
end of their assignment and will
speak in North American
churches.
Applications are being accepted for
the position of full-time pastor at
Trinity Mennonite Fellowship.
Mather. Man. Duties to resume
July 1990
Contact Art Harms, Box 38,
Mather. MB R0K 1L0, (204) 529
2224 home. (204) 529 2213 office.
Crossroads is an introduction
service for Mennonite, Brethren in
Christ, and Church of the Brethren.
We advertise only in their
publications.
If you seek a friend who shares
your interest, we have many to
choose from. Some have met the
one they married through us. Of
course we can't make any
guarantees, but at only $100 for
two years, isn't it worth the risk?
How will you find out if you don't
join? For information, write to
Crossroads, Box 32, N. Tona-
wanda, NY14120.
108 MARCH 13, 1990
The Metis and Indian Association of
Alberta say they will support controversial
pulp mill projects in the province's north as
long as their members "are guaranteed a
significant role in the development."
However, these prodevelopment state-
ments have angered many northern Alberta
chiefs who say the associations do not
have the mandate from their membership
to support these projects. Meanwhile,
aboriginal and territorial leaders from the
Northwest Territories voiced strong
opposition to more Alberta pulp mills
because of the harmful impact on the
northern river system. {Globe and Mail)
A study by the Mennonite Central Commit-
tee B.C. -supported Victim Offender Recon-
ciliation Program found that most victims of
violent crimes were open to meeting the of-
fender. "To our surprise, only five of the 28
victims interviewed indicated they were
opposed to the idea," said VORP co-
director Dave Gustafson. "Many of these
victims felt that a face-to-face meeting with
the offender would be an essential element
in their healing process," he said. Virtually
all of the inmates interviewed also said they
would value meeting their victims. The
study was conducted to ascertain the
feasibility of using VORP in crimes serious
enough to warrant a federal prison
sentence.
Grace Mennonite Church, Pandora,
Ohio, held a "ceremony of adoption" last
November in which the congregation
adopted missionaries Mathew and Becky
Swora. The Sworas serve in Burkina Faso
with the Commission on Overseas Mission
and Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission. A
"covenant of adoption" at the Sunday
morning worship service included
responses from the Sworas and the
congregation.
NEWS
People in southern Africa
respond to de Klerk's
call for open parliament
Editor's Note: Three of the
following quotes were faxed
from the Transkei Council of
Churches headquarters,
Umtata, Transkei, by Menno-
nite missionary Gary Isaac on
Feb. 6. The last one came
from Mennonite Central
Committee.
"The lifting of the ban on the
ANC [African National Con-
gress] and other liberation
organizations by F.W. de Klerk
is a significant step in the right
direction. It is to be hoped that
after this bold initial step Mr. de
Klerk will move on to the basic
issue that is the source of
conflict in South Africa: the
monopoly of political, economic
and social power by a minority.
While legalizing political dissent
is most welcome, we hope the
transfer of political power to the
majority of South Africans
through the system of one
person, one vote and the
readjustment of socioeconomic
control of the country will be the
main objective of the antici-
pated negotiations." Ezra
Sigwela, Transkei Council of
Churches. Umtata, Transkei,
South Africa.
"Politically, Mr. de Klerk's
statement means little because
it still does not address the
issue of apartheid. It sounds
exciting when you first hear it,
but when you sleep over it you
find more questions than
answers. As far as the work of
the church is concerned, this
brings more challenges. The
dependents' conference work
[which deals with detainees
and prisoners and their
families] may at some stage be
phased out as a result of the
unbanning of anti-apartheid
organizations because this will
mean fewer detentions. In the
next few years this division will
be more involved in the
reintegration and resettlement
of returning exiles. In conjunc-
tion with that, the interchurch
aid division will have more
resources to devote to the
long-term community develop-
ment projects." Winnie
Tshangela, office manager,
Transkei Council of Churches,
Umtata, Transkei, South Africa
"When we came to South
Africa's Transkei homeland in
1986, I had little hope that any
dramatic changes were
possible in the near future.
Some hopes were raised
because of de Klerk's state-
ments when he took over the
presidency last year, although
when observing his conserva-
tive positions from his past, it
seemed that it would take a
Damascus Road experience to
get him to take the right steps.
"On Feb. 2 seemingly
decisive evidence of his
intentions to lead the way to a
more just South Africa came
forth in his parliamentary
opening address. Though the
reform measures fall far short
of what needs to be done, he
went about as far as he could
be expected to go, given his
constraints. Let us hope and
pray that the journey toward
justice and peace for South
Africa's people has truly
begun." Gary Isaac, mission-
ary in Transkei, South Africa,
with the Commission on
Overseas Mission under the
auspices of Africa Inter-
Mennonite Mission and the
Transkei Council of Churches
"The international community
has a role to play in continuing
to push the government of
South Africa toward useful talks
with Nelson Mandela and other
leaders. Certainly, with his
bold moves de Klerk and his
government have gained
themselves some credibility in
world opinion. But the rest of
the world must continue to ask
what substantive steps are
being taken to abolish apart-
heid and make South Africa
truly democratic. The churches
will continue to stand for the
truth during this time of change;
Christians in South Africa ask
the church elsewhere to stand
with them. Judy Zimmerman
Herr, Gaborone, Botswana, co-
coordinator of MCC's program
in South Africa
Upper Milford Church
celebrates 250th year
Melvin Nester, David Bartow, pastor, and Harold Bloch (left to right
in the middle) burned the church improvement mortgage at Upper
Milford Mennonite Church, Zionsville, Pa., Jan. 7. Committee
members (from left) Anna Rosenberger, Dennis Trone, Russell
Geissinger and Lawrence Wertman witness this beginning of the an-
niversary year. Other events marking the congregation's 250th
birthday will include an Easter celebration, an original drama in June
depicting Upper Milford's past and a September harvest homecom-
ing. Each member is encouraged to read through the Bible in 1990.
THE MENNONITE 109
Citing a need for support within the
church for people who are HIV+ or living
with AIDS, a group of Lancaster County
(Pa.) Mennonites, Brethren and concerned
individuals has started a continent-wide
hotline. The Brethren/Mennonite Connec-
tion is for anyone who feels isolated or
needs additional support dealing with
AIDS. The phone number is (717) 393-
7140. Doris Kolb, a public health nurse in
Lancaster, initiated the group in November
1988.
The [U.S.] National Commission on AIDS
said the nation's health-care system needs
urgent repair to deal with the AIDS crisis
and underscored that point by sending its
report to the White House eight months
early. The commission said that because
infection with the human immunodeficiency
virus (HIV), which causes AIDS, appeared
initially in "groups often shunned by the
larger society," including gay men, the
poor, minoriities and intravenous drug
abusers, the national response to the AIDS
epidemic has been slow. The report esti-
mated that direct medical care for people
with AIDS in 1991 will cost $2.5 billion to
$15.1 billion. More than 1 million Ameri-
cans are thought to be infected with HIV.
The Religious Alliance Against Pornog-
raphy issued a "call to action" at its recent
conference. Religious leaders serving
more than 100 million Americans said that
child pornography and illegal obscenity are
dangerous to public safety. At the same
time they affirm First Amendment rights
and oppose any form of censorship. They
called on denominations, churches,
synagogues and other religious groups to
publicly denounce child pornography and
illegal obscenity. Much illegal pornography
victimizes women, the statement said, and
encourages even more victimization.
NEWS
Venture Clubs catching on
in Mennonite churches
Inman, Kan. (GCMC/MC)—
"Hey, look at my hands, they're
turning gray," exclaimed a girl.
It was Venture Club night at
Hoffnungsau Mennonite
Church in rural Inman, and
about 19 children, from ages 6
to 14, were having fun shaping
pots out of clay.
Well-known Mennonite artist
Paul Friesen, Hesston, Kan.,
handed a ball of clay to each of
the children after talking about
what it is like to be an artist.
Working with clay is just one
of many experiences these
children have had since their
church started using the
Venture Clubs material last
summer. "Now I've learned
about being an artist, carpenter
and basketball player," said
Jordan Martens, 12, of Buhler.
"Before Venture Clubs we
would just come to church for
singing and talking. I like this
better."
Diane Froese of rural Inman
initiated the Venture Clubs
program at her church, she
said, because "I want the
children to know that there is
nothing dull about following
Jesus."
"Venture Clubs is a more
hands-on approach to Christian
education. Kids can only be
passive for a short period of
time," said club leader Don
Froese of rural Inman.
It is obvious that the children
agree. While they recite the
Venture Club pledge at the
close of the 1-1/2-hour session,
many of them are still working
Irene Ratzlaff works to shape a
pot out of a ball of clay at a
Venture Clubs session at
Hoffnungsau Mennonite Church,
Inman, Kan.
to finish their pots.
Venture Clubs material,
published by the Commission
on Education and Mennonite
Publishing House, consists of a
six-year cycle for children from
the third to eighth grade.
The Venture Clubs Leader's
Guide and Venture Clubs
Member's Book (Year One and
Two) are available for $12.95
U.S. and $4.95 U.S., respec-
tively. They can be ordered
from Mennonite Publishing
House, 616 Walnut Ave.,
Scottdale, PA 15683; Faith and
Life Press, Box 347, Newton,
KS 67114; Faith and Life
Press, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.
Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4, or
your local Mennonite book-
stores. A Venture Clubs
Handbook is also available
from the same addresses for
$5.95 U.S. Carta Reimer
Venture Clubs
program at
Alberta church
doubles in size
Didsbury, Alta. (GCMC/MC)—
The Venture Clubs program at
the Bergthal Mennonite Church
here has doubled in size during
the last two years, reported
coordinator Kathy Peters,
Didsbury, in a phone interview.
"The kids keep inviting their
friends," she said. Peters
attributed the program's
success to the fact that "we
have fun together."
"Although we don't always
talk about the Bible, Christ is at
the center of everything we do,"
she said, noting that this
approach is especially good for
the children who are not from a
Christian background.
The clubs involve adults as
well as children. "Once we
invited a senior church member
to tell us about her life. She
told us that she was born in the
Soviet Union at the time of the
revolution. When her parents
both died from the typhus
epidemic, she and her two
siblings became orphans. Her
story had the children
spellbound." Carta Reimer
Children and Worship, a
workshop by Dr. Sonja Stewart.
This approach to children's
worship and religious education
uses a unique storytelling method
and specially prepared materials in
an environment where children can
experience God.
May 17-20, 1990
Canadian Mennonite Bible College
Winnipeg, Manitoba
For more information, contact Elsie
Harder, 170 Canora St., Winnipeg.
MB R3G 1T2.
Administrator/adjunctive
therapist. For McKerracher
House, Swift Current, Sask.. a
mental health rehabilitation house
with five residents and three staff.
The house is administered by a
local Mennonite Central Committee
board in consultation with the Swift
Current Mental Health Clinic and
the Department of Social Services.
Qualifications: Training and/or
experience in management, finan-
cial administration and human
resources services. Experience in
a caregiving facility is an asset.
Strong interpersonal and communi-
cation skills essential. Ability to
work within the statement of faith
and philosophy of Christian service
as outlined within the constitution
of Mennonite Central Committee
Saskatchewan.
Job duties: Includes administra-
tion of the home; budget prepara-
tion and financial management:
staff recruitment, development and
evaluation; management of the
physical plant and equipment;
public relations and adjunctive
therapist responsibilities.
This is a full-time position. Salary
is based on Saskatchewan Mental
Health Services guidelines.
Please send resume with
references by April 2 and direct
inquiries to Marie Fast, Box 32,
Herbert. SK S0H 2A0. (306) 784-
3558.
110 MARCH 13, 1990
Although more than 80 percent of the
population of West Germany claims to
being Lutheran or Catholic, according to a
recent poll, only 5 percent of Lutherans and
25 percent of Catholics regularly attend
church services. In another poll, 10 major
social institutions were ranked on the
amount of public confidence held in them.
Confidence in West German churches is
reported to have declined drastically since
1 984. On a scale of plus five (trust
completely) to minus five (no trust at all),
churches fell from 1 .9 in 1 984 to 1 .1 this
year.
Norman Klippenstein is coordinating an
Aug. 3-14 Haida Mennonite Seminar in
northwest British Columbia, sponsored by
Mennonite Central Committee B.C. Native
Concerns and MCC Canada Native
Concerns. The purpose is to "discover,
learn, visit, discuss, reflect" in a seminar
group of about 15 people. The cost of
$1 .500 (Can.) includes transportation to
and on the islands from Vancouver, food,
lodging and instruction. For more informa-
tion contact MCC B.C. Native Concerns,
31872 S. Fraser Way, Clearbrook, BC V2T
1V3, (604) 850-6639, or MCC Canada
Native Concerns, 134 Plaza Drive, Win-
nipeg. MB R3T 5K9, (204) 261-6381 .
The Lion and Lamb Peace Arts Center at
Bluffton (Ohio) College will receive royalty
proceeds from The Big Book of Peace,
which will be published by Dutton this fall.
Several of the 19 authors and illustrators
who donated works to the book named the
center as the recipient of their share of the
royalties.
NEWS COMMENTARY
The Russians aren't coming; U.S. should revise priorities
Delton Franz
The Mennonite Central
Committee U.S. Washington
Office is encouraging Menno-
nite and Brethren in Christ
church members to urge their
congressional representatives
to cut the military budget by 50
percent over the next five
years.
The transformation in the
Soviet Union and Eastern
Europe provides a historic
"window of opportunity" for
churches in the United States,
as it has for the churches of
Europe, to bring our voices to
bear on the urgency of reduc-
ing the costly militarization of
the United States and Europe.
This "window" will be open for
only the first 30 to 90 days of
the 1990 congressional budget
process.
It is, in biblical terms, a
"kairos" moment, a critical,
timely moment within the
providence of God for churches
to significantly witness to
government leaders. As the
prophet Jeremiah wrote, "Now I
have put my words in your
mouth. See today, I appoint
you over nations to uproot and
tear down. ..to build and to
plant" (Jeremiah 1 .9).
Will members of the U.S.
Congress, currently addressing
the budget priorities of our
society, be inclined to allocate
our income tax dollars to "tear
down and destroy" or to "build
and to plant"7
The deployment of 350,000
U.S. soldiers and weaponry in
Europe at a cost of $1 50 billion
is half of our $300 billion
annual military budget. Yet
even a 1988 poll shows that
only 1 percent of the Soviet
people believe that war with the
United States is likely.
The Bush administration is
expected to request $292
billion in military appropriations
from Congress for Fiscal Year
1991 (beginning Oct. 1). This
would be only a 2 percent cut
when the Soviet Union and the
United States are significantly
reducing troops and weapons
systems in Europe.
Not since the end of World
War II has the time been so
ripe for revision in U.S. budget
priorities. The voice of the
people, through letters to
congressional representatives,
will be the major factor deter-
mining significant cuts in
military spending, predict MCC
U.S. Washington Office staff.
Resources saved by these cuts
could be used by the U.S.
government to address urgent
global problems of environ-
mental destruction, poverty and
economic development at
home and in developing
nations.
In Kentucky MCC U.S. helps
subsidize housing improvement
for hundreds of low-income
people through three low-cost
housing programs. Renton
Amell, MCC U.S. program
coordinator for Appalachia,
notes that "in 1988 the total
outlay for federal low-income
housing subsidies was $13.8
billion, while $53.7 billion was
allocated for middle- and high-
income families." Through our
Not since the end
of World War II
has the time been
so ripe for
revision in U.S.
budget priorities.
Mennonite mission, MCC and
congregational response to the
poor, we have been called to
give witness to new priorities;
beginning within our communi-
ties and including our voice to
government.
MCC U.S. Washington Office
encourages church people to
ask their senators and repre-
sentatives to change U.S.
budget priorities in these ways:
1. Support military budget
cuts of $30 billion over each of
the next five years, reducing
the current $300 billion war
budget to $1 50 billion by 1 995.
This does not suggest affirma-
tion of $150 billion but is only a
note of realism.
2. Allocate budget funds for
environmental cleanup and
protection, for affordable
housing for low-income
families, for improving the
quality of public school
education as one means of
addressing the drug problems,
for providing debt relief to
African and Latin American
countries.
Write to Senator
, United States
Senate, Washington. DC
20510; and Representative
, House of
Representatives. Washington.
DC 20515.
V! *3K$ Delton Franz is
director of the
MCC U.S.
Washington
office
If you are in a hurry...
Fax it
to The Mennonite
316-283-0454
THE MENNONITE 1 1 1
The 10th Women in Ministry Conference
will be held March 30-April 1 in Fresno,
Calif. Keynote speaker Katie Funk Wiebe
will develop the theme "Women Telling the
Story." The weekend includes worship,
Bible study, workshops on theology,
church and family life, caregiving in the
'90s, special interest groups and more. To
register contact Valerie Rempel, 4824 E.
Butler, Fresno, CA 93727-5097, (209)
251-8628.
"I came to grieve," said one woman,
reflecting on why she had come to a
meeting about the massacre of 14 women
in Montreal last December. The group of
women had come together in early January
for an informal meeting at Erb Street
Mennonite Church in Waterloo, Ont. The
group agreed that the media and, as recent
surveys indicated, the general public are
ambivalent about the sexist nature of the
massacre. They agreed that if the gunman
had selected Jews, blacks or some other
visible minority, no one would question the
racist motive in the act. But why does
society hesitate to call what he did sexism?
Trans World Radio, an international radio
network, recently announced it had been
granted permission by Soviet officials for an
interdenominational organization to set up
radio production facilities within the Soviet
Union. TWR plans to open three facilities
in 1990. Currently TWR broadcasts radio
programs produced by Mennonite Board of
Missions into the Soviet Union from
transmitters in Guam and Monte Carlo.
"Voice of a Friend" and "New Way" are
produced by MBM Media Ministries in
Harrisonburg, Va.
RECOIMj
cIeatIis
Vinora Weaver Salzman, 95,
died in Greencroft Nursing
Center, Goshen, Ind., on Jan.
7. She was featured in The
Mennonite, May 25, 1976, in an
article written by Lois Barrett.
She was one of the first women
to enter MCC relief work in
1921. Her husband, Earl, was
a pastor, and she often filled
the pulpit in his absence. After
his death she moved to Elkhart,
Ind., and worked at Associated
Mennonite Biblical Seminaries.
Survivors include three
daughters, 1 0 grandchildren
and two great-grandchildren.
WOrUeRS
Esther Bartel, Bethel College
Church, North Newton, Kan., is
beginning a four-month MCC
assignment in Ephrata, Pa., as
a waitress in the Self-Help
International Tea Room.
My ma Burkholder, director of
Student and Young Adult
Services for Mennonite Board
of Missions, Elkhart, Ind., has
resigned effective April 30.
Annette Eisenbeis has
resigned as a CHM commis-
sion member.
Salzman Bartel
Mierau-Flaming Flaming
Karyn Mierau-Flaming and
Robert Flaming, Olive Branch
Church, Waterloo, Ont., are
beginning two-year MCC
assignments in Kispiox, B.C.,
as youth workers. They have
one son.
Walter Franz, Altona, Man.,
is the new executive secretary
of CMC Native Ministries. He
is completing four years as
CMC chairperson. Since 1979
he has been lead pastor at
Altona (Man.) Bergthaler
Church.
John and Vera Funk,
Winnipeg, are completing an
Franz c. Goertzen
D. Goertzen B. Good
eight-year assignment as
executive secretaries of CMC
Native Ministries. The Funks
will return to British Columbia to
enroll in further studies.
Connie and Dave Goertzen,
Emmanuel Church, Winkler,
Man., are beginning three-year
MCC assignments in Burkina
Faso. Connie will be a youth
worker, and Dave will teach
woodworking and computer.
The Goertzens have two
children.
Byron and Karen Good,
Breslau (Ont.) Church, are
beginning three-year MCC
assignments in Gungu, Zaire.
Byron will work in agricultural
extension and Karen in health
education. The Goods have
one son.
Monica Gross, Bethel
College Church, North Newton,
Kan., has begun a four-month
K. Good Gross
D. Heintz L. Heintz
MCC assignment in Ephrata.
Pa., working in the Self-Help
International Tea Room.
David and Louise Heintz,
Ottawa Church, are beginning
two-year MCC assignments in
Aylmer, Ont. Dave will work as
a housing development and
design consultant and Louise
as a support staffperson at
MCC Aylmer Resource Center,
working with Mexican Menno-
nite immigrants. The Heintzes
have two children.
Harry Huebner, Winnipeg:
Marlin Miller, Elkhart, Ind., and
Margaret Loewen Reimer,
Waterloo, Ont., will be the
keynote speakers for the 1990
annual sessions of the CMC to
be held in Edmonton, July 7-
11. The theme is "Faithfulness
in the 1990s."
Robert Hull, Faith Church.
Newton, Kan., was commis-
AMBS— Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries
CHM — Commission on Home Ministries
CMC — Conference of Mennonites in Canada
COE — Commission on Education
MCC — Mennonite Central Committee
112 MARCH 13, 1990
The Mennonite Nurses Association plans
to publish a book of stories by and about
nurses for its 50th anniversary in 1992.
Dave and Neta Jackson of Evanston, III.,
have agreed to be editors. Now MNA
needs stories from nurses. The book
hopes to convey the ways that nursing is
an expression of our Christian faith.
Length of stories should be 10 pages or
less. Send stories, with name, address
and phone number, to Beth Weaver, 1 1 1
W. Lafayette, Goshen, IN 46526, by May
31 . A nurse need not belong to MNA to
submit a story.
Throughout the world last year thousands
of men, women and children were sub-
jected to severe beatings, electric shocks,
rape, denial of sleep and prolonged
exposure to harsh weather conditions,
according to a UN report. The 84-page
report, obtained by Reuters, was prepared
for the current session of the United
Nations Human Rights Commission and
lists 49 countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle
East and Latin America with documented
or alleged cases of torture. It described
education in human rights as an urgent
priority and called for stiff penalties for
those found guilty of torture. Torture is
widespread despite being banned by a UN
convention, it said.
Titles such as "bishop," "moderator" and
"professor" keep a distance between
church leaders and the people they are
trying to serve, says Samuel Gatere, a
psychiatrist who has written several books
on family life. Official titles are enemies of
the spiritual humanity and wisdom neces-
sary for an effective preacher of God's
good news, he recently told a conference
of the National Council of Churches of
Kenya.
RECORd
Hunsberger
J. Janzen
Johnson
sioned March 4 for his work
with CHM. He has worked for
the General Conference since
August 1979 and is CHM
associate executive secretary
and secretary for peace and
justice.
Keith Hunsberger, Shantz
Church, Baden, Ont., is
beginning a two-year MCC
assignment in Edmonton as a
finance and administrative
manager with the Mennonite
Centre for Newcomers.
Janet Janzen, Rosthern,
Sask., and Jake Tilitzky,
Abbotsford, B.C., are new
appointees to the Mennonite
World Conference Council,
replacing Helen Kruger and
Jake F. Pauls. The appoint-
ments are from 1990 to 1996.
Ron Janzen, Winnipeg, has
resigned as assistant treasurer
of CMC to become business
manager of Steinbach (Man.)
Bible College.
Norma Johnson, Newton,
Kan., was ordained for ministry
on March 4 at Bethel College
Church, North Newton, Kan.
She has been the executive
secretary for COE since July
1987.
Daniel and Rita Kampen
Klassen, Vancouver, will begin
in fall as youth ministers at
Peace Church, Richmond, B.C.
D. Klassen
M. Klassen
Sylang Kanebootra, pastor of
the Laotian Mennonite congre-
gation that meets at Eben-Ezer
Church, Clearbrook, B.C.. is in
Laos during March for pastoral
visitation.
Paul Klassen, First Church,
Winnipeg, is the new assistant
treasurer of CMC. He
succeeds Ron Janzen.
Dave and Mary Lou Klassen,
Guelph (Ont.) Church, are
beginning three-year MCC
assignments in Maiduguri,
Nigeria. Dave will work as a
technical supervisor and Mary
Lou as a unit leader. The
Klassens have three children.
Esther and Paul Knlss will
complete their missionary work
in India in May. They are the
last of the missionaries there
representing the Mennonite
Church.
Brent Landers, Bloomingdale
(Ont.) Church, is beginning a
two-year MCC assignment in
New Orleans working as a
hunger issues assistant with
Bread for the World. His
parents are Bertha and Robert
Landers of Waterloo.
Robert Lee, Mennonite
Church missionary, is develop-
ing a doctoral program in
theology for Tokyo Biblical
Seminary, the first such
program in an evangelical
seminary in Japan.
Kathenne Leis, East Zorra
Church, Tavistock, Ont., is
beginning a seven-month MCC
assignment in Indonesia and
British Columbia as a partici-
pant in a Youth Discovery
Team. Her parents are Arvilla
and Vernon Leis.
Cindy Mullet, White Chapel
Church, Glendive, Mont., is
beginning a three-year MCC
assignment in Mbabana,
Swaziland, as a program
administrator for MCC Mozam-
bique. Her parents are Lucille
and Ralph Holderman. Shedd,
Ore.
Eddyaud Insriatmi Paimon
and his wife, Mennonites from
Java, are working as church
planters in Singapore.
J. Lome Peachey, Scottdale.
Pa., has been appointed editor
of Gospel Herald, the official
weekly publication of the
Mennonite Church, succeeding
Daniel Hertzler, editor since
1973, who will retire in October.
Peachey is former editor of
Christian Living and founding
editor of With magazine (for
Mennonite youth). He is also
author of How to Teach Peace
to Children. Steve Shenk
continues as managing editor.
Vern Preheim, Faith Church,
Newton, Kan., general secre-
tary of the General Conference,
went to Nicaragua with Witness
for Peace Feb. 21 -March 1.
Kimberly Sullivan. Mt. Cory.
Ohio. Bluffton (Ohio) College
sophomore, is the first Ameri-
can student enrolled at the
University of Coahuila, Mexico.
She is taking regular classes
with Mexican college students
during the spring quarter.
Anne Warkentin. Surrey,
B.C.. has resigned as a
commission member of COE
due to family health problems.
She represented the Confer-
ence of Mennonites in Canada.
Tri Budi Wibowo and Estu
Winantuningtyas of Jateng.
Indonesia, are beginning
seven-month MCC assign-
ments as participants in a MCC
Youth Discovery Team in
Indonesia and British Colum-
bia. They are members of the
Evangelical Church [Menno-
nite] of Java, Indonesia.
— compiled by Angela Rem pel
THE MENNONITE 113
Sources at the University of Panama
estimate that the U.S. invasion left at least
5,000 dead. Other extra-official reports
claim at least 3,000 Panamanians
wounded and some 14,000 left homeless.
The U.S. Special Forces detained an
unknown number of political prisoners.
University sources claim that "common
graves and concentration camps" and U.S.
Army restrictions on access to public
records make it difficult to find out the fate
of civilians who disappeared. (Latinamer-
ica Press)
"The World Comes to the City: Chal-
lenges for the Church" is the theme of the
Congress on Urban Ministry, to be held
April 2-6 in Chicago. Sponsored by the
Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral
Education, the congress will include
workshops, seminars, daily Bible exegesis
and neighborhood visits. Speakers include
Raymond Bakke, recording artist Ken
Medema, Raymond Fung of the World
Council of Churches, Caesar Molebatsi of
Soweto, South Africa, Alfonso Navarro of
Mexico City and Suzan Johnson, senior
pastor of Mariners' Temple Baptist Church,
New York. For more information contact
SCUPE, 30 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL
60610, (312) 944-2153.
One of the clearest signs that the church
is not remaining underground in Czecho-
slovakia happened underground, writes
Tim Reimer, a Mennonite Central Commit-
tee worker in West Germany. In one of
Prague's modern, underground transit
stations Reimer noticed a group of about
30 young people singing heartily to a crowd
of about 100 onlookers. A police officer
walked up to the crowd, then turned and
walked away. A young woman told Reimer
that the group was singing about Jesus.
From the look in her eye and the tone in
her voice, Reimer writes, it was obvious
that never before had she sung these
songs outside of a church building.
RESOURCES
looks
UNDER THE
STILL,
s y
Spirituality and Personal
Maturity by Joann Wolski
Conn (Paulist Press, 1989,
$7.95) examines both tradi-
tional male models and newer
feminist models of psychologi-
cal maturity to find one that can
encompass the same goals as
spiritual maturity.
Dora Dueck, who spent two
years in
Paraguay
with her
husband,
has writ-
ten a
novel,
Under the
Still
Standing
Sun
(Kindred
Press,
1989,
$10.95,
$13.95 in
Canada),
set in Paraguay's Chaco.
Mission Is a Two-Way
Street; Behold, God Makes
All Things New and Blessed
Are the Feet of Those Who
Bring Good News are the
themes of three new bulletin
board displays by the Commis-
sion on Overseas Mission,
available for borrowing from
Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14,
(316) 283-5100.
Substandard Christian living
is a problem, but "lordship
salvation" is not the answer,
says Zane C. Hodges in
Absolutely Free! A Biblical
Reply to Lordship Salvation
(Zondervan, 1989, $14.95).
Spiritual Formation in the
Local Church by Frank
Bateman Stanger (Zondervan,
1989, $7.95) sees spiritual
formation as "the journey of the
total person toward wholeness"
and as "the pursuit of maturity
equipping people to serve
others in the name of Christ."
Two new books in the
Classics of Western Spirituality
Series from Paulist Press are
Berulle and the French
School: Selected Writings
(1989, $19.95 cloth, $14.95
paper) and Henry Suso: The
Exemplar, with Two German
Sermons (1989, $22.95 cloth,
$1 6.95 paper).
Bridging the Global Gap: A
Handbook to Linking Citizens
of the First and Third Worlds by
Medea Benjamin and Andrea
Freedman (1 989, $1 1 .95) is the
first major work on the growing
internationalist movement.
Order from Global Exchange,
2940 16th St., #307, San
Francisco, CA 94103, (415)
255-7296.
The conflicts in marriages
are likely the result of incorrect
thinking about money and
marriage, poor communication
between spouses, and couples
not having a predetermined
financial game plan, says Russ
Crosson in Money and Your
Marriage (Word, 1989,
$12.99).
Marie of the Incarnation:
Selected Writings (Paulist
Press, 1989, $24.95 cloth)
portrays one of the first women
missionaries in the New World
and founder of the New World's
first Catholic school.
"As a study of the nature and
sources of personal heroism in
pursuit of moral vision, this
book is remarkable," says
Ramsey Clark about Hammer
of Justice: Molly Rush and the
Plowshares Eight by Liane
Ellison Norman (Pittsburgh
Peace Institute, 1989, $24.95
cloth, $12.95 paper).
Torches Rekindled: The
Bruderhof's Struggle for
Renewal by Merrill Mow (1989,
$10.50) is available from
Plough Publishing House,
Ulster Park, NY 12487.
New books available from
Johns Hopkins University
Press, 701 W. 40th St., Suite
275, Baltimore, MD 2121 1 , are
Mennonite Society by Calvin
Redekop (1989, $40 cloth,
$14.95 paper), The Riddle of
Amish Culture by Donald B.
Kraybill (1989, $35 cloth, $8.95
paper) and Amish Roots by
John A. Hostetler (1989,
$29.95).
Introducing a New Hymnal:
How to Improve Congregational
Singing by James Rawlings
Sydnor (G.I. A. Publications,
1989) offers practical advice in
introducing a new hymnal and
in improving congregational
singing.
Robert Farrar Capon has a
reputation as a provocative,
insightful, humorous and highly
readable theologian. Having
written about the so-called
parables of the kingdom and
the parables of grace, his latest
book is The Parables of
Judgment (Eerdmans, 1989,
$15.95).
TiIms
Dream and Nightmare: Cele-
brating 200 years of Menno-
nites in Russia (MCC, 33
minutes, $25, $30 in Canada)
Peter Ens, Tina Ens, Elfrieda
Dyck and Peter Dyck stand in
front of the 800-year-old oak tree
in Chortiza during a trip to the
Soviet Union to celebrate 200
years of Mennonites in Russia.
tells the story of the August
1989 celebration in the Soviet
Union commemorating the
200th anniversary of the
coming of Mennonites to
Russia. Order from MCC
Resource Library, Box 500,
Akron, PA 17501-0500, or
MCC Canada, 134 Plaza Drive,
114 MARCH 13, 1990
Nicaraguans of all political stripes now face the difficult task of
national reconciliation after the Feb. 25 elections there, reports
Vern Preheim. The General Conference's general secretary served
as an official observer at the polls in three cities in Nicaragua.
Preheim, whose trip was sponsored by Witness for Peace, met
with representatives of both major parties in the contest, visited
poor and middle-class neighborhoods in Managua, the capital,
and observed the voting as it took place in nine precincts. His
verdict? The polling, which resulted in an upset victory by opposi-
tion presidential candidate Violeta Chamorro, was free and fair. His
impressions were shared by thousands of international observers,
including the United Nations, the Organization of American States
and former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. "Now the Nicaraguan
people have chosen their new leaders," Preheim said. "The trag-
edy is that so many people have had to die needlessly because of
our [U.S.] government's policies."
RESOURCES
Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9.
Widening the Circle, a 15-
minute slide set about the
activities of local, district,
provincial and conference
Women in Mission projects,
may be borrowed from Women
in Mission, Box 347, Newton,
KS 671 14, or Women in
Mission, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.,
Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4.
Two new slide sets available
for borrowing from the Commis-
sion on Overseas Mission, Box
347, Newton, KS 67114, are
India in Transition (10
minutes) and Kalifa Story (12
minutes), about a teenager
who became the first Christian
in his village and tribe in
Burkina Faso.
— compiled by Gordon Houser
The Bethel Mennonite Church of
Mountain Lake, Minn., will cele-
brate its centennial June 22-24,
1990. The celebration will begin
with a German program on Friday
evening. Saturday evening will
feature a musical pageant
depicting the history of the church.
The weekend will conclude with a
Sunday morning worship service
led by former pastors of the Bethel
congregation and a noon fellow-
ship meal. Special ethnic meals
and lunches as well as other
activities and displays will be a part
of the celebrations. A pictorial
history book of the church and a
pictorial directory of the congrega-
tion will be available. Friends of
the church and former members
should make plans now to attend
this event.
Goshen College Communication
Department seeks a professor of
speech communication on less
than a full-time basis. Require-
ments include a master's degree in
speech communication, profes-
sional experience in speech or
teaching and a commitment to
Christian values as interpreted by
the Mennonite Church. Women
and members of ethnic minority
groups are especially encouraged
to apply.
Send letter of application, graduate
transcript(s), curriculum vitae and
the names of three references to
Stuart W. Showalter, chair and
professor, Communication Depart-
ment, Goshen College, Goshen, IN
46526.
One-year faculty position in music.
Vocal-choral concentration, with
course assignments in music
theory/history, beginning fall 1990.
Doctorate preferred. Minorities
and women are urged to apply.
Send resume to Lee Snyder,
Academic Dean, Eastern Menno-
nite College, Harrisonburg, VA
22801.
One-year teaching position in
social work beginning fall 1990.
M.S.W. required; Ph.D. preferred.
Teaching experience desirable.
Women and minorities are urged to
apply.
Send resume to Lee Snyder,
Academic Dean, Eastern Menno-
nite College, Harrisonburg, VA
22801.
First Mennonite Church of Win-
nipeg invites inquiries for two
positions: that of associate
minister and that of youth
worker/minister
Send inquiries or resumes to First
Mennonite Church, c/o John
Klassen, 922 Notre Dame Ave.,
Winnipeg, MB R3E 0M9.
MCC Alberta invites applicants for
the position of executive director.
effective June 1 . Interested
persons should forward completed
applications and personal resumes
by April 30 to E. Jack H. Elias,
943 Kannock Road, SW., Calgary.
AB T2W 1M6, (403) 296-8027 (O),
(403) 281-1729 (H).
Youth leader/assistant pastor
required immediately, to work
especially with youth and young
adults, at Zion Mennonite Church
in Swift Current, Sask.
Please send inquiries/resume to
Hilda Wiens Schmidt, Chairperson,
Pastoral Search Committee, 1150
Jubilee Drive. Swift Current, SK
S9H 2A2, (306) 773-6537.
Admissions counselor. Bluffton
College, a General Conference
Mennonite college, is looking for a
bright, enthusiastic and motivated
individual to assume the responsi-
bilities of admissions counselor.
Extensive travel during the fall.
Bachelor degree required,
experience in a college setting is
preferred. Strong commitment to
liberal arts and Christian values a
must. Starting date and salary
negotiable.
Send letter of application and
resume to Mr. Michael Hieroni-
mus, Director of Admissions.
Bluffton College. Box 638,
Marbeck Center. Bluffton, OH
45817.
Economics/business/account-
ing. Full-time, tenure-track
position beginning September
1990. Strong academic prepara-
tion in economics and business
with an emphasis in finance. Ph.D.
preferred; M.A. or M.B.A. required.
Specialty in teaching finance and
financial accounting in addition to
general teaching in economics and
business. Rank and salary
commensurate with academic
training and experience.
Send letters of application, resume
and transcripts and arrange for
three letters of reference to be sent
to Dr. Burton G. Yost, Interim Dean
of Academic Affairs, Bluffton
College, Bluffton, OH 45817. An
AA/EO employer.
* 1970-1990 fe
TOUR M AGINATION'S 20th ANNIVERSARY
You can trust your travel to 20 years of
experience. Our 1 970 hope was to
translate the compelling "Anabaptist
Vision" into the very lives of people
through travel. That has happened! Our
1 990 tours are strong. Of course, after
20 years you would expect it.
Europe 90A
Europe 90B
Europe 90C
Western Canada 90A
Souderton to MWC 1 2
May 14-23 Arnold Cressman, Henry D. Landes
June 1 1 -30 Jan Gleysteen, Neal Weaver
June 25-July 3 John L. Ruth, Wilmer Martin
July 13-24 Arnold & Rhoda Cressman
July 19-Aug. 6 Hubert Schwartzentruber,
Henry D. Landes
Western Canada 90B July 29-Aug. 1 8 Jan Gleysteen, Alfred Willms
TOUR-
mammi
1210 Loucks Ave. 131 Erb Street W. 569 Yoder Rd., P.O. Box 376
Scottdale, PA 15683 Waterloo, ONT N2L1T7 Harleysville, PA 19438
412-887-5440 519-747-0517 215-256-3011
412-887-9436 519-745-7433 215-723-8413 ES
THE MENNONITE 115
Come and Sec — a curriculum tested by
children and teachers and rated "Excellent!"
"The children really got into the Today's Application' discussion. They had a lot of questions
and wanted to skip recess."
"A mother said other years her children 'went to Bible school,' but this year their comments
were different— 'Bible school is neat!' The mother said they talk as excitedly about Bible school
as they did about sports."
"Keep up this wonderful work for God."
Carefully chosen stories help children relate the Bible to everyday life.
Educationally designed activities and projects enhance children's understanding of the
biblical themes. Colorful take-home booklets help children remember their vacation Bitrle school
experience long after it ends.
Come and See is a 5-day vacation Bible school curriculum that you can use each year.
Age-appropriate material is provided for each grade so that the material is new each year for
the students. Teachers appreciate being able to build on last year's preparation instead of
beginning from scratch each year. And your church saves money by not having to replace the
entire curriculum each year.
Available from bookstores or write to Herald Press for a free brochure and order form.
Herald Press Herald Press
Dept. MEN Dept.. MEN
616 Walnut Avenue 490 Dutton Drive
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Letters
Much more of Conrad Grebel
Walter Klaassen's seven-paragraph
portrayal of Conrad Grebel (Feb 13 issue)
would lead any straight-thinking reader
to write off this would-be Anabaptist
leader as a hopelessly neurotic individual
with little residual claim to the conclud-
ing citation as a "courageous young man
who in the end won a major victory when
he exchanged the Sword for the Cross
and pointed to a new yet old direction for
Christian faith and the church."
Klaassen's is another in a current
series of revisionist profiles, including
my own {Conrad Grebel Review, Spring
1989), that try to correct Harold Bender's
one-sided biography of 1950. But the
sources (see my Sources of Swiss Ana-
baptism, Herald Press, 1985) are much
more multidimensional than Klaassen's
portrayal suggests. It is incumbent on
scholars who try to popularize their
knowledge to stay as true to the sources
as possible. Here are three:
1. The most thorough published
review of the record of the trial of
Conrad's father on the charge of treason
came to the conclusion that Jacob
Grebel's execution was a "political
liquidation" of a dissenting Zurich
senator engineered by the newly emerg-
ing power behind the Zurich church-
state, even Huldrych Zwingli himself (see
Sources, pp. 457-73, 747-55).
2. The last two of Conrad's 71 extant
letters plus his non-extant "Refutation
Booklet" excerpted by a viciously hostile
Zwingli reveal not "a young man [who]
died in despair" but a serenely mature
and confident man who was already
living underground in the perspective of
imminent death and the eschatological
hope and whose prose even has the
suggestion of comic relief about it (see
Sources, pp. 378, 416ff., and 475ff.).
3. When Conrad and his friends
interrupted the sermons of the reaction-
ary monks attempting in their biblical
ignorance to defend the old doctrines of
the intercession of Mary and the worship
of images, they were acting not merely
out of "impetuous anger," but after the
example of the earlier Zwingli, who
demonstrated by his own actions how to
"storm a pulpit," defending those very
actions by his comment that "while
hitherto reckless mendicant friars
spouted forth in the pulpit whatever
came into their heads, the Council
forbade them to preach anything not
drawn from the fountainhead of the two
Testaments of Holy Writ" (see Sources,
pp. 172ff.).
To be sure, there are numerous
character lapses in the life of Conrad,
some of which are even more serious
than those alleged by Klaassen. But for
a more balanced portrayal of that life
and of his role in the Radical Reforma-
tion, it is terribly important to specify
the five progressive periods in that life;
the student, the prodigal, the seeker, the
advocate and the Anabaptist ringleader.
The end result, in my judgment, is a
person with considerably more integrity
than we read in Klaassen's oversimpli-
fied and mostly negative version, even
concerning those times of agonizing
failure. The very letters that he wrote to
a beloved teacher, friend, physician and
brother-in-law (our main source for the
insights we have about his character)
were written as to a father confessor out
of the sometimes shallow, sometimes
decadent, sometimes transcendent and
sometimes prophetic depths of his soul
with a quality of candor that may serve
to admonish some of us at the point of
our own self-concealment and lack of
self-criticism. Leland Harder, Box 363,
North Newton, KS 67117
Thank God for Anna
Mrs. Anna Entz is the only living cente-
narian in the membership of First
Mennonite Church of Newton, Kan. To
have the privilege of being a fellow
member with her is a treasure indeed.
Throughout her 101 years she has
continued to lift and inspire us all.
I am reminded of another Anna, in
Luke 2:36, which speaks of her as living
in the temple day and night praising God
and then cradling the baby Jesus.
As for Anna Entz, she continues to
warm our hearts as she lifts us up before
the throne of grace. These lines (from
her collection) so adequately portray her:
"I have never made a fortune and I'll
never make one now,/ But it really
doesn't matter 'cause I'm happy anyhow.
"As I go along my journey reaping
better than I've sowed,/ 1 am drinking
from the saucer 'cause my cup has
overflowed!
"I have not many riches and at times
the going's tough,/ But I have friends
that love me, so I'm really rich enough.
"I thank God for all his blessings that
His mercy has bestowed,/ So I'm drinking
from the saucer 'cause my cup has
overflowed.
"Should God give me grace to follow
when the way ahead is rough,/ I'll not
ask for further blessings, I'm already
blessed enough.
"May I never be too busy to help bear
another's load,/ For I'm drinking from
the saucer 'cause my cup has over-
flowed!" John D. Wiebe, Route 1, Box
122, Newton, KS 67114
Better health care needed
Thank you for printing my article on
Alzheimer's disease [Feb. 13]. I have
received many responses about this
catastrophic disease, which in its early
stages is more likely to evoke frustration
or even ridicule for the victim rather
than sympathy.
Friends to whom I gave my original
manuscript regretted that portions had
been edited out. I am well aware that
editors have space restrictions, but a few
additions are in order. The article
should have read "Medicare and Men-
nonite Aid" paid for the Prairie View
Mental Health Center expenses. Also,
when "Uncle Sam" decides that one is
poor enough to deserve help in the form
of Medicaid, one has a new problem. I
have learned on good authority that
nursing homes simply cannot function
unless they have a sizable number of
private-pay patients, from whom they
charge higher fees. It is illegal to charge
more for Medicaid patients, even if the
caregiver is willing to pay the additional
cost that Medicaid does not cover.
If Eastern Europe can strike a death
blow to communism, perhaps the United
States can improve on its health-care
system. Hilda W. Krahn, North Newton,
KS 67117
Goodwill?
Editor's note: In response to my com-
mendation of Goodwill Industries (Dec.
12, 1989), David E. Ortman, 4512
University Way N.E., Seattle, WA 98105,
sent a flyer critiquing Denver's Goodwill
Industry. Boycott of Denver's branch of
Goodwill is encouraged because employ-
ees are underpaid and are given no
health and welfare insurance coverage as
well as other benefits.
Thanks, Fran
Having recently been diagnosed as
having Parkinson's Disease, I appreci-
ated the Feb. 13 issue on "Coping with
Disability." I especially liked the
attitude expressed by Fran Heppner that
a difficult situation can be reframed as a
teacher to lead to an enriched life.
Thanks. Donna Lehman, 3213 Ponema
Court, Fort Wayne, IN 46815
117 MARCH 13, 1990
REVIEWS
Tilivts
Human fallibility
Music Box, written by Joe Eszterhas,
produced by Irwin Winkler, directed by
Costa-Gavras, and Roger & Me, written,
produced and directed by Michael Moore
Reviewed by Gordon Houser, assistant
editor
These two films may miss your theater,
but if you have the chance, catch them —
if not soon, then later on video. Each
deals, in vastly different ways and in
varying extremes, with human fallibility.
One is a courtroom drama that is tightly
written and superbly acted, the other a
low-budget documentary that probes
with humor a tragic event.
Costa-Gavras has made excellent
political thrillers (Z, Missing). Here he
tells the fictional story of Hungarian
immigrant Mike Laszlo (Armin Mueller-
Stahl), a retired steelworker in Chicago
who is accused of war crimes. His
daughter, Ann Talbot (Jessica Lange),
who is a lawyer, defends him, certain it
is a case of mistaken identity.
The tension builds as the government
presents its case. Witnesses from Hun-
gary testify that Laszlo, as a member of
the security police in 1944, cruelly
tortured and killed many people — mostly
Jews and Gypsies — including women and
children. The film makes no use of
flashback, but the stories are riveting.
We watch their effect on the daughter as
she begins to lose faith in her father's
innocence yet tries to maintain the cool
objectivity her attorney's job requires.
Lange's performance is outstanding
(and justly recognized by the Academy in
nominating her for best actress). Ger-
man actor Mueller-Stahl plays the
formal, Old World father to perfection
and keeps the audience guessing about
what really happened.
Although at times it slips into making
ideological points about paranoid anti-
communism, Music Box is an enthralling
film whose power is enhanced by its
understated ending.
Michael Moore, a journalist who grew
up in Flint, Mich., and had no previous
experience in film, set out with a camera
crew to persuade General Motors
chairman Roger Smith to come to Flint
to see the human results of the layoffs of
thousands of GM workers. Roger & Me
ostensibly covers a period of time, from
February 1987 to August 1989, in which
Moore pursued Smith.
The film leaves a number of false
impressions, however. Moore has
compressed the events of many years and
rearranged the time sequence of events.
For example, the 11 plant closings
announced in 1986 were in four states,
and the 30,000 jobs lost in Flint occurred
over a period of 12 years. Moore shows
several expensive tourist attractions that
failed, but all of them closed down before
the 1986 shutdowns that they appear to
be in response to.
Moore talks to an array of people about
the economic devastation of Flint —
former GM employees who end up either
with mental health problems or selling
fast food, cosmetics or lint rollers, plus
media stars like Pat Boone and Anita
Bryant. We witness a sheriffs deputy
evicting people who cannot pay their
rent. As the crime rate soars, the town
builds a large new jail. People can't find
a U Haul truck because so many others
are moving away.
The film builds the case, in its almost
cartoon fashion, that Roger Smith is to
blame for the problems in Flint, where
GM was born. But Moore is no investiga-
tive filmmaker. His questions are all
general, and some of the people he talks
to don't know what he's getting at. He
seems more interested in making fun of
people than looking for solutions to
Flint's problems.
What's striking, however, is that the
people he talks to, from a woman who
supplements her government checks by
raising rabbits to the elderly women at
the golf course, from the GM public-
relations man to Miss Michigan, are all
fallible human beings. And while Moore
the straight man makes nearly every-
body look funny, it's all quite sad. In
trying to make a simplistic point about
the problems in Flint, Mich., Roger & Me
chronicles the gradual disintegration of
America, as the gap between the haves
and the have-nots widens. The film
becomes a powerful mirror of our times.
And many of us laughing self-righteously
at these coldhearted corporation heads
are sitting comfortably among the
"haves." The laughter catches in our
throats and dies.
« — ^>ooks
Church and economics
A Cry for Justice, edited by Robert
McAfee Brown and Sydney Thomson
Brown, (Paulist Press, 1989, 222 pages)
Reviewed by Ann Marchand, 1110 NW
58th #1, Seattle, WA 98107
Religious bodies have produced a variety
of statements and documents addressing
issues of economic justice. This book
examines some of those documents,
provides analysis and raises questions
about the role of the church or synagogue
in dealing with economic justice issues.
Authors representing different points
of view (corporations, labor and Third
World) overview and critique documents
from Catholic, Protestant
and Jewish traditions.
Generally the economic
justice statements
provide a vision of justice
or peace, using biblical
sources as the founda-
tion. Strengths and
weaknesses are found in
each tradition.
Jewish organizational
statements tend to
support a national, social
agenda that meets
human needs over against high military
expenditure. They address specific
issues of unemployment, health care and
homelessness but fail to put these in a
larger economic analysis.
The Protestant statements generally
recognize and deplore economic injus-
tices and provide scriptural analysis.
They are faulted for not providing
challenges proportionate to the serious-
ness of the problems portrayed, particu-
larly in light of the biblical vision they
cite. They offer some criticisms of
capitalism, but solutions are rarely
radical or extensive.
The Catholic voice on these issues goes
back to an 1891 encyclical endorsing the
labor movement's struggle for unions and
just wages. The Catholic conceptualiza-
tion of justice recognizes the complexity
of the economy and offers much in terms
of new vision of economic justice, but it
fails to provide the means for achieving
such justice.
The chapter on Third World perspec-
tives is perhaps the most challenging.
The authors ascertain that the collective
shortcoming of these documents is that
they do not have a clear analysis of the
causes of the problem. They suggest this
may be because the action that may be
prescribed is feared.
Another chapter is devoted to how to
use this book and would be helpful for a
study group. Appendices include a
directory of the documents discussed and
where they can be obtained as well as
topical and biblical indices.
118 MARCH 13, 1990
MEdiTATioN
Jesus, lover of my soul
Peter Hilty
What do you mean," I asked my students, "When you
sing, 'Jesus, Lover of My Soul?"
Just what is it that Jesus loves? Do we learn something
about the lover when we ask that question?
The Bible often grapples with the concept of the soul.
Young's Concordance lists hundreds of verses— many more
from the Old Testament than from the New. Many of the
references come from the Psalms. Each calls for my attention,
but I choose one only: "My soul doth wait upon Thee." What
does that mean?
I make my living as a teacher of poetry. No student of poetry
can attempt to exclude from his study the concept of the soul.
Even self-styled agnostic poets use the term.
The student of Greek is waiting to tell me about psyche and
the psychotic. Other languages supply other terms. No
language contains some magic term that will suddenly reveal
with Damascus-road light the meaning I seek. Once I was
asked to play for my Sunday school class a tape of someone
reading the Lord's Prayer in Aramaic. Interesting, but I did
not understand a word. One's native language is the best
expression of the Lord's Prayer.
English writers have written powerfully. More than 200
years ago Edward Young described his thoughts on soul in his
long poem "Night Thoughts." Never read today, it was for
almost two centuries a most popular English poem. As we lie
asleep, he wrote, our dreams take us on wide journeys. It is
thus with the soul, Young thought. The ancients believed that
the soul was tethered to the body with a frail silver cord. When
it breaks, the soul flies away. "Some day the silver cord will
break."
These writers give me a sense of fraternity. They, too, have
asked the question I ask. "These thoughts," Walt Whitman
writes, "are they not the thoughts of all men in all times?"
The German poet Rainer Maria Rilke compares man's life on
earth as the awkward walking of the swan on the ground.
Neither does it well. But in death we become like the swan
swimming on the lake — infinitely silent and graceful." I
remember my parents, dead 30 years, when I read that.
A more common metaphor compares the soul to a mountain
rill, beginning in snow field, winding downward and finally
merging with the sea. The ancients weighed people near
death, weighed them again the moment after death, and
finding that the two readings were almost identical, concluded
that the soul weighed little.
Who of us has not wished to be loved "for myself alone"?
"Love me for myself alone and not my golden hair," the girl
complains to the poet. And when he does not respond, she
threatens to cut off her golden hair. Then what will the poet
do?
"I am the Poet of the Body and the Poet of the Soul," claims
Whitman, never a modest fellow. Again he writes, "I loaf and
invite my Soul." [Imagine a court of law. "Were you alone?"
the judge asks. And the poet replies, "No, I had invited my
soul."] Robert Browning, missing his late wife, Elizabeth
Barrett Browning, writes, "Oh, thou soul of my soul, I shall
clasp thee again."
It is unlikely that I shall come to insights which have not
been anticipated by others. But then I am trying to say in
Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high;
Hide me, O my Savior, hide,
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide,
O receive my soul at last.
Charles Wesley, 1740
finite words the vocabulary of the infinite. Perhaps we do not
have words for this discussion.
I must also emphasize that my soul is personal and that
others cannot really speak for me. Let them describe their
souls. After all, it is mine.
Do I take my soul from my parents? A tempting question.
Their genetic markers are in my blood. Their relationship to
me is underlined in 100 proverbs and much of the Old Testa-
ment. The spirits of my parents — at least my memories of
them — are always with me and guide me as I write.
But ultimately, and with no offense to Mom and Dad, my
soul must achieve by its own "invincible surmise." My soul is
the greatest gift I have received — from my parents, from life
itself, from God. What shall I say? That faith in myself, that
faith in others, that most innate and personal part of me, is
that not my soul? When I say in dismay, "I wasn't myself,"
have I lost my soul. And when I am myself, have I found it
again? Jesus is indeed the lover of my soul, whatever its
condition. Knowing that, I want to make it worthy of love.
Peter Hilty's address is 632 Bellevue, Cape
Girardeau, MO 63701. He teaches at Southeast
Missouri State University.
THE MENNONITE 119
NEWS
EdiTOMAl
0 1 002? 031 3 16
LI MARY
ASSOC He MS BIBLICAL SF«l
3003 BENFfAM AV^
ELKHART I H 46517
Today's Menno Dow Jones report
Speaking of money (and we must whether we like to
or not), Art Meyer of Fresno, Ohio, has something
to say. Art is on staff for Mennonite Central Committee
U.S. Global Education. He gives three reasons that God
does not want us to play the lotteries. (Is there someone
out there who would like to write in The Mennonite
about playing the stock market?)
Art also says that the gap between the rich and the
poor in the United States is now the highest since World
War II. I believe these two topics are related, like
siblings in the big family of materialism, which may
well be the "something" that Susan Classen says (p. 99)
is eating away at us.
Here, quoting Art, are the three reasons we should not
play the lotteries: First, they are an affront to the poor,
a repressive tax stacked against them. The deceptive
advertising and enormous odds take advantage of the
weak. A New Jersey survey says that a third of those
earning less than $10,000 per year spend 20 percent of
their income on the state lottery.
Second, lotteries idolize money. Anyone who takes the
Bible seriously should avoid them. See Ecclesiastes
5:10, Matthew 6:24 and the 10th commandment.
Third, lotteries promote "a cruelly unrealistic 'free
lunch' mentality" that is "responsible for an unsustain-
able agricultural system and an industrial system that
degrades the environment. It promotes unrealistic
expectations about wealth." Jesus taught us differ-
ently. The temptation to disobey is subtle and deadly.
Now as to the widening gap between rich and poor
in the United States, hear the October 1989 report
from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a non-
partisan research organization.* It says that in 1988
(the most recent year for which figures are available) 40
million Americans fell below the poverty line — $9,435
annual income for a family of three. Average income for
the poorest fifth of families fell 6.1 percent from 1979 to
1988. Average income of the richest fifth rose 15.6
percent, or $17,900 per year.
This morning's news (Feb. 22) carried the announce-
ment that now 19 million Americans need and use food
stamps each month, 500,000 more than was predicted.
Why is this occurring? What should 65,000 General
Conference Mennonites conclude from it? Do these facts
affect our agenda? How can the gap be narrowed?
On Feb. 9 in Winnipeg I visited the Agape Table
(soup kitchen) housed in the basement of Home
Street Mennonite Church. David Wiebe of Winnipeg
graciously took Marilyn Miller (Boulder, Colo.) and me
to several local places where "the word becomes flesh" in
Winnipeg, where people read (as it were) a different
kind of market index.
We stood in the entry for a few minutes, watching
people get their food and gather around the several
tables. Marilyn said, "I'd feel more comfortable sitting
down," and we did. Jerry Enns
joined us. He is the only
employee (a half-time job) at
this site, which is one of three
in the city. He comes at 8:00
every morning along with vol-
unteers. The soup is ready at
9:30. Bread and donuts are do-
nated. Peanut butter is on the
tables. Jerry said, "We're
never in the red."
One of the volunteers, Clara
Dyck, smiling broadly, holding the plate in both hands,
brought us a sampling of still-warm bannock, baked on
site by Andrew Lambert (see photo). We quizzed Clara
about her work. Her response was, "It makes me happy
to see them happy," indicating her customers. "A sense
of community grows among the regular ones," said one
volunteer. "Here you see Christ," said another. "With
some folks you just have to look a little deeper."
Our hosts recalled a story told by David Schroeder,
professor at Canadian Mennonite Bible College. It
seems that when he was a child his parents took in a
needy person from time to time. David's father simply
said, "He needs us right now, but someday we may need
him." Muriel T. Stackley
*Its address is 236 Massachusetts Ave. N.E., Suite 305, Washington,
DC 20002.
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID. WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
105:6 MARCH 27, 1990
15 reasons to join
Once a *"*"*
WARRIOR,
Delivered from
the lion's mouth
Mac took his
faith to work
w -*
now a
CHRISTIAN
pnoloquE
Welcome to our issue that features evan-
gelism. The cover story continues on
page 128. I am grateful to Leonard Wiebe,
pastor at Peace Mennonite Community
Church, Aurora, Colo., for helping me get
Michael and Kathy's story to you.
When Myron Schultz, Bloomfield, Mont., left
home to come to Council of Commissions, our
conference's annual business sessions, in
Newton, Kan., March 2-5 (see News, pages
130-134) his pastor, Pat McFarran, said, "Now
look, Myron, if you folks get to an impasse in
your discussions, give me a call and we'll put
you on our prayer chain." Saturday evening
there was no impasse, but Myron phoned his
pastor anyway to tell him how things were
going. The congregation (Bethlehem Menno-
nite, Bloomfield, Mont.) was thus informed of
the news on Sunday morning and was able to
pray accordingly.
1990 Winnipeg
The next issue of The Mennonite is our Easter
issue. It will also carry the second of Katie
Funk Wiebe's three articles plus news about
how the military invades its own citizens, par-
ticularly in Labrador.
. ^| ^\ Get ready for Assembly 12
)) / of Mennonite World
Conference: Helmut
Harder, general secretary
elect of the Conference of
Mennonites in Canada
(CMC), is the author of a 90-page book called
Witnessing to Christ in Today's World. MWC
leaders have subtitled it "A Faith and Life
Study Book," and it is a basis of preparation
for Assembly 12. The book contains six
lessons plus resources to illustrate the six
themes. Whether or not you'll be able to be at
Assembly 12, this book is for you. I finally got
mine last week. It is bright green and costs
$4.95 (U.S.). Contact a bookstore, CMC's
resource center or MWC, 465 Gunderson
Drive, Suite 200, Carol Stream, IL 60188,
(708)690-9666. mts
CONTENTS
15 reasons ! invite people to join our church / 123
Can the church survive the professionalization of its
leadership? / 124
Sonnet / 126
Ernie Hildebrand responds to Katie Funk Wiebe / 127
Delivered from the lion's mouth to declare the Good News / 128
Represent God; listen mercifully / 129
News / 130
Council of Commissions report / 130
Alberta conference report / 135
Record / 136
Resources / 138
Reviews / 140
Immersed in life, God will provide, A fresh look at Acts / 140
Courage without pity, The right to fight, Love and death / 141
Letters / 142
Paraphrase / 142
Mac took his faith to work / 143
The Nicaraguan election should bring us to our knees / 144
Cover: photo by Leonard Wiebe
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 14 years of The Men-
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W The MENNONITE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100.
Editor: Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assis-
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Circulation: 11,012
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build
the Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under
the guidance of the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly
by the General Conference Mennonite Church, 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton,
KS67114. Subscription rates: one year, $18 U.S., $21 Canada; two years, $32
U.S., $38 Canada; three years, $44 U.S., $52 Canada. Outside North America
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copies: $2 U.S. Five or more: $1 U.S. each. Paid advertising accepted from
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122 MARCH 27, 1990
MSONS
I invite
people to
join our
church
Mark Winslow
Why should I continue to pastor
our congregation, First Men-
nonite Church, Allentown, Pa.?
Why should I enthusiastically encourage
others to join us? Not all congregations
are the same, of course, but maybe my
reasons will strike a chord with you.
1. We respect the Bible's authority and
want to understand it and be faithful to
it. We Mennonites believe that the Bible
is God's written word. We seek to
interpret its plain meaning without
resorting to either old or modern gym-
nastics often employed to escape its
directives.
2. We accept the supernatural
worldview that the Scriptures describe.
We disagree with those who have
accepted rationalism and materialism to
explain the world. Science cannot offer
adequate answers to ultimate questions.
A war is being waged in an unseen
dimension between personal forces of
God and Satan for the allegiance of every
living person.
3. We believe that the Spirit of the
risen Jesus Christ lives in every Chris-
tian and that every believer has been
given at least one spiritual gift for
building God's kingdom. Discovering
and using one's spiritual gift(s) in the
fellowship of the church is what the
priesthood of all believers is about.
4. We have a Christian social con-
science. Action for Nuclear Disarma-
ment, (a regional organization working
for a mutual, verifiable freeze on nuclear
weapons testing and deployment be-
tween the superpowers) was headquar-
tered in our building from 1983-1988.
Since 1985, Christ-centered recovery
groups for homosexual men and women
have met in our buildings.
5. Women are not second-class citizens
in our congregation. We have not had
any barriers here to keep women out of
any ministry or leadership roles among
us for a long time. Some Christians have
refused to join us because of this. So be
it. Our congregation would be much
poorer (probably dead and buried)
without the full participation of our
women.
6. We are a denominational congrega-
tion. I know that non-denominational
congregations are a rapidly growing
trend in North America, but frankly I
value being rooted in this particular and
rich spiritual heritage. Denominational
membership provides accountability and
support among congregations. And it
means that we have historical and
broader contemporary experience to
draw upon — we don't have to "reinvent
the wheel" over every doctrinal or
lifestyle question that arises, as many
independent churches sometimes do
today.
7. We are not narrowly sectarian.
We're not ashamed to state what we
believe and tell you why we believe
it, but we're not so threatened by
other traditions or by the secular
world that we refuse to interact
with Christians of other persuasions
or unbelievers.
8. We are committed to non-
violent peacemaking out of spiritual
motives, as Jesus Christ himself
was during his earthly ministry.
The pacifist witness of the ancient
church is our witness also. We
strive to live non-violent lives and to
abstain from military service or
support of armed warfare in other
ways.
First Mennonite Church
Allentown, Pa.
9. We want to be a people of integrity.
Honesty and moral goodness are increas-
ingly tough things to find in our modern
world. As the moorings of western
culture disintegrate, we want to be
known for our honest and upright lives.
10. Our Mennonite service and
mission work is of high quality. Even
The Other Side magazine has applauded
the work of Mennonite Central Commit-
tee. Both internationally and in North
America, our service and mission
workers and supporting agencies are
filled with dedicated, astute, servant-
leaders we can be proud of.
11. We are a practical, informal
congregation. Our life together has
dignity, but we are not stuffy or formal.
We are not here to impress ourselves or
anyone else except our Lord.
12. We are located in the heart of this
midsized city. Every fisherman knows
that if you want to catch fish you must
go where the fish are. Thousands of
unchurched folks, with needs only Jesus
can meet, are in the neighborhood of our
meetinghouse.
13. Our buildings are paid for. I
realize not everyone can say this, but our
mortgages were burned long ago, thanks
to the foresight and sacrifices of those
who came before us. Sure, we still have
THE MENNONITE 123
Can the church
survive the
PROFESSIONALIZAriON
of its leadership?
Katie Funk Wiebe
Most Christians are reluctant to
think of themselves as members
of a multibusiness corporation
with branches in far- flung parts of the
country, or even of the world. The
thought is even repugnant.
They assert loudly that the church is a
spiritual entity, not a business enter-
prise; an organism, not an organization;
the body of Christ, not an institution. Its
leaders are servants of God, not merely
professionals paid to do a job.
If only this were always true.
We live in a time, however, when the
church has both a spiritual form and an
institutional form. One or the other is
always dominant. The renewal move-
ment of the '60s and 70s attempted to
replace the institutional church with a
new model of the church as a people, a
community, a vital body of witnessing
disciples. It taught the priesthood and
giftedness of every believer. Christians
everywhere rejoiced, for this movement
was the Spirit triumphantly breaking
out of institutional walls. Laypeople
were freed for ministry.
Now the number of professionals on
church staffs is growing, and the laity is
meekly subsiding into the pews. The
church as a bustling institution with
efficient, effective hired professionals at
its helm is too often more apparent than
as Christ's glorious body of faithful
believers where every member is a
minister. Can the church survive the
growing gap between professional and
layperson?
Give us a king, said the Israelites. At
the time of the prophet Samuel, the
Israelites begged God for a professional
leader, a king. They wanted to be like
the other nations who had a king to unite
their military forces and lead them into
battle. The Lord warned them that
centralization of power in a king would
result in tyrannic oppression. God was
their king; they needed no other. Becom-
ing a nation would threaten their
identity as the people of God. But they
didn't listen.
Contemporary Christian communities
may not have pestered God for profes-
sional leaders as zealously as Israel did,
but some parallels exist. The church
takeover by professionals came slowly,
subtly. As Sunday schools and other
activities for all age groups developed, as
more and varied types of services and
ministries were offered, each required
organization, management and strate-
gies for funding and leadership. So
congregations added personnel almost
without question, except for the matter
of paying salaries to these staff members.
Business enterprises and other secular
institutions functioned more successfully
with hired personnel. Volunteerism no
longer could handle the church's needs.
Why not join the trend?
Doors that opened only a crack at first
to admit paid professionals swung wide
as the idea of a professional clergy
became comfortable. The Christian
community saw in such leaders the
solution to wider ministry in an increas-
ingly complex society and a membership
caught in its own pursuits. The church
as an institution and as the body of
Christ, it seemed, clearly needed full-
time and professionally trained
leadership.
Business management methods, flow
charts, publicity and public relations,
workshops and seminars, and the
language of business, psychology and
sociology infiltrated the church world.
The focus on the spiritual strength and
beauty of the people of God, with each
person using God-given gifts for minis-
try, faded like a piece of cloth left to
bleach in the sun too long. The tragedy
is that not enough people objected.
The issue is not the professionalization
of the church leadership but the develop-
ment of a hierarchy among professionals
where there should be none and the
usurpation of the ministry of all believ-
ers. The church can survive profession-
alism but not clericalism.
Al Dueck, professor of psychology at
Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary,
Fresno, Calif, writes, "The experts have
taken control, adjudicated needs,
nurtured dependence and sapped
resources. Meanwhile lay persons have
lost their ability to think and act for
themselves" (Perils of Professionalism).
The result has been the centralization of
power in the hands of a select group of
15 reasons I invite people to join our church
to maintain our buildings, but more of
the Lord's money can be spent here for
ministry than in congregations that are
constructing and/or paying for buildings.
14. We are open to God's working
through prayer, healing and exorcism.
We belive that kingdom signs and won-
ders have not ceased. We celebrate the
living Christ's presence in us to answer
prayer, heal illness and cast out evil
spirits. We're open to God's teaching
and leading in this area.
15. We want to teach in our church
and model in our own families healthy,
lasting marriages. Current statistics
indicate that fully half of all marriages
begun since the mid-1970s will end in
divorce. Sixty percent of all second
marriages are projected to end in divorce.
Our Lord has the resources we need for
quality family life. Our congregation can
help in divorce prevention, second
marriages, step-parenting and "skip-
generation" parenting. If current
statistics hold up, healthy and enduring
family relationships will continue to be a
powerful Christian witness of a more
abundant life.
Mark Winslow is
pastor at the congrega-
tion to which he is
inviting us. Its
address and phone
number are 1213 Chew
St., Allen town, PA
18102, (215) 435-3162.
124 MARCH 27, 1990
Watching professionals perform: Terry Hampton, a vicar in Jersey, England, employs
theatrics for his sermon on John the Baptist.
church workers, or clericalism, another
type of exclusivism, like racism and
sexism.
In historian Martin Marty's words,
clericalism creates "a world of self-
importance, as if everything that
mattered has to do with the clergy."
Sarah Maitland in The Map of a New
Country warns that clericalism "under-
mines and corrupts the Christian
understanding of service, of ministry and
of wholeness, interdependence, and
community" because it is based on an
unacknowledged belief that some
vocations are better than others and
"that the best vocation of all is being a
clergyman."
A disenfranchised laity. Clericalism
harms laypeople (a term which should
never be used in an Anabaptist congrega-
tion, for all are called to serve as God's
ministers). It disenfranchises them from
kingdom work.
The church's view and practice of
ordination may be a major factor in
causing this gradual disenfranchisement.
Marty explains: After the Reformation,
although Protestants didn't see ordina-
tion as a sacrament, they kept on
ordaining like the Catholics but came up
with their own guidelines as to who
should be ordained — someone (a man)
who had studied theology and Bible and
was approved by a church body.
Despite their strong beliefs in the
priesthood of all believers, Mennonites
fell in line, slowly developing a church
hierarchy in which all people are
considered created equal, but some are
more equal than others. In a hierarchy
preaching is reserved only for clergy.
"Not to preach left [the laity] confused
about their witness and responsibilities,"
writes Marty, and continues to leave
them confused. Ask any layperson what
tasks are open to them in the contempo-
rary Mennonite church. Preaching is not
usually one of them. It is for special
people, ordained people.
Ray Stedman (Body Life) deplores that
a special body of super Christians has
emerged who are looked to for practically
everything and are now termed "the
ministry." Today "ministry" is something
only the clergy can take on, can have and
can leave. Only ordained ministers leave
the "ministry," never laypeople, for they
haven't a ministry to leave.
Without the privilege of speaking to
the entire body of believers, another
abuse occurs: The voice of the prophet is
silenced. Because prophets usually come
from the weak and powerless, from those
closest to the common life, without a
platform to speak from even occasionally,
their message is hushed.
When the laity is spiritually disenfran-
chised, they take the next step, which is
self-disenfranchisement. "Let the
professional staff do the work. They can
do it better — and anyway I haven't got
time." They put their energies into their
vocation, play, family or their personal
enrichment.
The layperson's primary church
involvement becomes watching the
professionals perform, a dangerous
spectator activity if not accompanied by
action. John R. Mott writes that "it is
perilous for laypeople to hear more
sermons, attend more Bible classes and
open forums and read more material
unless accompanying it all there be
afforded day by day an adequate outlet
for their newfound truth." Christians
must live up to new light or they become
sluggish in the faith. Let the "salaried
Christians do God's real work," they say.
The professional church worker also
suffers. One staff person in a large
church agency said, "There are so many
of us here in one heap, at times we
almost convince ourselves we don't need
the constituency out there to help us do
our work. We've got all the answers
here. All they need to do is listen."
When professionalism is dominant, the
leaders develop their own identity
separate from the laity. This separate
identity is strengthened in the Menno-
nite constituency by having workshops
and seminars exclusively for pastors, for
example, not for the entire body of
Christ, and widens the gap even more.
Their secular power increases as they
become more involved in administration
rather than remaining with preaching,
praying and breaking bread, writes
Howard A. Snyder in Liberating the
Church.
A professional staff likes to see the
building well used, and that is good
stewardship. But, says Findley Edge,
THE MENNONITE 125
the church today is based on "come"
structures at which professionals do
their thing. If you don't come, the church
has no place, ministry or mission for you.
Stedman argues that "working in the
church" originally meant to exercise a
gift or perform a ministry among
Christians wherever they were, but it
gradually came to mean doing some
religious act within a building.
Members become customers, or clients,
of the professional staff in the building
with great freedom to say, "If you don't
do as I want you to, I'll go elsewhere."
And they do. Members leaving by the
backdoor of the church is one of today's
phenomena. Church members are
constantly shopping for a place where
"Let the professional staff do the work": When the laity is spiritually disenfranchised, they
put their energies into their vocation, play, family, personal enrichment.
"their needs will be met" by someone's
preaching or other type of ministry.
Another danger of clericalism is that
the development of a congregational
theology becomes the task of only
academicians and professional clergy.
Sonnet
%
Jeannie Ewert
Art thou afraid of what this life shall bring,
O lowly worm, whose form so oft falls prey
To scorn? And cannot e'er thy heart take wing,
Or art thou bound to earth, to tears, dismay?
Is this the answer, creature of the ground,
To wrap thy troubles up in silken thread?
Each silver strand may veil the world around,
But only death hides all; thou art not dead.
But now the dull takes on a brighter hue,
And gossamer wings have come where they were not.
What is the magic God has given you
By simple faith in him to change your lot?
Have you, my heart, less faith than lowly things?
O Lord, take now my heart and give it wings.
Jeannie Ewert is a graduate student in comparative
literature in Philadelphia.
"It's hard to give up my pulpit," said one
Mennonite Brethren pastor. "I do so only
with reluctance." Some pastors are
threatened by an assertive and compe-
tent laity, unwilling to admit that
churches are strong where theology is
vigorously pursued at every level, even if
it leads to tension.
Can the church become over-profes-
sionalized? After the Israelites re-
ceived a king and became a nation
among other nations, God used their
nationalism to help them understand its
strengths and weaknesses. They could
then attack nationalism's demonic
power. Thus writes Old Testament
scholar Bernard Anderson. Only if the
church today understands how the
professionalization of its leaders can
regress to clericalism will it also be able
to confront the demonic powers that can
reside in such structures.
One serious failing of the church
renewal movement was the inability to
see that God can use institutions and
professionals as instruments of salvation
and grace, even as God used kingship
and kings. Many churches in the 1960s
wanted to do away with all institutional
trappings and emerge as a pure spiritual
body. That never worked.
Can ministry be returned to the
laity? Renewal came to the church in
the past, both pre- and post-Reformation.
Ministry was returned to the entire body
of Christ. "The church is not a collection
of isolated priests, each going separately
to God, but a community of priests. We
have this ministry together, to be priests
to each other," Snyder writes. Every
126 MARCH 27, 1990
BEYOND BELIEF
The word 'layperson'
should never be used in an
Anabaptist congregation.
All are called to be God's
ministers.
believer, whether sick, retarded, handi-
capped, oppressed or dispossessed, has a
ministry. Male or female, rich or poor,
black or white, ordained or unordained —
all are ministers together for the internal
life of the church and their external life
in the world.
But the idea of releasing people for
ministry is uncomfortable to some. "We
like the idea of having control," said one
Mennonite Brethren pastor. "To release
the laity might give them too much
freedom." Ordination is one fence to
keep laity from moving into forbidden
territory.
Renewal also comes when the church
doesn't make self-preservation its
foremost goal. Renewal will grace a
congregation that is ready to die so that
others may live. Snyder suggests several
tests for such readiness. One is a will-
ingness to listen to fringe people — the
less important people, the less rewarded,
the less powerful. Maybe even the will-
ingness to mortgage the church building
for money for the poor. Sacrifice is a
pathway to renewal.
And who is able to hear such words
about life through death?
Katie Funk Wiebe,
Hillsboro, Kan., wrote
this article ( the first of
three) at the request of
Meetinghouse, a
consortium of Mennon-
ite editors. She is
editor of Rejoice! and a
member of the
Mennonite Brethren
Church.
Ernie Hildebrand responds to Katie Funk Wiebe
This article touches on many areas
of my interest, experience and
opinion. I realize that I have rather
specific views of what it means to be
the church and what style of leader-
ship would best serve the church so
that it might survive. However, as the
article indicates, Mennonites have
differing views on these subjects.
While some would support the model
of community and leadership as
modeled by Jim Wallis of Sojourners,
others believe that the Jerry Falwell
model is closer to New Testament
standards. This wide range of views
puts great pressure on leadership.
Thus, while I basically agree with
Katie Funk Wiebe, I suggest that
another article needs to be written
entitled, "Can Leaders Survive the
Variety of Expectations Within the
Congregation?"
Every model of church needs
leaders, and leaders need training and
education. Good training should
prevent clericalism. Good training
should produce Christlike servants,
not performers or egotists. Well-
trained leaders should see their task
as one of assisting their congregation
to become Christlike servants.
Congregations in the past, before
pastors were hired and paid, did not
necessarily practice the priesthood of
all believers either. I recall lay
ministers being overworked, doing
many of the duties of our professional
pastors, just not getting paid for it.
Congregations choose those who are
to be their leaders. Congregations
don't necessarily call servant-style
leaders. Some prefer leaders who
exhibit forms of clericalism. As in
politics, we often get what we deserve.
Clericalism is becoming more
evident. Institutional structures of
big buildings, big programs and hired
staff foster clericalism. Some congre-
gations are building multimillion-
dollar facilities, which is good breed-
ing ground for clericalism. As clerics,
these leaders tell their people that
when they contribute to the building
fund they are giving to God. If they
want to say that, I think they should
first ask God. God may have different
priorities. More energy should be put
into building community, which may
or may not need a building. But
building community is such an
abstract notion, while building with
brick and mortar is so concrete.
Ministry really encompasses a wide
range of activities. Too often ministry
is limited to in-house worship activity.
It is better to recognize all the activity
of ministry that congregational
members (often fringe members) are
involved in every week, where people
are supporting neighbors and friends
in family and marital conflict, illness,
death: real love to real people in real
need. This love is different from the
type of love gushing from the lips of
clerics in their pulpits. This "lay"
ministry needs to be acknowledged
and supported by the pastors, and
connections need to be made to the
worship of the congregation.
Can the church then survive the
professionalization of its leadership?
Can it survive clericalism? I remain
confident that the church will survive,
but likely a different model of church
will evolve than the one that clerical-
ism is advocating.
Ernie Hildebrand, Box 304, Swift Current,
SK S9H 3V8, ex-pastor, is often found
watching CFL
football on televi-
sion while reading
his church papers.
Currently he works
for the Neil Squire
Foundation as
administrator of
computer training
for adults with
physical disabili-
ties.
THE MENNONITE 127
Delivered from the lion's mouth
to declare the Good News
Michael Waddell
w:
hen my pastor, Leonard Wiebe,
asked me for the story of my spiri-
tual journey, a curious thing happened. I
prayed about it. Who me? Pray?
Years ago I sat on a jungle floor amid
the wreckage of a downed helicopter.
Four of us were wounded, seven had
been killed, and we were 20 kilometers
inside the wrong country. I prayed. No
answer. I prayed harder. Still nothing.
Seven long days later the four of us
reached friendly
forces. At the time
I attributed my
If yOU are gOinQ physical survival to
* i_ — . . my skills as a
tO De a Christian, warrior Ihave
yOU have tO since learned that
consider all that
Christ taught. I
now have a
church family
who sees my
future, not my
past.
my survival was an
act of divine inter-
vention.
I was 19 years
old and had just
graduated from
high school when I
enlisted in the
military and was
sent to Vietnam.
The horrors of war
are too gruesome to
relate, but let it be
said that war takes
the human quali-
ties out of a person.
After Vietnam I served as a mercenary
in Central America. Mercenary work is
intense, because you never know when
you may be killed. You fight for which-
ever side pays the bill. Mercenary work
can also be lucrative, but I spent most of
my money foolishly. Not many merce-
naries give to a Mennonite relief fund.
For several more years I pursued what
the world offers victorious men: money,
booze, drugs and women. It cost me my
family and my friends. I thought I could
take care of myself. I did it with hatred,
paranoid fears, restlessness and the
inability to trust anyone. I did not need
or want God.
Thinking back, I've always believed
that God existed but was too far away.
How could I relate to someone who
allowed me the experience of Vietnam
and the need for my mercenary activities
in Central America? Why, when drunk,
broke and homeless, should I
even try to relate to God? The
pain, the confusion, the hurt
and losses only seemed to justify
the distance I felt between God
and me.
Then it happened. The
answer to my long-forgotten
jungle prayer came to me
through the words of a 4-year-
old girl. She said, "Daddy, I love
you." No conditions. No fanfare.
She wanted nothing. Yet she
already knew how much I loved
her. She knew that I would
protect her, guide her. She
trusted me, unconditionally.
Everything I had ever been
told about God became reality. I
had always secretly hoped it
was true. It was and is. I
looked around me. I finally
understood God's love for me.
Through Jesus Christ I have
been forgiven for all the past I
was so ashamed of. My slate
has been wiped clean. My
chains have been released. I
realize that God was with me all
along.
I look at things so differently
now. I now believe that most
wars can be avoided through
reconciliation. Jesus said, "Love your
enemies. Turn the other cheek. Pray for
those who persecute you." The Menno-
nite teaching of biblical non-resistance is
appealing to me because I cannot see
staying in a strong warrior stance and
professing Christ at the same time. If
you are going to be a Christian, you have
to take into consideration all that Christ
taught.
I was baptized at Peace Mennonite
Community Church, Aurora, Colo., on
Dec. 18, 1988. The Bible says, "Once you
become a Christian, you become a new
creation" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Me pray? Yes. All that I have
prayed for has been given to me.
My life is now full of family, friends,
church and Christ, who died for me. God
has given me all that I have ever asked
for. My wife forgives me more than she
should ever have to. I have a church
family who sees not my past but my
future. I have all the people who have
cared for me when I was unable to care
for myself. I know this will not change.
I have the assurance that God will never
let me go. This is the Good News that I
have to tell.
I have come full circle. There is always
hope. My "baptism by fire" is now an
understanding of God's profound love
and protection. God has put me on this
earth to share the Good News with those
who have no hope. Thank you, Lord. I
now see this fulfillment in my life.
"The Lord stood at my side and gave
me strength, so that through me the
message might be fully proclaimed and
all the gentiles might hear it. And I
was delivered from the lion's mouth" (2
Timothy 4:17, NIV).
Michael Waddell's address is 777 S.
Olathe, Aurora, CO 80015
128 MARCH 27, 1990
TOqETllER
Represent God; listen mercifully
Rodolfo (Roy) Jiminez
I was stunned by a note in the local
newspaper. An elderly couple was
robbed and murdered by a stranger who
broke into their home and left without
leaving a trace of evidence.
In his famous novel Crime and Punish-
ment, Fyodor Dostoevsky, describes how
Raskolnikov, who has murdered two
elderly women, agonizes over his crime.
In spite of being surrounded by his loved
ones (his mother, his sister and his best
friend) he only finds the possibility of
confession in a young prostitute. Reflect-
ing on the possibility of confession to
other characters in the novel, one finds
that indeed the young woman was the
only person capable of merciful listening.
To her the murderer bared his soul and
found the way for regeneration.
Our society stands in need of regenera-
tion. What should we do to diminish
crime and injustice? The church needs to
show the way of redemption and justice.
We in the church must listen with mercy.
But first we need to clean our closets.
Perhaps we have not murdered, but we
are often oppressed by an overload that
befuddles us. In "house secrets," in
friendships, in congregations are sources
of death by asphyxiation. Secrets sink us
into abysses of perversity and self-
annihilation. A merciful listener blows
away the deadly lid and brings the fresh
winds of divine grace. For all our secrets
a merciful listening will uplift and
recreate us.
God is ready to love us and forgive all
wrongdoing. Each believer is called to
represent Christ in dispensing that
divine love and mercy. God through
Jesus calls us to a lifestyle guided by a
merciful mind-style.
When we read Jesus' adventures we
can't fail to notice how he pursues mercy
as a guiding principle in his ministry.
Luke records Jesus' advice, "Be merciful,
even as your Father is merciful" (Luke
6:36). On many occasions the difference
between Jesus and other religious
teachers is his compassion. When a
woman is officially caught in the act of
adultery, Jesus forgives her instead of
becoming involved in an exegetical
discussion. Read the Gospels through
the eyes of mercy. Jesus was not a
powerful or paternalistic figure but a
poor itinerant preacher. Still he had the
ability to give abundant mercy.
How are we to learn mercy? Jesus
cared for the adulterous woman's life and
for the Roman centurion's daughter. You
may provide other examples. Jesus was
not afraid to set boundaries and pro-
Jesus pursued
mercy as a
guiding
principle in
his ministry.
nounce judgments, but first came mercy.
For life we need mercy. Mercy needs
to come from somewhere. We can begin
by showing mercy to ourselves. Then our
century will be remembered for its
revolution in communicating humanity
rather than for its revolution in commu-
nication technology.
Our time to learn mercy is now. Are
sinners and prostitutes marching to
God's time ahead of God's people?
Rodolfo (Roy) Jimenez,
former pastor of
Iglesia Christiana
Shalom in Upland,
Calif, is now
Hispanic Ministries
Coordinator for the
church of the Brethren
in Elgin, III
Gilts: Ga.Twl, Ewe, English
I met Victoria, a Ghanian woman in her 40s, on my first day of teaching at
Good News Training Institute in Accra.
As Victoria's English was limited, I was asked to tutor her. This was one of
those many extra duties expected beyond my normal teaching load— and I
accepted, unhappily.
But I quickly discovered what a privilege I had been given. I was working
with a woman to whom God had given extraordinary and miraculous gifts. One
of them was the gift of reading.
As a child this daughter of a fetish priest would hug her Bible at night while
sleeping, because of her belief that this sacred book brought God close to her.
In a church that she had once secretly visited, she had learned John 1:1, "In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
To Victoria the Bible was this "word."
Then one night God awakened Victoria. She opened her Bible and read aloud
in Ga, her native tongue. This was only the beginning of God's miracles. She
later received the gift of reading the Bible in Twi and Ewe (two other major
languages in Ghana) as well as in English.
God's gifts to Victoria have only whetted her appetite for more formal study
of God's Word. She now looks forward to attending Good News Training
Institute full time. And I continue to tutor her— joyfully— in English. Julianna
Bender, Commission on Overseas Mission Partner in Ghana
THE MENNONITE 129
NEWS 1
7 percent rise in giving needed to meet 1990 budget
Vision bumps into reality; no budget increase
"She wouldn't have had a chance anywhere on the place," said an observer of the
obliterated home of Harold and Ruth Voth near Goessel, Kan., following the March 13
tornados that swept through the prairie states. Ruth Friesen Voth, 67, originally from Inola,
Okla., and a member of Alexanderwohl Church, Goessel, was killed. She and her hus-
band, who was recovering from surgery in Newton (Kan.) Medical Center when the storm
hit, worked in Mexico in the 1950s for Mennonite Central Committee and the General
Conference Mennonite Church. She had been working as a nurse at Bethesda Home in
Goessel. The only other fatality was Lucas Fisher, 6, of nearby Burrton. Extensive property
damage, especially in Harvey and McPherson counties (focused in the town of Hesston)
and extending to York County, Neb., included that of two employees in the GCMC head-
quarters: structural damage to the home of Shelley Buller and her husband, Jon, and vast
destruction at the dairy farm of Jo-Ann Enns Schmidt and her husband, Fred.
A historic moment: The executive secretaries and commission chairpersons led a first-ever joint
meeting of the commissions on overseas mission and home ministries. Left to right are Erwin Rempel
and chair William Block (COM) and chair Floyd Bartel and Hubert Brown (CHM).
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)-Budget
was the primary focus of the
annual Council of Commissions
of the General Conference
Mennonite Church here March
2-6.
"The economy is the largest
single determinant of whether
the General Conference makes
budget," said business man-
ager and treasurer Ted
Stuckey.
The General Board (GB)
passed a 1990 budget of
$5,318,207, no increase over
last year's, in light of the
conference receiving only 93.2
percent of its 1989 budget.
The 1990 budget, which
includes a 4 percent increase
in salaries, was recommended
to GB by the Division of
General Services (DGS). "The
General Conference is being
responsible by not raising its
budget this year. That con-
trasts with the visionary side of
me that says, 'Go for it,'"
commented Bev Suderman,
DGS member and student at
Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind.
DGS chairperson Richard A.
Rosenberger, Quakertown,
Pa., wondered how the
constituency would react to a
"flat" budget. But DGS member
Bernie Wiebe, Winnipeg, noted
that there would need to be a 7
percent increase in giving over
1989. GB and DGS gave Gary
Franz, planned giving director,
and Raymond Frey, steward-
ship director, permission to
focus their work on meeting the
current budget.
GB member Anna Juhnke,
North Newton, Kan., asked
what will happen in 1991 when
A Call to Kingdom Commitment
(CKC) funds are no longer
available. To date, CKC has
raised $5.1 million, about half
of which has gone to support
the projects of the commissions
and seminary.
Both GB and and DGS
examined the evaluation of
CKC by a committee appointed
by GB. DGS member Jake
Fransen, Smithville, Ont., who
helped conduct the evaluation,
noted that "more time was
needed at every stage" of the
$17.5 million development. On
the whole, CKC was generally
affirmed as a positive experi-
ence, he said.
Moderator Florence
Driedger, Regina, thought that
the "high dollar amount put a
damper on it." General
consensus was that future
campaigns, if any, should be
thoroughly planned and take
into account the Mennonite
response to fund-raising.
GB looked closely at how the
conference could generate
more dollars. Ideas included
highlighting projects with
special appeal to the constitu-
ency. James Wenger, Fresno,
Calif., CHM member on GB,
noted that people no longer
give all their contributions to the
church.
GB spent a portion of time
reviewing CHM's programs.
"CHM has initiated a bold new
thrust. We now have the Many
Peoples and African-American
programs. We have to wonder
what will happen to these
programs when we no longer
have CKC funds," said CHM
executive secretary Hubert
Brown.
CHM member Malcolm
Wenger, Newton, reminded GB
that "we are faced with a new
situation in North America. The
world is coming to us. What
are we going to do about it?"
"To me the question is not
financial but rather how we
relate to people of different
ethnic backgrounds within our
institutions. They need to be
integrated into our structures,"
said GB member Peter Kehler,
Abbotsford, B.C.
GB appointed Jake Fransen
130 MARCH 27, 1990
Sharing with Appalachian People
(SWAP), a program of Mennonite Central
Committee, still has openings for youth
groups interested in week-long service
experiences this summer. Swap partici-
pants help repair and improve inadequate
housing and learn to know people in
southeast Kentucky. The most available
weeks are in early June and late August.
Swap also needs volunteers to be on-site
coordinators or a meal coordinator for the
entire summer. Contact SWAP coordina-
tors Denis and Jen Travers, Box 1507,
Harlan, KY 40831, (606) 573-7846.
Mennonite Central Committee Canada
treasurer Art Driedger reports that an
expected deficit for 1989 turned into a
sizable surplus. The major boost came in
contributions from individuals and the
almost 600 supporting churches across
Canada— $624,000 more than budgeted in
1 989 and $1.15 million more than they
gave in the previous year. Responses to
the Armenian earthquake and Hurricane
Hugo account for only a portion, speculated
Driedger. He could not explain the rest,
given prairie droughts and recession in
some parts of Canada. Despite the
surplus, board chair Jake Harder called
MCC "financially vulnerable." Ron Rempel
for Meetinghouse
Three nuclear-weapons protesters who
last October walked onto the grounds of
Hercules Aerospace of West Valley, Utah,
were found not guilty of criminal trespass
by a Utah jury recently. During the trial the
defendants presented experts who
described the destructive capability of
nuclear arms, particularly the Trident II.
(National Catholic Reporter)
NEWS
as its representative on the
board of the newly formed
Mennonite Theological Centre
at the Toronto School of
Theology. Members noted that
Saron Mennonite Church,
Orienta, Okla., and Salem
Mennonite Church, Munich,
N.D., have withdrawn their
membership in the General
Conference.
In other action, DGS reported
that (1 ) the cost of an annual
subscription for The Mennonite
on cassette will be lowered
from $60 to $30, thanks to the
work of volunteers; (2) Church
Extension Services granted a
$20,000 loan to Camp Frie-
denswald, Cassopolis, Mich.
Carla Reimer
Commission on Home
Ministries
CHM reluctantly decided to
discontinue the Many Peoples
program staff position as of
January 1991. The Many
Peoples program began in
1987 to break down cross-
cultural barriers among
Mennonites. Significant
progress has been made in
including people of ethnic
minorities on the CHM staff
and commission. CHM helped
start new ministries, especially
with Chinese and African-
Americans.
However, CKC funding for
the Many Peoples program will
soon end. CHM member Pearl
Janzen, Reedley, Calif., asked,
"Can we continue this empha-
sis without funding?" Several
others noted that the work will
continue through CHM's
existing programs for ethnic
minorities. They called for a
Many Peoples Emphasis
Committee.
Women in Mission (WM) is
working with CHM to plan a
learning tour that will give 1 0-
12 women representing each
district and provincial area an
opportunity to visit locations
where CHM has programs.
Sara Regier, WM coordinator,
assured CHM that as the
women report back, the Many
Peoples theme will spread.
CHM's proposed 1990
expenditure budget is $86,725
more than its projected income.
CKC funds and cash reserves
will make up the difference.
James Wenger said, "Has any
thought been given to trying to
bite the bullet? It bothers me to
use reserves in our planning."
CHM and COM met in a joint
session to discuss working
together in internationalization
of missions. Mennonite
Christians from Asia and Latin
America have immigrated to
Canada and the United States.
CHM has worked with new
immigrants to begin churches
and sees the need for the
experience and resources that
COM has with cross-cultural
ministries.
Two examples of potential
cooperation are these: (1)the
Japan Church Conference
wants to send a Japanese
worker to British Columbia to
plant a church with Japanese,
and (2) the Spanish radio
programs produced by Marco
Guete, CHM secretary for
Hispanic Ministries, are aired in
five Latin American countries.
The two executive secretaries
and one member of each
commission are to explore
steps toward cooperation.
Integration with the Menno-
nite Church was not an agenda
item but frequently entered the
deliberations. CHM executive
secretary Hubert Brown said,
"In the '90s we're going to be in
a position where we have to
look at structures." CHM works
with the Mennonite Church in
several programs.
Mennonite Voluntary Service
director Chuck Neufeld
reported that it has been "a
tough year in regard to staff
transitions." They are seeking
replacements for two associate
directors. However, the
program is growing, and the
percentage of Mennonite
volunteers is increasing.
Mennonite Indian Leaders
Council (MILC) wants to do
more to address alcoholism. In
view of the 1992 celebration of
the 500th anniversary of
Columbus' "discovery" of the
Western Hemisphere, MILC is
planning ways to educate
people about Native American
history. Ted Risingsun. Busby,
Mont., said, "We want to tell the
story in such a way as to bring
reconciliation between the
whites and Indians." Anette
Eisenbeis, Marion, S.D.,
resigned as WM member on
CHM. Angela Rempel
Commission on Overseas
Mission
COM overspent its income
by about $80,000 in 1989.
Commission members
struggled with what to do in
1990 with an expenditure
budget about $70,000 over
anticipated income. Rather
than cut programs, they
decided to trust that the money
would come in from constitu-
ents, with the understanding
that A Call to Kingdom Commit-
ment (CKC) funds are available
for certain programs in case
continued on next page
General Conference budget for 1990
Program area
Education
Home Ministries
Overseas Mission
Seminary
Total
1989 budget
$ 441,412
999,822
3,403,653
473.320
$5,318,207
1989 receipts
$ 411,609
932,317
3,173,848
441.363
$4,959,137
1990 budget Percent
$ 431,736
1,020,946
3,332,798
532.727
$5,318,207
8.3
18.8
64.0
8.9
THE MENNONITE 131
Conrad Grebel College. Waterloo, Ont.,
together with Wilfrid Laurier University
hosted a conference March 24-27 called
"Anabaptist-Mennonite Faith and Econom
ics: Breaking the Silence" to contribute to
understanding of how this faith has
influenced the economics of its members
and vice versa.
A coalition of Indians and environmental-
ists is taking the Canadian government to
court in a bid to force environmental review
of the proposed Dashowa pulp mill to be
built on the Peace River in Northern
Alberta. The Dene Nation, the Metis
Association of the Northwest Territories
and Friends of the North say in their joint
action that "government and industry will be
put on firm notice that the public will no
longer tolerate technology and forest man-
agement practices that have adverse
environmental impacts." The Little Red
River Cree Band says it wants assurances
that the pulp mill will not pollute the river as
have pulp mills in other parts of Canada.
{Globe and Mail)
A 15-year-old student from Geneva, Ind.,
admitted that he and three other juveniles
phoned several individuals in Berne, Ind.,
on Jan 29 with threats that a bomb would
explode in one of several area churches at
a given time. First Mennonite Church,
Berne, was one of the churches mentioned
in the phone calls. The juveniles, whose
names have not been released, placed the
phone calls while they were in an unsuper-
vised residence in Berne. No bombs were
found in any of the churches that were
threatened. The four juveniles are in the
custody of their parents while they wait for
a court hearing. (Berne Tri-Weekly News)
NEWS
Edward and Ramoth Burkhalter (left), Berne, Ind., receive a plaque
from COM Asia secretary Verney Unruh in honor of their 42 years of
missionary work in India.
Vision bumps into
reality continued
income again falls short.
Since 1985 COM has taken
time at its meetings for
theological reflection on various
topics. This year two commis-
sion members presented
responses to the Heisey
Longacre report, a Mennonite
international study project in
which Nancy Heisey and Paul
Longacre spent two years
visiting overseas Mennonite
churches.
COM member Tom Lehman.
North Newton, presented a
paper on "Financial Strategies
for the Nineties." He called for
more responsibilities to be
given to national churches, for
letting them manage some
funds. He ended his presenta-
tion with a "concluding heresy":
"Perhaps sometime in the
future we should come to MCC
and say. 'Take over COM, and
we'll continue to give the same
financial support.'"
No one took this too seri-
ously, although one person
acknowledged the advantage
of having fewer agencies for
national churches to relate to.
Henry Dueck, COM missionary
in Bolivia, said. "The larger
issue is the rich world against
the poor world. We have the
power."
COM member Anna Ens,
Winnipeg, presented "How I
Would Envision Changing
Mission Structures to Meet the
Challenges of the 1990s." She
called for a way of structuring
mission agencies as growing
out of congregational, provin-
cial/district, national entities
and relating globally with
similar structures from other
continents.
COM chairperson Bill Block.
Winnipeg, said that the
structures in place are not too
different from the model that
Ens presented: the greater
issue is a financial one. Latin
America secretary Glendon
Klaassen added that, contrary
to the assumptions of the
paper. COM already lets
national churches initiate
projects.
Roelf Kuitse. director of the
Mission Training Center.
Elkhart, called for a change of
COM's board structure:
"Everyone [on the COM board]
is a white, middle-class North
American." Why not have
Chinese or Hispanic members?
he said.
Sandra Liechty. former COM
missionary to Japan, agreed.
"If COM had these [kinds of]
people on the board, many of
these issues would be better
resolved." she said.
At the end of the discussion
the commission made no
formal proposals.
Acting Asia secretary Verney
Unruh presented a paper on
"Internationalization of Mis-
sions," which called for COM
and CHM to develop a new
pattern of working together.
Later the two commissions met
to discuss ways they can
cooperate in mission, since so
many immigrants to North
America come from areas
where COM works.
New groups continue to form
overseas who want to be
Mennonite. Unruh reported on
a longstanding relationship with
a group of Koreans who want
to form a Mennonite church
there. COM decided to
recognize this group and help
support its leader, Kim Chung
Eun, who wants to study at
Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries.
COM also agreed to commit
$5,000 (from CKC funds) in
1990 to an evangelism project
in Mexico City initiated by
Mennonite churches in Mexico.
COM may also participate in
sending or funding Latin
America Mennonite workers for
Mexico City.
In a change in policy
regarding support for mission-
ary candidates who are
studying prior to their assign-
ments, COM voted to cover full
medical expenses, tuition,
books and housing, but not
other living expenses. This
policy takes effect in the 1991
budget year.
COM approved 16 mission-
ary candidates this year, which
nearly equals the 17 missionar-
ies completing their service in
1989. (Fifteen new workers
went into service with COM in
1989.) The new candidates
are George and Tobia Vanden-
berg Veith. Regina; Russ and
Etsuko Yamazaki Sawatsky,
Winnipeg: Rudy and Elsie
Spenst Froese. Sardis, B.C.;
Dave and Pat Dueck Falk,
Abbotsford. B.C.; Phil and
Carol Kliewer Bergen. Fresno.
Calif.; Rod and Kathi Regier
Suderman. Elkhart: Delbert and
Susan Mast Dick, Elkhart, and
another couple with whom
details have yet to be worked
out. Gordon Houser
Commission on Education
"Things are looking so good
here," said COE member Victor
Kliewer. Leamington. Ont.,
referring to the $21 ,000 profit
that Faith and Life Bookstore.
Newton, made in 1989. COE
oversees a second bookstore
in Berne, Ind.. which has added
132 MARCH 27. 1990
THE MENNONITE
^wiNBowrolviissio^
£ EdiTioN
MARCH 27, 1990
TliE OpEN WINcloW
Watching children play circle games is a joy to behold. They join hands in big or
small circles, happily singing and smiling without embarrassment or hesitation
Just as easily, they change their positions in the circle and join hands again and
again for as long as the game continues. Their hands extend to whoever wants to
join in. Each one is welcomed with squeezed fingers, a warm smile and friendly
eyes.
Watching adults is not at all the same. Often they find it easier to hang on to the
hands that belong to the familiar face. This is the same person they invite most
often to join them in the circle. In contrast, the welcome for a stranger or someone
relatively unknown is, at best, hesitant; the hand clasp light and the smile close to
the surface.
This may not be a deliberate attempt at keeping the circle intact, but rather a
slowness to accept and a wariness about relationships. It is a definite hinderance
to increasing the size of a circle.
Children could become the models for extending welcoming warmth and total
acceptance to newcomers. A scripture text often used to convey the persuasive
power of children is found in Isaiah 11:6, ". . . and a little child shall lead
them. "
The circles in our churches and various church groupings could use some
tugging and stretching and coming apart and widening. They could benefit from
unlimited new hands. Dolores Lohrenz
COVER
Life-giving joy draws us close and sends us out into a world in need of love.
CONTENTS
These Things Happen 3
Birth 3
And What About Marty? 4
New Life Grows Through Pain 6
Life Giving All Our Days:
Summary -Program V 8
A Cup of Sharing 9
Window on the World 10
Looking In, Looking Out 11
COE Prisms 12
A Woman in Mission: Irene Klassenl3
The Office Window 14
Contributors, Credits, Forecast. . . .15
Window Shopping 16
Published by Women in Mission of the Gen-
eral Conference Mennonite Church. Box
347, Newton, KS 67114
Editor: Lois Decken
Coordinator: Sara Regier
Office Secretary: Doris Schmidt
W-2 THE MENNONITE
Nine months can change everything.
Look at her next to him:
She's so much rounder than I imagined,
like a fullmoon in orbit.
He, on the other hand, seems weightless.
The astronaut out of control.
I wonder why these things happen.
The women gathering strength,
the men losing.
In the dark, wet rainforest
Village women give birth.
They spread their brown legs open,
Scream, then push.
The silent earth echoes
Nudging a child out,
Writhing, ripe.
The women smell their pain, their joy. Carla Reimer
MARCH 27, 1990 W-3
Claire deBrun
My mother-in-law says that nothing in
the world smells as good as the Maine
coast. The fresh scent of pines mingled
with the salty ocean air produces a
unique fragrance. I took in the ocean
view as I pondered my present situa-
tion—what to do about Marty.
After graduating from seminary my
husband accepted a call from a church
in rural New Hampshire. We enjoyed
working with the youth and it wasn't
long before we had a youth group.
Marty's father was a deacon in the
church, but Marty never attended youth
group. She hung just outside of the
group, walking the edge. She was a
good student, hard working and sensi-
tive, but her social life was a blur of
skiing, cruising in her car, and party-
ing. Her car was her ticket out and
she'd drive for hours, rocking out to
her tapes and smoking dope. Her par-
ents never knew. Actually none of us
knew. We only knew the symptoms-
restlessness, discomfort in the presence
of Christians, tense with her family.
"Well," I thought, "if Mohammed
won't come to the mountain, take the
mountain to Mohammed," (or some-
thing to that effect). We called Marty's
folks and asked if we could hold youth
group at their house; that way she'd
have to come.
Marty was a gracious hostess. On the
one hand she seemed open to this Je-
sus/Christian thing and on the other
hand she was mortified, dying a thou-
sand deaths. We were sitting in a big
And What
About Marty?
circle on the front lawn with Bibles in
hand and heads bowed. She looked as
if she feared casts of thousands would
appear at any moment to witness this
event on her front lawn.
All the while people went in and out
of the campground, store and gas sta-
tion owned by her parents. The sun
setting over the dark purple mountains
lit up the neat red geraniums in the
window boxes of their chalet and us as
we cooked hotdogs and marshmallows
over a fire. We sang songs. Marty
strummed along on her guitar. Who
would guess that there was anything
wrong in this girl's life?
A year later we were packing a U-
Haul for a move to Maine. The day of
our departure, an hour before we were
scheduled to leave, Marty drove up our
driveway with another girl from our
youth group to whom we were close.
I was surprised to see Marty. I didn't
quite know what to expect, but I knew
she had something to say to me. Marty
then launched into the story of her life.
Her parents had always been commit-
ted and active Christians, Marty her-
self had gone to church, Sunday school
and youth group, since before she
could remember. The family moved
when she was in seventh grade from
suburbia to rural ski country New
Hampshire. She had difficulty making
new friends, her grades suffered, and
she lost interest in church.
By the time she was in high school
she was working hard with her parents
on the new family campground busi-
ness and at a ski lodge. It was there that
she met friends who were older than
she. They smoked pot and drank and
she did the same. By her senior year
she had her own car and her own
W-4 THE MENNONITE
money. She carefully covered her
tracks. Marty kept her grades good
enough to get into college, but contin-
ued down the party path. Her involve-
ment with drugs deepened.
Marty conveyed all this with a sense
of shame and weariness. She was tired
of the lies, the pain, the fear, the sleep-
less nights and the nightmares. She was
close to God once— she wanted to be
whole again, close to Christ and OFF
drugs.
It was frustrating, to have this girl
open up to me now. All that was left
was goodbye, I'll pray for you, have a
good life!
I hugged her, prayed with her and
made her promise she'd come to Maine
that weekend. I prayed like a maniac
that she would come and she did!
Praise God! That was the turning point.
For the next two years Marty lived with
us and attended college.
It was a time of major spiritual war-
fare. Marty suffered from nightmares
and hallucinations because of her drug
use. Sometimes we'd be up all night
praying and talking. Sometimes I'd
think of all kinds of things to share with
her and sometimes I was depleted and
bankrupt. The Lord gave me strength
and courage. I read from the Bible and
she started to do the same. My husband
prayed and talked with her.
At first, for every three steps forward
she'd take two back, we'd have discus-
sions that turned into angry confronta-
tions and tears. She'd leave the house
saying, "I don't have to live here and
take this. I'm 19 ... " I'd stay firm
and unbending and when she'd leave
I'd dissolve into tears pleading for
God's help and direction— feeling a
failure and responsible for her failure
too. Then in God's mercy and grace
she was directed back to us; we'd talk
some more, forgive each other, and af-
firm our commitment.
There were many times we had to be
tough with Marty. We always feared
we'd push too hard and she'd get fed
up. But, amazingly enough she didn't.
She wanted to change, but she strained
against our rules. We also loved this
girl and she knew it. We were running a
marathon with her, not a sprint, and we
went the distance. She felt our love and
concern. We opened our home and
hearts to her. We also prayed unceas-
ingly, interceding for her, praying for
strength for her to resist temptation and
praying a hedge of protection around
her. We prayed for her and us to be
empowered by the Holy Spirit.
It's a fine line between mercy and
judgment, compassion and confronta-
tion, tolerance and control. Marty had
been living deep in sin and needed to
ask for forgiveness. She asked Jesus
Christ into her heart and life as Savior
and Lord. She needed God's forgive-
ness, not just for the life she'd been
living, but also for rejecting God. She
was truly born again. What a thrill!
The rebirth of Marty's soul was the
beginning of the struggle. It was a dec-
laration of war against the powers of sin
and the enemy was legion. The next
two years that Marty lived with us were
a series of small victories over all the
bad habits. She developed a love for
children and a burden for abused chil-
dren. She grew by leaps and bounds.
Marty graduated from a Christian
college with a degree in social work.
She has been a social worker (child
protection) for eight years. She is pres-
ently a resident counselor and director
at a Christian home for unwed moth-
ers. She gave up her paying job as a
social worker and raised her own sup-
port in this mission effort.
Marty's rebirth is proof of the time-
less idea that being a Christian in a
hurting world matters. Just as we need
to be born again spiritually, the idea
that Christians can make a difference
needs to be born again and again in
each of us and our world. Our rebirth
needs to make a difference in our world
to demonstrate our thanks for what
God has done for us.
MARCH 27, 1990 W-5
New Life Grows Through Pain
Erna Goerzen
In answer to my knock, Chris, a
friendly young woman with an infant in
her arms, and her young son, Eric,
greeted me. We chatted, I admired lit-
tle Andrea, enjoying her sweet inno-
cence.
Over a cup of coffee, Chris shared
her story. Living on welfare as a single
mother is like walking a tightrope. She
had been managing quite well, even
saving some money for her family's
Christmas. Then her landlord gave her
notice of eviction. She saw herself and
her children "put out under a bridge"
with nowhere to go and no funds to put
down on a new place (social assistance
does not come across with money until
a rent agreement is in place).
She cried for two days. She needed to
do something, so went to her social
worker. The social worker's advice
was, "Get with it! Look! Check out
ads. No one will do it for you."
Amazingly, the first ad she answered
was for the home she now occupies. "It
was like a miracle," she said. How-
ever, the expenses of the move used up
her Christmas money.
Chris was born to Hungarian immi-
grant parents, an unwanted child. Her
mother had wanted an abortion of the
twins she gave birth to 10 months after
her first child was born. Chris's father
would not allow it. The parents di-
vorced when Chris was seven years
old. Chris remembers rejection. She
experienced rape and three years of
sexual abuse by her mother's boy-
friend. School didn't go well either.
She had no interest in learning nor did
she get any encouragement from her
mother.
At age 14, Chris was kicked out of
home and school and her street life be-
gan. When she became pregnant at age
17, she wanted to give up the child for
adoption. Her mother pressured her to
have an abortion. The following year
she lost a baby when she fell while high
on drugs. She attempted suicide but
was miraculously saved. Since then,
she made a fresh start in life and has
been off drugs and alcohol for four
years.
Chris (Nemes) Hall and her two chil-
dren smile happily at their home in
Calgary.
Chris's marriage to a man named Pe-
ter was brief. While he was in jail my
daughter, Erna, befriended her under
the W-2 Program (Woman to Woman, a
program to give support to spouses and
family of prison inmates). They have
been friends for three years. Chris was
exhausted and emotionally drained.
The stresses and general instability of
her life, sent her into the hospital. So-
cial services decided she was unfit to
have custody of her son Eric.
Erna, a University of Calgary busi-
ness administration student, had ob-
served Chris as a mother. She was con-
fident her friend was giving adequate
and loving care to her son. Erna spoke
on Chris's behalf in court and re-
quested our family's prayer support. It
was a time of excitement and joy when
we heard the news: "We won! Chris
can keep her child!"
W-6 THE MENNONITE
Chris enjoys her children. It is obvi-
ous that this family loves each other. "I
want to give my children the encour-
agement and love I never had as a
child," says Chris. "At the same time,
I realize discipline is necessary. I don't
want to spoil my children, even if disci-
pline is hard to do.
"I had no plans to be a single parent.
It is hard to be poor and unable to give
my children the things I would like
them to have. It is lonely. With no
means of transportation, no one to ba-
bysit, life is confining. Chris misses
extended family support when she
wants to share birthdays, other special
times or hurts. I have become very
close with my children, we are always
together."
"I believe that God is and I believe in
immortality," says Chris. But I have
many doubts. When I get into a trouble
spot I think— God, why do you do this
to me? Are you trying to destroy me?
Yet when I have come through a crisis
like my recent eviction and move, I feel
God has allowed it to make me
stronger, as I rise to the challenge.
"I turn to Jesus for forgiveness and
he has forgiven me. I pray every eve-
ning; first with the children: Now I lay
me down to sleep, then the Lord's
Prayer, and then my own two-bits
worth."
group gave her. Her friends did not
condone the wrong that had been done,
nor try to play God in her life, but
showed their care by prayer, visits,
phone calls and cards. Today Darlice
rejoices that her husband sought for-
giveness from the Lord and is now
walking with God. She rejoices in her
own renewal of faith. Having gained
wholeness in Christ Dale and Darlice
are rebuilding their lives, starting from
the bottom to regain what was lost.
Darlice Lattery, a young woman tem-
porarily in the category of single
mother during her husband Dale's in-
carceration in prison, shared her expe-
rience at the MCC-Alberta Inspira-
tional Meeting sponsored by women.
She spoke of the difficult adjustments,
the loss of their home, financial prob-
lems, the social stigma for herself and
her children of having their father in
prison. She also spoke of her resolve to
stand by her husband in spite of what
had happened.
Darlice learned to allow God to work
for good through the worst situation.
She appreciates the support her church
A response to abortion has been initi-
ated by the Crisis Pregnancy Center in
Calgary, sponsored by the evangelical
churches of that city. The Center seeks
to address the needs that cause women
to seek abortion. Counseling is offered
to women faced with a crisis preg-
nancy, helping them to explore other
options than to end the lives of their
children. The women are directed to
seek help that is available to them, such
as maternity homes for single mothers,
schools where they may continue their
education, maternity leave benefits,
etc. Baby clothes, furnishings, and ma-
ternity clothes are donated to those in
need. There are people who open their
homes to a pregnant teenager with no-
where to go thus providing an effective
way to help. The hosts give parenting,
guidance and counseling to the young
girl. Loving relationships often de-
velop which lead a girl to find Jesus as
her Savior. Wendy Lowe, director of
CPC, indicates that the center keeps in
touch with the young mother for two
years after the birth of her child.
Groups and individuals are encouraged
to stand by her as she adjusts to her
changed life and copes with the chal-
lenges that face her.
Gaining a little insight into the lives
of women who face life against great
odds puts a burden on me to love and
care as Jesus did. It is also a joy to see
that love, faith and life shines and
grows even in difficult circumstances.
MARCH 27, 1990 W-7
Life Giving
all Our Days
Summary-Program V
The meeting of Jllary and Elizabeth as
recorded in Luke 1, b/ings together
pregnant Women— c/ne young; one
old. Each pregnancy isf not a nortnally
expected^of accepted/one. The/ births
gelically announced to/women
whose swelling figures were/bound to
create backfence gossiping
Tjiis^study and accompanying devo-
rtohaTwritten by AdeHa^Neufeld Wiens
includes everyone^n its scope. It is
about the expediences of physical birth;
but _gy&n— more, it is about spiritual
birth. It is a study about caring so much
about each other that our compassion
leads us toward bringing about the joy
of rebirth in ourselves and others.
A skit using modern terms and im-
ages allows us to think about the expe-
rience of Mary and Elizabeth from a
new point of view. The skit uses
woman-talk without any halos. The
characters could be us. The skit helps
us focus on some questions in our own
lives.
The purpose of the study, Adelia
points out, "... is to help the group
think about birth as not only a physical
event but also as something that hap-
pens in many ways throughout our lives
in the forms of regeneration, renewal
and re-creation."
Adelia' s introduction to the program
presentation points out several con-
stants in the birth experience. There
are the aspects of pain, of prematurity
(untimeliness) and celebration in phys-
ical birth. She points out that the word
life-giving "... refers in part to the
natural birth experience but recognizes
that there are other experiences in life
that are also painful, untimely and
sweetly celebrative. . . . times when
one person allows for another person to
be born or reborn— to find purpose and
worth in a life cluttered with crises and
failures." She challenges participants
to become life-givers, people who fos-
ter birth and rebirth throughout life
with courage, openness and creativity.
The discussion questions direct us to
look at our own experiences as we
study the experiences. Adelia encour-
ages each person to share her own sto-
ries of birth and rebirth or the stories of
those with whom they have partici-
pated in this newness.
In her worship meditation Adelia
tells of her own experiences in giving
and receiving life. She points out the
importance of encouragement. She
suggests ways to celebrate with sym-
bols such as lighted candles, flowers or
bulbs to be planted. In the worship as in
the study we are led to consider some
questions about life-giving. The an-
swers to those questions must come
from the experiences and needs of the
group.
She concludes by saying, "But when
we live with the stance of looking to-
wards joy, life and growth rather than
stagnation and death, we are nurtured
and encouraged by the guiding hand of
God. . . . Life-giving is the act of
bringing joy. " Lois Deckert
W-8 THE MENNONITE
SHARING
Lois Decked
"Un petit garqon!" (a little boy) declared the midwife as she laid
my newborn, unwashed son on my breast for his first kiss. In the
amazing wonder of the moment, the long pain- filled labor seemed
negligible. A year and a half later the MCC doctor in Indonesia
stated, "It's a girl!" The midwife soon laid the small, bathed
child in the crook of my arm. Once again I was filled with awe at
the miracle of new life.
But I no longer am able to bear children. I look around at the
many women who have not and will not have this experience.
Does my sense of wonder end at menopause? Are my childless
friends never to experience miracle? No! I declare to all of us the
good news that creative life-giving is not limited to bearing chil-
dren.
God's gifts within us, like a full-term pregnancy, are ready for
life outside the womb. We become midwives to each other when
we help each other deliver these wonder-filled gifts. Caring,
Poetry, Nurture, Art, Service, Music, Leadership and Love are
only some of the names we give these offspring of our minds and
spirits. Let us dedicate our life-giving gifts to the glory of God the
giver of all life.
MARCH 27, 1990 W-9
Window on
Eleanor Loewen
She's a young girl, only 11,
who doesn't know her
mother. The woman living
on the ranch with her father
now, doesn't like her nor
want her there. That's why
she is being raised by an
older sister, miles and miles
away. She dare not complain
nor step out of line, just "look at all
they are doing for her," they say.
They've made room for a fifth mattress
in the already crowded bedroom; they
are feeding an extra person, they're
sending her to school and buying new
shoes for her growing feet. She "ought
to be grateful and willing to help and
obey," they remind her.
Of the different places she's stayed,
she likes this family the best. She re-
ceives care and correction. They take
her to church where people are friendly
and show her love. At least she can tell
kids at school that she has a home.
But some days the strict atmosphere
her sister creates doesn't feel right or
go so well. Why must she accept what
she's given without expressing her
preferences? She'd like to understand
and know who she is and where she
really fits in. Why is she always the
extra one nobody cares to listen to and
often blames unjustly? It makes her
feel frustrated, angry and afraid.
Leaving the schoolgates one day, she
walks aimlessly along a busy street.
She walks . . . and walks . . . and
wouldn't have stopped had the young
soldier not taken notice and brought
her back home. Afraid to express what
is really going on inside she lies.
Her sister and husband are angry.
That evening they buy bus tickets.
the World
COM
They take her to her father-
let him decide what he wants
to do with her.
She's a young mother, 33-
years-old, who left home
when she learned of her
mother's immoral standards
and affairs. The woman living on the
ranch with her father now, acknowl-
edges her but they don't get along. She
brought a young girl (fathered by her
dad) who needs to be raised in different
surroundings.
It certainly isn't easy to have an extra
person in the house. Her husband's
meager salary is already stretched to
make ends meet.
Of all the places the kid could stay,
this home is really the best for her.
She'll get a proper upbringing and be
taught about the ways of God. Other
relatives don't care about religion.
It's hard to get through to her. Be-
sides, there's the younger two to give
attention to. "She really ought to be
grateful we took her in and are teaching
her something better for life," they say.
What? A soldier at our gate? He's
got her with him? He found her on that
busy street? What was she doing there?
Why didn't she come straight home
from school? What is going on? Where
have you been? Don't you know what
I've taught you? What's the big idea?
That's it! We've had it! We can't be
responsible for her if that's the way she
wants to act. She lied. We still don't
know the real story. We're taking her
back to her father. Let him decide what
he wants to do with her.
W-10 THE MENNONITE
LOOKIN
OUT««
• ••••
CHM
Janna Harrold
It was late in September 1984 when I
loaded up my car and headed off to
Fresno, California. I'd made a two-
year commitment to Mennonite Volun-
tary Service.
Learning about voluntary service
was my first lesson. In Fresno we
worked for service agencies for $350
per month per volunteer. This money
was pooled at the unit house to pay
bills, rent, insurance, allowances, etc.
Any money left over was sent to the
main office in Newton. Our allowances
included $12.50 per person per week
for food, $2.50 per person per week for
household items and $35 personal al-
lowance a month. We were also al-
lowed a two-week vacation each year
and one VS retreat per year.
We learned to live with the other
people in the voluntary service unit.
The Fresno unit house is located next
to Mennonite Community Church. The
house can accommodate six people.
We were lucky to have a big house
which allowed us to each have our own
room. We shared household duties.
Once a week we had a unit meeting
where we took care of any business or
where we filed complaints. This was
also a time to decide what to do for unit
recreation, a time to do an activity to-
gether as a unit. Unit recreations in-
cluded trips to the beach, Yosemite,
movies and going out for pizza.
My assignment was arts and crafts
director for West Fresno Boys and
Girls Club. Boys and Girls Club is a
national organization whose purpose is
juvenile delinquency prevention. We
provided a facility so that children
would have a place to go besides the
streets. The "club" is open after
school, 3:00-9:00 p.m., and Satur-
days, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., for
children ages 5-18. Clubs are usually
located in low income, high crime ar-
eas of larger cities. Our programming
included organized team sports; recre-
ation; reading and tutorial help; arts
and crafts; a choir and leadership clubs
within the club.
My work at Boys and Girls Club
taught me so much. It wasn't just a job;
it wasn't me teaching them, but them
teaching me much more. The most im-
portant thing to me was learning about
the poor and minorities. I became
aware that not all poor parents are un-
caring, that they try to do the best they
can with what they have. They just
seem to have so many obstacles to over-
come. At times I became "Mom" or
big sister and a lot of times just some-
one who would give a hug to a child or
a word of encouragement. It was im-
portant to me to be a good role model
for these kids who came from situa-
tions of inconsistency. Poor people be-
came real people to me. People with
feelings, needs, wants, desires.
My time with MVS and my work at
Boys and Girls Club has been the most
significant experience of my life so far.
I loved my job and the kids. I would
like to encourage anyone, any age to
consider VS. There is a need and a
place for you.
MARCH 27, 1990 W-11
COE
Prisms
Commission on Education
nurture
Dick and Mary Rempel
The most gratifying aspect of our
three-week trip to the Soviet Union was
communicating with its people. From
our arrival in Moscow to our departure
friendly Intourist guides met us, made
connections, and saw us safely to each
interim destination.
The Commission on Education had
sent us to help staff the Peace Church
Publishers' booth at the biennial Mos-
cow International Book Fair. Ours was
one of over 300 booths with displays
from 65 countries. On each of the six
days of the fair thousands of people
came by to pick up our catalog, many
stopped to examine our books and ex-
change ideas. Two of our staff spoke
Russian. We had interesting conversa-
tions with English-speaking visitors.
Tatiane, a teacher of English to the-
ology students, was so grateful for the
books we had for distribution— What
About the Russians?, Brethren Press;
Clyde Weaver's devotional booklet,
Plumb Line; and Lavonne Piatt's Be la
Banerjee— that she presented us with a
fine glossy 9x12 photo of President
Gorbachev. (The people generally felt
positive about their president and opti-
mistic about perestroika.) Many visi-
tors left small gifts for us — city em-
blems, calendars, pictures, and painted
spoons and toys.
Yokubova, a 16-year-old student,
was fascinated by the quilt on our wall.
It consisted of about 100 blocks, each
designed and signed by a Moscow
school child. The class had made it in
exchange for one brought from a New
York state school. "I'd like to corres-
pond with someone in the U.S.,"
Yokubova said, "as soon as possible."
She left her address and later returned
with a friend who had the same re-
quest. Mrs. Bougerman's entire class
of 12- 15 -year-old students of English
wants to exchange letters with Ameri-
can young people.
At the end of the fair our display
copies were given to anyone interested.
Masha is using God Keeps His Promise
to teach English. Sun and Wind went to
a beaming little girl. Andrei, a Pente-
costal preacher, gratefully received our
personal copy of Perry Yoder's Sha-
lom. His family of four lives in a one-
room apartment. He earns 80 rubles a
month as a night watchman. In a letter
he told us that they are looking forward
to visiting in The Netherlands soon.
On the last day two ancient ladies
edged out of the crowd to our booth.
They were begging for a Bible and
would not be put off when we said we
had none to hand out. Our interpreter
told them about the Evangelical Pub-
lishers' booth across the aisle where
30,000 Russian New Testaments had
been distributed. There were none left,
but people could leave their name and
address to receive a copy by mail as
soon as the U.S. publisher could send
them one. The old women made their
laborious way through the stream of
people to leave their names. As we
watched their bent backs slowly move
away, we wondered, with pain in our
souls, if they would live long enough to
see their New Testaments.
W-12 THE MENNONITE
A Woman
in Mission:
Irene Klassen
Rita Dahl
A clear soprano voice sang out from
the pew behind me. After church I
turned and said, "You have such a
lovely voice, you should be singing in
the choir." The reply came: "I do sing
in the choir when I can and I also like
to sing solos. " That was about 32 years
ago. Irene's voice has been heard in
many ways as she served the church.
In 1969 Irene became ill with a
chronic lung condition and she could
no longer sing. The inability to sing,
however, did not keep Irene from mak-
ing creative contributions to the
church. Irene focused her artistic ener-
gies in a new direction and launched a
career in writing.
She began by enrolling in a writing
course. Her development as a writer
expanded as her children grew older
and the demands placed upon her as
mother became less. Making the most
of every opportunity, Irene took up her
new vocation with energy and enthusi-
asm. She has written several plays that
have been presented in our church. She
has written articles for Women in Mis-
sion publications and has been our
church correspondent to the Mennonite
Reporter for many years. She also
writes poetry and short stories.
Beatrix Potter said, "If you want a
job done well, do it yourself." In our
church we say: "If you want a job done
well, ask Irene." She has been the sec-
retary of the Sunday school, president
of Women in Mission locally and pro-
vincially, and representative for
Women in Mission on Commission on
Education.
Irene's initial career was as a regis-
tered nurse. In her first year she was
matron of a small hospital. After a year
there, she married. She and John have
four children. As a home maker she
learned to be thrifty. She was making
new clothing for her children from
used garments long before she had
heard of recycling or ecology. She be-
came an accomplished knitter.
Another of Irene's gifts is entertain-
ing. A gracious hostess, she has the
ability to put everyone at ease. Not
only is she a wonderful hostess but also
an excellent cook. Her Pluma Mousse
and potato salad compare favorably
with any.
Irene expresses herself with clarity
and sensitivity. Her most recent en-
deavor has been in publishing a news-
letter in First Mennonite Church, Cal-
gary, Alta. She is able to touch upon
the little things, the special moments
that make others see things in a new
way. She does this with understanding,
style and craftsmanship.
We have learned to appreciate Irene
and love her for her kindness and gen-
tle ways, her sense of humor and the
things she does for others. Life has not
always been easy for her but her faith
sustains her.
We feel sure that as her term as Ca-
nadian vice president of Women in
Mission ends, there will be new oppor-
tunities for her to become involved.
MARCH 27, 1990 W-13
The
Office
Window
Sara Regier
My January reading turned up some
helpful resources for WM officers and
leaders who want to make their wom-
en's group more interesting and effec-
tive.
44 Ways to Revitalize the Women 's Or-
ganization by Lyle Schaller. Abingdon
Press, 1990.
In the mid-80s WM officers and staff
attended seminars by Schaller on the
future of women's organizations. Now
Schaller has published a book that will
be welcomed by leaders of women's
groups. Schaller 's book begins with
the assumption that women's groups
have been one of the most effective or-
ganizations in the church for doing
many church activities. The first part
of the book discusses difficult policy
questions and trade-offs facing wom-
en's groups. Should women's groups
be primarily for mission and social
concerns or for mutual support? Have
efforts to move closer to denomina-
tional structures strengthened or weak-
ened women's organizations? Should
local women's groups give primary
loyalty to congregational goals or the
goals of a national women's organiza-
tion?
Schaller suggests two things neces-
sary for revitalizing women's groups
are 1) younger dynamic, future-ori-
ented leadership and 2) the ability to
make intentional choices between pro-
grams attractive to larger numbers of
women as opposed to a single focus on
missions.
The last half of the book offers sug-
gestions for revitalizing women's orga-
nizations and making the monthly
meetings more interesting.
This book offers a good analysis of
the questions our women's groups are
asking today.
Women at the Well, Feminist Perspec-
tives on Spiritual Direction by
Kathleen Fischer. Paulist Press, 1988.
The first goal of the new WM mis-
sion statement, "We commit ourselves
to promote spiritual growth," led me to
read this book. Fischer, a spiritual di-
rector, explains the value of women be-
ginning with their own experiences and
their own stories as the way to become
more open and responsive to God's
presence. I appreciated the chapters on
Jesus and Women, Praying with Scrip-
ture, Discernment and Anger. Prayer
and reflection guides at the end of each
chapter give specific scripture passages
and guided imagery and exercises.
This is a good resource for a retreat on
spiritual disciplines or for a group in-
terested in learning more about spiri-
tual direction.
Each week, in my mail there are adver-
tisements for workshops to improve
leadership skills. I especially noticed a
purple and pink advertisement for a
one-day workshop entitled "Image and
Communication Skills for Women." It
promises "a powerful one-day work-
shop where you will learn how to work
more effectively, present a more posi-
tive image, avoid mannerisms that
mark you as a lightweight, position
yourself for growth and communica-
tion, and communicate with authority
and impact." Does WM leadership
need the skills this workshop ad-
dresses? Would topics like these be ap-
propriate as you plan for the next lead-
ership workshop in your
province/ district?
W-14 THE MENNONITE
contributors
Vada Snider (Cover) is a photojournalist for the Wichita
Business Journal and the Ark Valley News. Her photos
have won state, regional and national newspaper
awards. A resident of North Newton, Kans., Snider is
also a flutist and performs with two ensembles that are
included in the Kansas Arts Commission touring
program.
Dolores Lohrenz (The Open Window) and husband
John live in Winnipeg, Man. Dolores is past chair of the
WM literature committee and now teaches full-time.
Carla Reimer (These Things Happen, Birth) is News
Service editor for the General Conference. She enjoys
writing poetry. She and her husband Nathan Dick live in
Newton, Kans., and attend Shalom Mennonite Church.
Claire deBrun (And What About Marty?) teaches
language arts part-time to fourth graders at Pennview
Christian School. She is the Eastern District WM
president. Her husband, Harlan, is pastor of the Indian
Valley Church, Harleysville, Penn. They have three
children.
Erna Goerzen (New Life Grows Through Pain) and
husband Henry farmed near Didsbury, Alta. for 37
years. Erna is a charter member of the Bergthal
Mennonite Church, Didsbury, WM group. They are
parents of five grown children and seven grandchildren.
Lois Deckert (Program Summary V, A Cup of Sharing) ^ y(h (A j f C
edits Window to Mission at the WM office, 722 Main, V- l
Box 347, Newton, KS 67114.
Ellie Loewen (Window on the World) and husband
David spent two terms with COM in Brazil. David is
pastor of the Cedar Valley Mennonite Church in Mis-
sion, B.C. Ellie and David have three children.
Janna Harrold (Looking In, Looking Out) lives in
Newton, Kans., where she is involved with a preschool
and teaches Sunday school at the Bethel College Men-
nonite Church in North Newton, Kans.
Dick and Mary Rempel (COE Prisms) came to Kansas
from British Columbia. Mary has written for Founda-
tion Series and is copy editor for Bibelstudien fuer
Erwachsene. Dick is the manager of Faith and Life
Press.
Rita Dahl (A Woman in Mission: Irene Klassen) lives
with her physician husband in Calgary, Alta. She is a
substitute teacher in preschool and has been involved in
art with Project Teach. She is a member of Helping
Hands WM at First Mennonite Church in Calgary.
Sara Regier (The Office Window) coordinates WM
activities from her office at 722 Main, Box 347, New-
ton, KS 67114.
Marlene Schroeder (Window Shopping) formerly
chaired the advisor committee of WM. She and her
husband Lloyd live near Goessel, Kans.
Art: Angie Miller, p. 8; John Hiebert, p. 3
Photos: Erna Goerzen, p. 6
forecast
In the words we speak or the tasks we perform we are joined with women
of history who proclaim God's love. Look for the introduction of the
1 990- 1 99 1 program theme .
MARCH 27, 1990 W-15
Marlene Schroeder
A welcome "hello" and friendly
smiles greeted us as we entered the
Bethel Mennonite Church at Hydro,
Oklahoma. The church with its stately
white steeple contrasted sharply with
the blue sky above the rolling fields of
ripening wheat.
Edith Entz, president of the mission
society, served as hostess, chief cook
for the meal and hosted us for the
night. As she showed us to our room,
she swung open her closet door and
announced "This is my church
closet." It was overflowing with bulle-
tin board material, reception table cov-
erings, Sunday school supplies. As we
visited together we became aware just
how much she was involved in both
church and community functions.
Window Shopping
The women of the First Mennonite
Church of Beatrice, Nebraska, set
aside one day each year to do hands-on
activities, such as quilting, tieing com-
forters, cutting quilt blocks, rolling
bandages, embroidering, etc., stopping
only for short coffee breaks and a quick
lunch. With more than fifty in attend-
ance much work was accomplished.
Dorothy Goossen, hostess, made cer-
tain that we were introduced to every-
one present. An all day church clean-
ing was announced for next month by
Ruth Esau, president of the mission
group.
Although small in size. Deer Creek,
Oklahoma, mission society holds
monthly meetings under the able lead-
ership of Onalee Neufeld. Each Thurs-
day morning a group of six women
gather for an all day quilting session,
including a carry-in meal shared with
their pastor and his wife.
Margaret Miller from Quakertown,
Pennsylvania, along with her husband
are active in MVS work which stands
for Miller (not Mennonite) Volunteer
Service. Both are retired from their
full-time jobs and have offered them-
selves as volunteers to "taxi" anyone
who needs their help, whether it is to
church or to a shopping center. As
Margaret hosted us for the night, she
spoke fondly of her involvements in the
church and promotions of mission
projects in her district conference. The
morning breakfast of cereal, funny
cake (a Pennsylvania specialty) and
coffee revealed to us just how gracious
a hostess she is.
On the second Tuesday evening of
every month, Geneva Barrel, member
of the Goessel Church, picks up church
members at the local resident home
and brings them to the mission study
group. During the winter months,
Wednesday evenings will find her
bringing in youngsters for Venture
Clubs. In her quiet and gentle way she
has become an inspiration to many.
Women are true ambassadors for mis-
sion. I have found that women will-
ingly give their time and use their gifts
to reach out beyond themselves. They
are Women with a Mission.
The annual workshop for Mennonites
involved in church planting will be June 10-
14 at Graceland Baptist Retreat Center,
New Albany, Ind. Henry Schmidt, Marjorie
Waybill and Jerry Holsopple are the
speakers. The workshop is sponsored by
area conferences in the Mennonite Church
and the General Conference Mennonite
Church, by the Commission on Home
Ministries and by the Evangelism and
Church Development Department of
Mennonite Board of Missions. A discount
is available for registrations received by
May 21 . Contact Melba Martin, Box 370,
Elkhart, IN 46515-0370, (219) 294-7523.
Jan Gleysteen has for the
past two years been freed
by Mennonite Publishing
House to devote full time
to "heritage education."
He is best known for his
slide lecture entitled "Our
Mennonite Legacy." Gley-
steen's speaking schedule
for 1990 is full, and 1991 and 1992 are
filling up. Recent travel took him to
Mennonite churches in Japan, where one
Japanese Mennonite was prompted to say,
"How exciting to be an Anabaptist." People
interested in supporting Gleysteen's work
may write Heritage Keeper Project, MPH,
616 Walnut Ave., Scottdale, PA I5683.
"Stewardship: Do All for the Glory of
God" was the theme of the 48th annual
convention of the National Association of
Evangelicals March 6-8 in Phoenix. The
official NAE position paper calls upon
"individual Christians to examine the ways
they use the resources of time, talent,
mind, body, thought and finances over
which they have control."
NEWS
music to its inventory.
Optimism continued for COE
in the news that funding and a
translator are in place for
publishing Cornelia Lehn's
mission story book / Heard
Good New Today into Russian.
Anna Portnag, Chicago, is the
high schoolers are getting
involved in environmental
concerns and that the maga-
zine is now being printed on
recycled paper.
Considerable discussion
surrounded the new model of
Christian education called
"Aren't they beautiful!" said Rosella Wiens Regier after she had
asked these eight Foundation Series resource persons to stand at
the COE meeting. (Only two were unable to attend.) They are (from
left) Linda Friesen, British Columbia; Marj Stucky, Western District;
Donna Driedger, Saskatchewan; Kathy Bauman, Eastern District;
Faith Wenger, Pacific District; Carol Friesen, Northern District; Helen
Reusser, Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada; Jan Porzelius
Schumacher, Central District.
translator; Walter Sawatsky,
Elkhart, is the adviser.
COE accepted two new
appointments: Susan Janzen
as general editor and Mark
Regier as marketing and
promotion manager (see
Record, pp. 136-37). In her
final year as editor of With
magazine, Janzen says that
congregational discipling. "It
provides us with a new way to
use existing, fine curriculum,"
said COE member Ardys
Becker, Vancouver. COE
member Lois Preheim, Aurora,
Neb., added, "Participation [of
the congregation] is the key."
The commission voted to
support General Conference
Mennonite congregations in
whatever response they make
to congregational discipling as
COE staff and financial
resources are available.
Rosella Wiens Regier, COE
secretary for children's
education, introduced plans for
a new children's church school
curriculum. It will be "hands-
on," she said, work more with
the church year, deal with
celebrations and incorporate
congregational discipling. The
commission voted to endorse
and cooperate in this new
curriculum, proposed by the
Foundation Series Publishers'
Council. Faith and Life Press
will be a publishing partner, and
funding for development will be
drawn from Faith and Life
Press reserves.
Clare Schumm, Elkhart,
family life staff for COE,
reported that men are working
increasingly with women in
addressing the crisis of
violence in men. He encour-
ages denominations to pick up
the domestic violence portfolio.
Regarding the joint General
Conference and Mennonite
Church Listening Committee on
Homosexual Concerns, COE
approved the ad hoc affiliation
of two representatives from the
gay/lesbian community. The
request came from the Breth-
ren/Mennonite Council for
Lesbian and Gay Concerns
and will also go to the Menno-
nite Board of Congregational
Ministries for approval.
The commission celebrated
COE executive secretary
Norma Johnson's ordination to
the ministry on March 4. She is
a member of Bethel College
Mennonite Church, North
Newton. Muriel T. Stackley
Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries
The boards of Mennonite
Biblical Seminary (MBS) and
Goshen Biblical Seminary
(GBS) met in joint and separate
meetings to discuss restructur-
ing the governance and
administration of Associated
Mennonite Biblical Seminaries
(AMBS).
On July 1 Marlin E. Miller will
become the first president to
direct both seminaries. The
seminary boards urged Miller,
who is the current GBS
president, to look at how AMBS
might become one institution.
They also recommended that
the number of members on
each board be reduced from 10
to nine in summer 1992. GB
approved this.
The boards brainstormed
with architect Leroy Troyer
about facilities they envision for
AMBS in the year 2025. They
also projected their financial
outlook for the next five years.
Both seminaries have had to
use funds from their undesig-
nated capital reserves to meet
their annual budgets.
MBS president Henry
Poettcker, who is retiring at the
end of June, was honored
during the plenary sessions of
Council of Commissions.
"Henry is a servant-leader. It is
a tribute to his leadership that
we can move ahead with one
[seminary] president," said
MBS chairperson Darrell Fast,
Newton.
"It used to be that events like
continued on next page
THE MENNONITE 133
MARP, the Mennonite Association of
Retired Persons, launched its educational
program in January with 27 people
enrolled in three courses: "Beginning
Spanish," "Conversationally Speaking" and
"Revelation." Coordinator Barbara Reber
says that MARP stands ready to help you
establish such a program in your commu-
nity. Contact her at Box 1245, Elkhart, IN
46526-1245, Attention: Al Albrecht.
An ecumenical consultation for leaders
and potential leaders in young adult
ministry is scheduled June 14-17 in
suburban Chicago. Crossroads 1990
offers training and enrichment for those
exploring or engaged in ministry with
people 18-35 years of age. It is designed
for both individual leaders and congrega-
tional, denominational or ecumenical
teams. Discounts are available for early
registration, and the deadline is May 15.
Contact Carol Weiser, Crossroads 1990,
344 S. Third St., Coopersburg, PA 18036.
The consultation will be at Allgauer's Hotel,
Northbrook, III.
Myrna Burkholder, director of Student and
Young Adult Services, quotes a recent
Gallup poll indicating that more people
leave their churches between ages 18 and
30 than at any other age. The second
highest age where loss of church affiliation
occurs is between 12 and 18. Mennonite
churches are not an exception. Young
adults, says Burkholder, search, experi-
ment and question. Their lack of church
attendance does not mean that they have
lost their faith. She stresses the impor-
tance of maintaining a relationship through
letters, church bulletins, care packages and
mentoring.
NEWS
Vision bumps into
reality continued
this were for older people,"
joked Poettcker in response to
the comments made on his
behalf. "The General Confer-
ence and all it stands for has
grown on me." Poettcker gave
credit to his parents, his
congregation of origin (Spring-
ridge Mennonite Church,
Pincher Creek, Alta.), and
especially his wife, Agnes.
Carta Reimer
Women in Mission
WM grappled with a sharp
decrease in 1989 contributions,
which accounted for only 85
percent of the $230,000
budget. In light of last year's
contributions. WM voted in a
$200,000 budget for 1990, an
8.7 percent decrease from
1989.
Window to Mission will be
published four times a year,
instead of five, due to rising
publication and postage costs.
WM will publish a packet of
resource materials with the
Women's Missionary and
Service Commission of the
Mennonite Church. The
packet, written by April
Yamasaki, Richmond, Va., is
on the theme "Widening the
Circle through Prayer." Plans
are in place for a learning tour
to CHM programs in early
1991.
WM heard the faith stories of
women who are missionary
candidates and missionaries.
Over half of WM's budget is
contributed to the General
Conference.
"We affirm all women's gifts.
We want to
nurture women
and strengthen
them for leader
ship," said
newly elected
president
Jeanne
Rempel,
Upland, Calif.
Elsie Flaming,
Leamington,
was honored
for her seven
years as WM
president. The
work of WM
coordinator Sara Regier was
also noted with appreciation.
She has resigned from her job
as of Sept. 1 . Carta Reimer
U.S. Council
The U.S. Council passed the
following resolution in the wake
of the Nicaraguan elections:
(1 ) We request our members
to pray for the Nicaraguan
churches as they go through a
time of fear and anxiety, and to
pray for the Nicaraguan nation,
that reconciliation and peace
may prevail for the transition of
the present government to the
newly elected government and
beyond. (2) We urge the U.S.
government to facilitate the
disarming and disbanding of
the Nicaraguan contras. to
immediately end the economic
embargo against Nicaragua, to
provide reconstruction aid to
Nicaragua, to allow the UNO
and Sandinista parties the
freedom to negotiate compro-
mises that will provide the
greatest support and stability
for the new government.
The U.S. Council also
Henry Poettcker, retiring president of Mennonite
Biblical Seminary, chats with Florence Driedger,
General Conference moderator.
discussed the current health-
care system in the United
States. "We are in a major
crisis in respect to health
insurance," noted James Dunn,
president of Western District
Conference and pastor of host
church, First Mennonite,
Newton. "I recognize that
Mennonite Mutual Aid is a good
product and not overpriced.
But have they lost the mutual
aid aspect when they can no
longer cover everyone?" Greg
Weaver of MMA responded
that his organization's costs
have escalated due to higher,
more frequent medical bills.
The possible integration of
the General Conference and
the Mennonite Church was also
a point of discussion. GB
member Marian Franz,
Washington, cautioned against
using John 1 7 as the basis of a
plea for integration. "The
oneness already exists. We
have one faith, one God."
The council agreed to invite
the district conference ministers
to participate as observers at
next year's Council of
Commissions. Carta Reimer
Mennonite Men
Mennonite Men (MM) met at
Hope Mennonite Church,
Wichita, Kan. Hope Church is
actively involved in the Tenth
Man Building Program, the
main project of MM. "We
wanted to tap their enthusi-
asm," said MM coordinator
Randall Kaufman. Hope
Mennonite plans to produce a
slide set later this spring about
their experiences with the
Tenth Man program.
A total of four churches
received building funds from
MM in 1989. Over 400 men,
which includes for the first time
15 from Canada, participate in
the Tenth Man program. Carta
Reimer
Bethel president
to step down in 1991
North Newton, Kan. — Harold J.
Schultz. president since 1971
of Bethel College here, has
said he will resign after his sixth
term, 20 consecutive years.
This takes effect in July 1 991 .
During Schultz's time, enroll-
ment has increased from 435 to
609. Five new buildings have
been added to the campus.
The college has the longest
record (17 years) of a balanced
annual budget among private
colleges in Kansas. Endow-
ment has increased 700
percent. Among the satisfac-
tions of his work at Bethel,
Schultz sites the "ongoing
vitality of the linkage with the
General Conference Mennonite
Church."
134 MARCH 27. 1990
Mennonite Central Committee has
endorsed a Harvest of Peace resolution
now before the U.S. Congress. Endorsed
by 68 agencies and about 50 individuals,
the legislation calls for nations of the
world to cut military spending in half by
the year 2000 and direct resources toward
ending hunger. The resolution also calls
for reduced military assistance from the
U.S. to developing countries because
regional conflicts are a primary cause of hunger. Bread for
the World president Art Simon is leading the campaign.
He says, "The reverse is also true: when people cannot
feed themselves and their families, conflict and violence
often follow. We call our nation to reverse the destructive
trend of our foreign aid."
Simon
Peace Community Church— Mennonite, Clovis, Calif., celebrated its
first anniversary on Jan. 7. The congregation, which worships in a public
school, received 23 charter members on that day, with 74 attending the
service. For over half who regularly attend, this is their first active church
involvement. In the fall of 1988 volunteers from several local churches
and Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary made 16,000 phone calls,
compiling a mailing list of 1,900 households. In its first year, worship
attendance grew to an average of 50. People come from varied religious
and ethnic backgrounds. "Home groups" meet weekly for Bible study,
prayer and support. Twenty children under age 1 0 comprise a Sunday
school. A youth group has developed jointly with Mennonite Community
Church, Fresno. "The people at Peace," say pastors Clare Ann and
Duane Ruth-Heffelbower, "are enthusiastic about what God is doing in
their lives and eagerly share that with others."
NEWS
Alberta Mennonites decide
not to withdraw from SCBI
Carla Reimer
The Swift Current Bible Institute choir performed at the annual
sessions of the Conference of Mennonites in Alberta.
Calgary (GCMC)— A motion
that the Conference of Men-
nonites in Alberta withdraw
from the responsibility of the
operation of Swift Current
[Sask.] Bible Institute effective
June 30 sparked debate at the
conference's annual sessions
here Feb. 16-17.
"This motion has hung over
us like a cloud," said principal
David Hall, who recently
accepted a second term. "I
hope we can look beyond the
finances to the people dimen-
sion. We are equipping
students for life."
Technically responsibility for
Swift Current Bible Institute
(SCBI) rests with an annual
joint session of delegates from
the Alberta and Saskatchewan
conferences. However, each
conference provides a sizable
subsidy to the school.
SCBI staff and students were
given floor privileges at the
conference, which was hosted
by First Mennonite Church in
Calgary. Eighteen students out
of the 32 enrolled at SCBI were
present. Irena Fast, Camrose,
Alta., said that she decided to
attend SCBI in order "to learn
and grow in her spiritual life,
not to get college credit for
classes. SCBI's influence on
me will last forever." Cory
Janzen, Foothills Mennonite
Church, Calgary, and a
second-year student at SCBI,
said, "You can't put a value on
Christian education." There are
16 students from Alberta
enrolled at SCBI.
But John Piera, Foothills
Mennonite Church, wondered
what SCBI offers that other
Bible schools don't offer. Hall
replied that SCBI offers
students an Anabaptist
perspective within a small
school atmosphere.
Jack Redekop, Rosemary
(Alta.) Mennonite Church, said
that the motion "raised some
good concerns. The confer-
ence is not interested in giving
a blank check to the school."
Eric Harder, co-author of the
motion, asked if the conference
was prepared to make the
same financial contributions to
students at other Mennonite
Bible schools. The 1989
conference budget allowed for
$55,200 for SCBI, a cost of
about $3,450 per Alberta
student.
However, a majority ex-
pressed their wish to continue
to support SCBI. "I will vote
against this motion because it
is a motion to close down the
school," said Bill Wiebe, Taber
(Alta.) Mennonite Church. He
and others noted that by
withdrawing from responsibility
for SCBI, the conference would
eventually lose interest in the
school and stop sending
students and money.
A ballot vote on the motion
showed 26 in favor and 89
opposed.
Later a resolution was
passed by the delegates that
included affirmation for SCBI as
well as a call for the SCBI
board to consult with the
executive committees of the
Alberta and Saskatchewan
conferences to make improve-
ments in the current system of
governance so that the school
will "become more effective and
responsive."
The 122 delegates and 45
visitors listened to a variety of
reports, including the Alberta
Mennonite Youth Organization.
President David Neufeld said,
"Christianity should be exciting
to youth and adults." Youth
worker Bob Kroeker said,
"Youth are not the church of
tomorrow, they are part of the
church today." During the
missions and service report,
Alvin Lepp shared about his
work among the Blackfoot
Indians near Rosemary.
"There is a need for unity
among the believers. Also,
more watering and planting
needs to be done," he said,
noting that he relates to about
40 different people.
The administration of the
Alberta Mennonite Home for
Aged, Coaldale, requested that
its operations be phased out in
1991 and terminated by 1992
due to the decreasing number
of residents and the fact that
there are other facilities
available in Coaldale. Dele-
gates voted to accept this
request. Plans for an inter-
Mennonite ministers and
deacons retreat at Three Hills,
Alta., April 20-22, were
announced.
Jake Harms, Canadian
coordinator for the Commission
on Overseas Mission of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church, was the guest
speaker. He spoke on the
conference theme, "Called to
Minister as God's Servants," as
it relates to the pastor, the
church and the conference.
"God is where we are in our
earthliness," he said. "The
congregation is richer and fuller
with its ties to the conference.
We need to belong together to
be whole."
In other action the delegates
granted membership to the
South Calgary Inter-Mennonite
Church. The church, which
was previously named the
South Calgary Mennonite
Brethren Church, has a
membership of 74.
Delegates also accepted a
budget of $300,800 for 1990,
an increase of 9.6 percent, or
$1 2,443 over what was
received last year. The 1989
budget ran a deficit of $14,425.
Hilda Klassen, First Mennonite
Church, Calgary, was elected
as secretary. She replaces
Katie Harder, Carstairs, Alta.
Carla Reimer
THE MENNONITE 135
A Javanese couple, Eddy and Insriatmi
Paimonk, are planting a church in Sin-
gapore. Eastern Mennonite Board of
Missions and Charities is giving some
financial assistance for theological studies.
A plan is in place to begin a Mennonite
church work in Thailand in 1991 .
Now seven years old, the Lombard
Mennonite Peace Center,(a ministry of
Lombard (III.) Mennonite Church, reports
the following in its 1989 Annual Report.
LMPC staff led 173 programs in churches,
schools, businesses and other religious
and secular organizations; the LMPC
peace booth was displayed for 146
program days; staff expedited 20 mediation
and facilitation sessions; the center
sponsored two performances of the
musical "Lazarus." Invitations continue to
come to train area elementary and middle-
school teachers in "Mediating Conflict in the
School." Richard Blackburn directs the
center.
Five thousand sets of William Barclay
New Testament commentaries in Russian
were shipped to the Soviet Union in time
for the 44th congress of the All-Union
Council of Evangelical Christians/Baptists
(AUCECB). The 75,000 books, valued at
$250,000, were printed and prepared for
shipment at Mennonite Publishing House,
Scottdale, Pa. The project is a joint effort
of Mennonite Central Committee, Baptist
World Alliance and the AUCECB in the
Soviet Union.
RECORQ
dtAihs
Barbara L. Reynolds, 74,
Quaker world peace activist
and educator, died Feb. 11.
She founded the World
Friendship Center in Hiroshima,
Japan, in 1965. Mennonites
have staffed the center, the
latest being Orlando and Violet
Goering from 1984 to 1987.
WORliERS
Curtis Bechler, Cassopolis,
Mich., will be the featured
speaker at the April 27-29
annual meeting of California
Mennonite Fellowship at
Mennonite Community Church,
Fresno, Calif.
Phil Borkholder, Centreville,
Mich., on Jan. 14 was the first
MCC worker allowed to
accompany a repatriating
group of Salvadoran refugees
for their entire journey from
Honduras.
Ellas Chacour, an Arab
Christian priest from Palestine,
spoke March 8 at Mennonite
Collegiate Institute, Gretna,
Man. The fourth in MCl's
Centennial Speaker Series, he
is principal of a Christian school
in Ibillian, Galilee, and has
authored the book Blood
Brothers and the soon-to-be
available Living Stones.
Brian Ens will begin as youth
pastor at Eden Church,
Chilliwack, B.C., on June 1 .
Ens is a son of the congrega-
tion, as are the other two
pastors, Barry McDonald and
Dick Rempel.
Elsie and Delmer Epp have
resigned as co-pastors at
Wildwood Church, Saskatoon,
effective July 31 .
Mary Epp, Saskatoon; Henry
and Katherine Funk, Drake,
Sask.; Arthur and Leila Wiens,
Herschel, Sask., left Jan. 2 to
work with the Association of
General Conference Mennonite
Churches in Mexico, until April.
All recently retired from full-time
ministry. They will join COM
missionary Helen Ens at the
Christian Training Bible School
in Cuauhtemoc as well as take
part in visitation and church
work among the three GC
churches in the area.
Walter Franz has resigned as
pastor at Altona (Man.)
Bergthaler Church, effective
this summer.
Raymond E. Frey, Tabor
Ens Frey
Church, Newton, Kan., was
reappointed to a three-year
term as stewardship director for
the General Conference
Mennonite Church.
Millard Fuller, executive
director for Habitat for Human-
ity International, will speak
during Christian Emphasis
Week, April 2-7, at Bluffton
(Ohio) College.
Lloyd E. Hartzler, Elkhart,
Ind., received the first Trustee
of the Year Award from MHA.
Until retirement he operated the
Hartzler-Gutermuth Funeral
Home, Elkhart.
Eric Hiebert-Rempel has
resigned as pastor at Tofield
(Alta.) Church, effective July
15.
Eileen Janzen, Faith Church,
Newton, has retired as the
printer for Faith and Life Press.
She worked for the press, a
COE program, since 1965.
Gordon Janzen has resigned
as pastor at Trinity Church,
Mather, Man., effective this
summer.
Susan Janzen, Zion Church,
Elbing, Kan., has been named
by COE as general editor,
succeeding Maynard Shelly.
She is currently working with
S. Janzen Klaassen
COE as editor of With maga-
zine (for teen-agers) and of
YouthGuide, the new disci-
pleship resource for people in
youth ministry.
Norma Johnson, Bethel
College Church, North Newton,
Kan., has been reappointed
COE executive secretary for
three years.
Glendon Klaassen, Bethel
College Church, North Newton,
Kan., has been reappointed for
three years as COM secretary
for Latin America.
John P. Klassen, pastor at
Emmanuel Church, Winkler,
Man., will take a study leave
from August to June 1 991 .
Ronald A. Krehbiel, Salem
Church, Freeman, S.D., is the
new president of the General
Conference U.S. Assembly.
Arlene and Paul KroekerW\\\
begin as interim pastors at
Emmanuel Church, Winkler,
Man., in August. The Kroekers
have been serving at Winkler
Bible Institute.
Ken Nafziger, Harrisburg,
Pa., led the second annual two-
day Music Camp on the new
hymnal March 16-18 at Camp
CAMREC, Leavenworth,
Wash., for Mennonites in
GCMC - General Conference Mennonite Church
CHM - Commission on Home Ministries
MVS - Mennonite Voluntary Service
COE - Commission on Education
COM - Commission on Overseas Mission
MCC- Mennonite Central Committee
MHA - Mennonite Health Association
136 MARCH 27, 1990
About 25 people from the Chicago area,
including Mennonites, fasted for peace in
El Salvador from Jan. 21 to Feb. 18 Others
joined for selected periods of time. David
Janzen of Reba Place Fellowship, Evan-
ston, saw his participation as a fitting "part
of the work we have done for Salvadoran
refugees through the Underground
Railroad." David Meyer, pastor at Oak
Park Mennonite Church, represented the
Chicago Area Mennonites in an interfaith
delegation to Washington urging Congress
to end all aid to El Salvador. The delega-
tion was commissioned at the worship
service that launched the fast.
"The giant was gracious, innovative and
creative," says Waldemar Janzen, profes-
sor of Old Testament at Canadian Mennon-
ite Bible College, Winnipeg, referring to the
"daring move" in which CMBC approached
the University of Manitoba about becoming
an "approved teaching centre" 25 years
ago. This meant that CMBC could offer
selected courses for university credit. The
compatible objectives continue: to "search
for truth. ..while maintaining its own identity
and ethos" for CMBC and "to seek truth
and to disseminate it through publication
and teaching" for UM. The relationship was
celebrated on Feb. 3. Margaret Franz
Seventy-five Years at Aberdeen 1907-
1982 is the title of a history of First
Mennonite Church, Aberdeen, Idaho.
Eldon and Helen Harder have compiled
and edited this hardbound, 400-page book
with 75 photos. It can be ordered for
$17.75 (U.S.) from Eldon Harder, 1634
South, 3200 West, Aberdeen, ID 83210.
Make checks payable to First Mennonite
Church. The book is also available at Faith
and Life Bookstore, Box 347, Newton, KS
67II4.
RECOlid
Regier
British Columbia, Idaho,
Oregon and Washington.
Arnie Neufeld has resigned
as pastor at Winkler (Man.)
Church, effective July 31 .
Aldred H. Neufeldt received
the Allen H. Erb Memorial
Award from Mennonite Health
Association. Neufeldt is
professor of rehabilitative
studies, University of Calgary.
David Orr, Shalom Church,
Newton, Kan., has been
reappointed for three years as
personnel director for MVS, a
CHM program.
Mark Regier, Madrid, Neb.,
has been appointed marketing
manager for COE, beginning
June 11. He is a student intern
for the commission during his
senior year at Bethel College,
North Newton, Kan.
Paul F. Schrag, Eden
Church, Moundridge, Kan.,
Faith and Life Press mail clerk,
resigned due to health reasons.
Murray Schwartzentruber,
Listowel (Ont.) Church, is
beginning a three-year MCC
assignment in Ranquitte, Haiti,
as an agriculture extensionist.
His parents are Dorothy and
Willard Schwartzentruber.
Alice Snyder, Nith Valley
Church, New Hamburg, Ont., is
beginning a one-year MCC
assignment in the Self-Help
Schwartzentruber A. Snyder
Crafts ware-
house in New
Hamburg.
Graydon
F. Snyder
received the
Anabaptist
Healthcare
Award from
MHA. Snyder
academic dean and profes-
sor of New Testament at
Chicago Theological Seminary
and author of Tough Choices.
Barbara Unruh, Bethel
College Church, North Newton,
Kan., has been reappointed for
one year as associate person-
nel director for MVS, a program
of CHM.
-compiled by Angela Rem pel
Unruh
is
Are you lonely? Maybe Cross-
roads can help you too. Some of
the couples who have met their
mates through us include a nurse
and a minister, a teacher and a
carpenter, and a widow and a
farmer. Other clients are meeting
friends who share their interests.
Some are still waiting to meet the
right one. Perhaps they are
looking for you. How will you find
out if you don't join?
For information write to Cross-
roads, Box 32, North Tonawanda,
NY 14120.
First Mennonite Church
Saskatoon, Sask.
Invites applications from interested
persons in:
youth and music ministry
Commencing: Aug. 1, 1990
(This could be a shared position.)
Primary responsibilities:
leadership in youth and music
ministry
Application deadline: April 30
For information or application,
contact:
Wally Krause, Congregational
Chairperson
418 Queen St.
Saskatoon. SK S7K 0M3
Telephone (306) 653-5325
Founding executive director for
a new Christian drug and alcohol
intensive outpatient treatment
center in the beautiful South
Central Pennsylvania area.
The Naaman Center, located near
Elizabethtown, Pa., is operated by
an interdenominational board of
directors accountable to the
Lancaster Mennonite Conference.
The board is committed to
developing a state-of-the-art,
chemical-dependency treatment
program utilizing the church as an
integral part of the therapeutic
rehabilitation community.
The executive director must be a
committed Christian with a
minimum of a master's degree in
social work, psychology or related
field. Certified addictions coun-
selor status preferred. The
executive director should have
administrative experience in
chemical dependency treatment
services. If recovering, the
applicant should have seven years
of uninterrupted sobriety. Salary
and benefits are competitive.
Persons interested in the position
should send resumes to Leon
Hoover, Chairman of the Board for
the Naaman Center, at 1761
Windy Hill Road, Lancaster, PA
17602.
YOU CAN MAKE MONEY
In our self-absorbed society, even caring, committed people can become caught up in making money.
Wealth promises security, status and privilege.
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Jesus offers his followers freedom from riches. Compassion, love, and mercy are the marks
greatness among them.
YOU HAVE TO MAKE A CHOICE
MVS BELIEVES in following Jesus through a lifestyle of service, simplicity, social concern, _
and non-violence.
MVS WORKERS are needed in 25 communities in the United States and Canada
They live collectively, receive room and board, health insurance, and a small
personal monthly allowance.
THE MENNONITE 137
There is no visible Christian church in
Kabul, Afghanistan, but "underground"
church is growing, reports Ronald Yoder of
Mennonite Board of Missions upon return
from a visit there at the end of 1 989. This
has been affirmed by Mennonite Brethren
workers who have been in Afghanistan
since the 1960s: "We hear stories," says
Dale Warkentin, "but we have no
documentation."
Alan and Eleanor Kreider, directors of the
London (England) Mennonite Centre,
spoke on "The Christian Mission in Post-
Christian England" at Bluffton (Ohio)
College in February. Nine percent of the
British people attend church regularly, they
reported, The Kreiders believe that their
mission in England is to redefine noncon-
formity and inspire Christians to go toward
God rather than conform to modern British
values of rationalism, materialism and
individualism. The center is a place of
"teaching, prayer, hospitality and learning,"
using, say Kreiders, "our slender resources
to build a community of faith."
Thirteen students from Hesston and
Bethel colleges in Kansas attended a
mission retreat in February sponsored by
the Commission on Overseas Mission,
Mennonite Voluntary Service of the
Commission on Home Ministries (both of
the General Conference Mennonite
Church) and Mennonite Board of Missions
(of the Mennonite Church). Missionary
Jonathan Larson was a featured speaker.
"Students struggled with how to match the
call of mission and service work with their
academic interests," said organizer Bruno
Bergen.
RESOURCES
« — — Jbooks
Settings of Silver: An Intro-
duction to Judaism by Stephen
M. Wylen (Paulist Press, 1989,
$10.95) presents the beliefs,
practices and communal
institutions of Jews today and
at key moments in the past.
Written by an interdisciplinary
First Mennonite Church of Win-
nipeg invites inquiries for two
positions: that of associate
minister and that of youth
worker/minister.
Send inquiries or resumes to First
Mennonite Church, c/o John
Klassen, 922 Notre Dame Ave.,
Winnipeg, MB R3E 0M9.
Youth leader/assistant pastor
required immediately, to work
especially with youth and young
adults, at Zion Mennonite Church
in Swift Current, Sask.
Please send inquiries/resume to
Hilda Wiens Schmidt, Chairperson,
Pastoral Search Committee, 1150
Jubilee Drive, Swift Current, SK
S9H 2A2, (306) 773-6537.
Thompson Mennonite Church, a
congregation of approximately 50,
invites applications for a full-time or
part-time pastor, commencing in
September. Thompson has a
population of 1 5,000 and is located
740 kilometers north of Winnipeg.
Interested persons may send a
letter of application to Dale Shantz,
23 Silver Crescent, Thompson, MB
R8N 0X6, (204) 677-3713.
team of scholars under the
auspices of the Calvin Center
for Christian Scholarship,
Christian Faith, Health, and
Medical Practice by Hessel
Bouma III, Douglas Diekema,
Edward Langerak, Theodore
Rottman and Allen Verhey
(Eerdmans, 1989, $19.95)
represents the attempt to
"discern the shape of Christian
obedience and integrity in the
midst of the dilemmas and
problems of medical care."
Journeys with Jesus is the
theme for the 1990 Vacation
Bible School curriculum
available from Augsburg
Fortress Publishers. Based on
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL AT ITS BEST
Luke, daily lessons take
students on a journey to the
synagogue where Jesus
preaches, to the city where the
woman responds to Jesus, by
the sea where Jesus calms the
storm, on the road where Jesus
meets Zacchaeus and in the
country where Jesus teaches,
heals and chooses the
apostles.
Edited by Judy Osgood,
Meditations for the Termi-
nally III and Their Families
(Gilgal Publications, 1989,
$7.20, postage included)
provides help for dealing with
the issues impending death
raises. Order from Box 3386,
Sunriver, OR 97707.
— compiled by Gordon Houser
COME WITH US TO WESTERN CANADA
Lake Louise and Jasper in the Rock-
ies, a Hutterite colony on the great
prairie, Vancouver, and Victoria by
the Sea . . . making new friends . . .
leaders who know and love our faith
story Join us before or after Men-
nonite World Conference.
Join us for one of our 20th Anni-
versary tours.
TourMagination
Western Canada 90A July 13-24 Arnold and Rhoda Cressman
Western Canada 90B July 29-Aug. 1 8 Jan Gleysteen, Alfred Willms
1210 Loucks Avenue
Scottdale, PA 15683
Phone: 41 2-887-5440
41 2-887-9436
131 Erb Street West
Waterloo, ONT N2L 1T7
Phone: 519-747-0517
51 9-745-7433
569 Yoder Rd., P.O. Box 376
Harleysville, PA 19438
Phone: 215-256-3011
215-723-8413
138 MARCH 27, 1990
Mennonite Central Committee and MCC U.S.
21 South 12th Street, PO Box 500
Akron. PA 17501-0500
(717) 859-1151
Mennonite Central Committee Canada
134 Plaza Drive, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9
(204) 261-6381
Standing with
the people
of Armenia
REVIEWS
ANSWERING
GOD
The
Psanns.
As Ibols Rir
Prayer j
Eugene H. Pefersoh
4 hooks
Immersed in life
Answering God: The Psalms as
Tools for Prayer by Eugene H. Peterson
(Harper & Row, 1989, 151 pages)
Reviewed by Arthur P. Boers, 477 Lincoln
Road, Windsor, ON N8Y 2G6
This book recommends that we regularly
pray through the Psalms. "The consen-
sus on this, throughout the church's
praying life, is impressive. If we wish to
develop in the life of faith, to mature in
our humanity, and to
glorify God with our
entire heart, mind, soul
and strength, the
Psalms are necessary....
They are God's gift to
train us in prayer that
is comprehensive (not
patched together from
emotional fragments
scattered around that
we chance upon) and
honest (not a series of
more or less sincere
verbal poses that we think might please
our Lord)."
The Psalms "are not a textbook in
which we study how others have prayed
but a school in which we ourselves learn
to pray." Convinced, I was moved to em-
brace the discipline of regularly praying
the Psalms. Now my worldview and
faith are reshaped. I better understand
my position before God. I grow less
anxious about making the Psalms
"politically correct" and more concerned
about being right before God. I see that
God rules the universe and all my
worries about me, my family, my church
can rest in his strong and able hands.
"The Psalms train us in a conversion of
language, from talking about God to
talking to God." I need to pray Psalms
aloud (but not loud enough for others to
hear). Otherwise, I only read them.
Forming the words orally, I claim them
as prayer. "These are not words that we
laboriously but impersonally study, as if
for an exam. These are not words that
we anxiously scan lest we inadvertently
transgress a boundary or break a
protocol. These are words we take in —
words designed for shaping new life in
us, feeding the energies of salvation."
One barrier in my appreciation of the
Psalms has always been the curses
against enemies. But Peterson warns
against rewriting or censoring. "The way
of prayer is not to cover our unlovely
emotions so that they will appear
respectable, but expose them so that they
can be enlisted in the work of the
kingdom."
On the other hand, I appreciate the
fierce honesty. When ashamed, angry or
depressed, I do not want to pray. Psalm-
ists show that that is precisely the time
to pray.
"Prayer does not arrange our disor-
dered lives into labeled file folders.
Prayer is the intensification of life. Since
life does not come to us in neat catego-
ries, neither does prayer. The Psalms
teach us to pray by immersing us in the
stream of life as it comes to us...."
God will provide
Keeping the Sabbath Wholly —
Ceasing, Resting, Embracing,
Feasting by Marva J. Dawn (Eerdmans,
1989, 217 pages)
Reviewed by Janice Reusser Pauls, Route
2, Box 78, McPherson, KS 67460
Observing the Sabbath in today's world
means different things to different
people. Marva Dawn elaborates on ways
to renew our bodies and spirits as well as
honor God by observing the creation
cycle of six working days followed by a
day of rest.
The author often stresses the impor-
tance of ceasing the need to accomplish
and be productive for one day a week,
using the Sabbath to free ourselves from
the worry and tensions we encounter the
remaining six days. According to Dawn,
"a great benefit of Sabbath keeping is
that we learn to let God take care of us —
not by becoming lazy and passive but in
the freedom of giving up our feeble
attempt to be God in our own lives."
Although a Christian herself, the
author refers frequently to Jewish
customs and practices of Sabbath
keeping. "Shalom," the Hebrew word for
peace, usually is thought of as being in
reconciliation with God and with broth-
ers and sisters in the faith; however,
Dawn expands the meaning of shalom to
being at peace with ourselves.
Keeping the Sabbath Wholly tends to
be academic and bogs down at places
with rhetoric. Some of the author's
suggestions also may be idealistic,
practical from a single person's point of
view but impractical for people with
family responsibilities.
Nevertheless the book highlights basic
concerns caused by our changing society.
Dawn's primary emphasis is that
Christians recognize and follow the
directive that God will provide for his
people, thereby enabling them to cease
working out for themselves life's many
questions. Dawn also stresses other
basic benefits of Sabbath keeping:
"Ceasing from work for one day enables
us to return to it with renewed vigor as
the new week begins."
Because Christians say they embrace a
different value system from the rest of
the world, Sabbath keeping offers them
an opportunity to demonstrate that they
are not going to live according to the
world's standards. Gathering together
on the Sabbath enables God's people to
nourish the virtues of the Christian
character, deepen relationships with
others and embrace, with godly affection,
brothers and sisters in the faith. Person-
ally, Sabbath observance allows Chris-
tians to discover new dimensions of God.
A fresh look at Acts
Acts 1-12: God Has No Favorites&y
Susan Clemmer Steiner (Faith and Life
Press, 1989, 97 pages)
Reviewed by Peter D. Sippel, 333 Lacey
Ave., D-12, Doylestown, PA 18901
I would have a hard time writing a study
guide for this well-known section of
Scripture. As
Susan Clemmer
Steiner notes in the
guide, "Often it's
harder to study a
familiar passage
than an unfamiliar
one. We come to
familiar stories
with our own clear
impressions of
what's going on.
This makes it hard
for us to take a
fresh look."
Many of the stories in Acts 1-12 are
familiar. But in the nine sessions of God
Has No Favorites the author helps
readers take a fresh look at the early
history of the church and how it broke
down man-made barriers.
She does this in several ways. There
are the "Thought for Today" paragraphs
that conclude many sections. She also
creates first-person narratives involving
such people as Barnabas and the beggar
healed by Peter and John in Acts 3. She
has readers take a closer look at the
structure of the story itself. For me this
Cod has no
favorites
140 MARCH 27, 1990
was effective. It shows how well the
book of Acts is written and organized. It
also helps bring out the purpose of Acts.
The author knows her material and
how to present it in this format. Usually
she doesn't state what is going on in the
text directly but guides readers into
discovering it for themselves.
There are certain weaknesses in the
book. Some of the study questions are
too obvious. The attempts at making
modern applications are uneven. But
groups that are serious about their Bible
study will be able to overcome these
shortcomings and come out with a fuller
appreciation of the book of Acts.
TiIms
Courage without pity
My Left Foot, written by Shane Con-
naughton and Jim Sheridan, produced
by Noel Pearson, directed by Jim
Sheridan
Reviewed by Gordon Houser, assistant
editor
Don't expect this true story of Irish
painter and writer Christy Brown to play
on your heartstrings in the maudlin way
of, say, a TV movie of the week. Daniel
Day Lewis gives a career performance as
the irascible Brown, whose cerebral palsy
only allowed him the use of his left foot.
Born into a poor Irish Catholic family
in Dublin, Christy is considered not fully
human by the townsfolk. Even his father
(Ray McAnally) thinks he is stupid
because he cannot talk. But his mother
(Brenda Flicker) becomes his savior. She
cares for him, gives him affirmation day
after day and is the only person who can
understand his grunting attempts to
speak.
A breakthrough occurs when the boy
(played magnificently by Hugh O'Conor)
picks up a piece of chalk with his left foot
and writes "mother." His growth and
achievement as a painter is almost
incidental in the movie, however.
Instead, My Left Foot reveals a brash,
passionate man who, like his father,
drinks too much and can fly into a rage.
It also presents the importance of his
family's acceptance, while the church —
and others — come off looking judgmental.
Stripped of self-pity, this portrayal of
Christy Brown is down-to-earth, riveting,
inspiring.
The right to fight
Glory, written by Kevin Jarre, produced
by Freddie Fields, directed by Edward
Zwick
Courageous and fallible men: Kennedy,
Washington, Freeman in Glory
Reviewed by Gordon Houser
Not until the middle of the Civil War,
after President Lincoln's Emancipation
Proclamation, did the Union Army
consider allowing black soldiers into its
ranks. And only after the courageous
though suicidal action of the first black
regiment did the army allow other blacks
to fight.
Glory tells the story of that first
regiment, the 54th, from Massachusetts,
and its fight for the right to fight.
Trained under the leadership of 25-year-
old Col. Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew
Broderick), the son of wealthy abolition-
ists in Boston, and made up of both free
Northern blacks and runaway slaves, the
54th encountered racism from the
beginning.
The film takes us in among the men,
particularly four who share a tent and
represent the mix of troops: Denzel
Washington is the defiant former slave
filled with pride and anger. Morgan
Freeman is the older, wiser gravedigger/
officer who restores peace among the
men. Andre Braugher is Shaw's schol-
arly black friend who barely survives the
training. Jihmi Kennedy is the stutter-
ing, uneducated runaway slave from
South Carolina.
While Shaw's letters form the histori-
cal basis for the story and we witness his
own battle with conscience, it is these
black soldiers who grab our attention.
Their talk often sounds too modern, but
the characters are written and performed
with passion. And the lessons of that
time are still to be learned.
Glory is rich with historical detail, and
it clearly shows the futility and brutality
of war, yet it goes too far in trying to
manipulate our emotions with its
musical score. Its power comes more
from its small acts than from its care-
fully orchestrated battle scenes. The film
shows us not just a famous regiment but
courageous and fallible men.
Love and death
Enemies, a Love Story,
written by Roger L. Simon and
Paul Mazursky, directed by
Paul Mazursky
Reviewed by Gordon Houser
A man finds himself married to
three women. A bedroom farce?
Although the complexities
mount and dramatic irony is
abundant, much more is going
on in Enemies, a Love Story, a
film based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's
novel.
The setting is 1949 in New York.
Herman Broder (Ron Silver) is a Jewish
intellectual who is lost, unable to make
decisions. Fate twists him around its
finger. Thinking his first wife was killed
by the Nazis along with their two
children, he marries the Polish servant
girl, Yadwiga (Margaret Sophie Stein),
who hid him in the hayloft during the
war and saved his life. Meanwhile he
carries on a passionate affair with the
married Masha (Lena Olin), a Jewish
survivor of the camps.
Broder's life of deceit begins unravel-
ing when his first wife, Tamara (Angelica
Huston), appears, alive after all. Having
married the gentile Yadwiga in a civil
ceremony, he later marries Masha in a
Deceit: Silver, Olin in Enemies
Jewish ceremony. The film's suspense
surrounds whether or not his lies will be
uncovered and which wife he will choose.
Beneath the mounting lies, the fear
and the lure of death in these characters
is the horror of the Holocaust. That
experience, which words alone cannot
embrace, is the ghostly presence that has
poisoned these people irrevocably. It
prods them toward acts they otherwise
would shun.
In its lighthearted yet disturbing way
this unique film reveals the death grip of
the past as people pursue erotic relation-
ships in their frantic, futile search for
love.
THE MENNONITE 141
Letters
Wanted: your integration ideas
To: Members of the Mennonite Church and members of the General Conference
Mennonite Church
Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ in whom all things find their unity.
You are aware that at Normal '89 the delegates in our two assemblies agreed
by a strong majority to begin a process of exploring integration between the
Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church. The
resolution adopted there noted that we have a common history in the 16th
century but that for a variety of reasons in succeeding years our paths have gone
separate ways. In more recent years we have experienced high levels of coopera-
tion in many projects, including our common hymnal, common Sunday school
curriculum and now the development of a common confession of faith. The
resolution adopted by the delegates at Normal calls for the exploration of
integration by our two bodies until 1995, when we would seek to make a clear
decision as to whether the Lord is leading us to become organizationally one.
The resolution called for the appointment of a committee that would guide the
process of exploring integration. This committee had its first meeting Jan. 8-9.
The committee is seeking to fulfill the spirit of the resolution at Normal, which
calls for the "articulation of a rationale for integration and the development of a
common mission/vision, the formation of a model or models of denominational
structure and the deepening of mutual understanding between our two bodies.
In a variety of ways we will seek to work at these tasks over the next number of
years so that by 1995 a responsible decision can be made on this matter.
We have invited leaders of our area conferences to meet with sister confer-
ences who are nearby to explore their common mission and the key structural
elements that may be necessary to achieve integration at that level of our
church life. We are also asking our churchwide agencies in our two groups to
meet and test the degree of commonness there is in their mission/vision and
what forms integration may take in their work.
We now come to you as members of our congregations believing that God has
given you much wisdom, insight and perspective on this agenda. We invite you
to share your dreams and ideas on integration that the Integration Exploration
Committee can consider as we go about our work. Please send to either one of
us your suggestions, concerns or whatever wisdom you may have so that the
process of exploring integration can indeed be thorough, rich and fruitful. We
invite your prayers for the Integration Exploration Committee as it goes about
its work.
Sincerely yours,
Vera Preheim, General Secretary, General Conference Mennonite Church,
Box 347, Newton, KS 67114
James M. Lapp, Executive Secretary, Mennonite Church General Board
A CO Sunday in 1991?
World War II, declared 50 years ago, had
a great impact on us. In the conscien-
tious objectors service movement COs
served in ways such as hospital work,
mines, farms, mills, parks. Some were
married and left their wives and perhaps
children.
Since the end of Word War II, COs
have had opportunity to witness for their
Lord and Master in various ways.
Alternative service seems to be without
limits, even during so-called times of
peace.
Some CO groups still meet to rekindle
their convictions, their enthusiasms and
to preserve that friendship that devel-
oped during their time of service.
1991 marks the 50th anniversary of
this CO commitment. I suggest that the
Mennonites in Canada (and the United
States for that matter) declare one day in
1991, possibly in June, as CO Sunday.
The MCC Peace Section and/or confer-
ences might encourage and assist COs to
have a 50th anniversary gathering on a
provincial level: Set aside one day in
1991 to reflect, to praise and honor God.
A timely project could be a drive for
funds for MCC Food Bank, Union Gospel
Mission or Agape Kitchens, as decided by
respective groups. Military service leads
to hurt, destruction and death; this
project would help alleviate pain and
suffering from starvation as did our
contributions to the Canadian Red Cross
during World War II. [Such an event]
would raise awareness about conscien-
tious objection for the new generation,
awareness that was lacking in 1941. The
opportunity then was sprung on many
20- and 21-year-olds who were unfamil-
iar with [non-resistance in time of war]; I
was one of them. John C. Klassen, Box
665, Morden, MB ROG 1J0
Editor's note: All letters are
welcome. They must be signed, but
names of writers can be withheld
upon request. We reserve the right to
edit for clarity and brevity.
Paraphrase
Hilda Neufeldt Janzen
How shall they believe on him
whom they have not read about?
And how shall they read without
the printed Word?
And how shall they have the printed
Word
if we do not have it printed and sent?
How beautiful are the hands of them
that write, print or finance
the publication of Glad Tidings.
Hilda Neufeldt Janzen lives in North
Newton, Kan.
142 MARCH 27, 1990
bible
Mac took his faith to work
Todd Lee
Author's note: In 45 years I have worked with all kinds of
people. MacPherson ("Mac") was one who showed a remarkable
sensitivity to his fellow workmen. I've often wondered if he is
still alive, and if he is, does he still continue his quiet but most
effective ministry. I was fortunate to know him in those hectic
days when I was working full time at an aircraft company and
studying full time to become a minister.
We called him Mac.
He was short and spare with a shock of straight brown
hair that was forever straying into his eyes. His movements
were slow and practiced. His voice, quiet and controlled, gave
evidence of a corrected stammer. Nothing about Mac caused
one to look twice. He was barely noticed as he went about his
work in the assembly shop.
Mac attended the same church I did, but I scarcely knew he
was there. He would slip quietly into a back pew well before
the service began and be one of the first to leave afterward.
Mac was an evangelist. He certainly didn't look like one. A
more unlikely candidate for a "fisher of men" would be hard to
find. I'm sure he would have been terrified at the prospect of
speaking from the pulpit, but Mac got his message across.
Mac's faith showed in the way he went about the assembly
shop smoothing out the snarls. Let someone blow up at a bolt
that wouldn't thread properly, a fitting that wouldn't slide
home, a helper that couldn't follow instructions. Mysteriously
Mac would be there.
Old Sven's wife passed away suddenly, and none of us knew
what to say when he returned to the shop and went woodenly
about his job. Most of us found reason to be busy at other
benches. But Mac found an excuse to work the lathe next to
Sven. Before long they were in earnest conversation. Working
nearby, I caught snatches of Mac's words.
"Just gone over the hill, Sven. Getting the place ready for
you when you come home, you know. Going to be lots of happy
tomorrows."
Ed came to us with a chip on his shoulder. In another shop
his dark skin had brought derisive abuse from another work-
man. One day Ed answered a scornful remark with his fist,
bringing down on himself the wrath of the foreman. He was
transferred to our shop and brought with his toolbox a hard
shell of bitterness. Several of the men tried to make Ed
welcome, but he was sullen. Mac drifted over to Ed's bench
carrying a piece of a door assembly in his hand.
"Say, Ed," I heard Mac say. "Could you give me a hand with
this contraption? I can't make it go together right." He laid it
down on the bench.
Surprised, I turned to have a better look. Yes, it was one of
Mac's regular jobs. I knew he could do it with his eyes shut.
Impatiently Ed picked up the unit, turning it over in his hand.
"Man, you've got that catch on backwards, can't you see
that?" Ed snapped. He reached for a screwdriver and deftly
corrected the error.
"What do you know!" Mac grinned. "Guess it just needed
someone who knew what he was doing. Thanks a lot."
Ed stared hard at Mac, searching for sarcasm, found none.
Finally his lips parted in a wide grin. "Anytime at all, fella."
At lunch Mac was back, lunch bucket in hand. "Mind if I
share your bench?" he asked. "I've got templates all over
mine.
"Help yourself," Ed said. It wasn't long before Mac had
broken down the reserve and they were chatting like good
friends, which they were, in fact, before the week was out.
Mac kept a Bible in a drawer of his tool chest, a smudged
copy that showed much wear. No one knew it was there unless
he happened to borrow one of Mac's tools. Mac didn't go out of
his way to talk religion with anyone. He gave the impression
that it was no one's business but his own.
One of the best riveters in the shop, George was a rough
young fellow, always ready with a joke, a witty retort or a
risque comment. He was generally well-liked by the rest of the
crew, but a cynical, never-be-serious air about him seemed to
conceal the real person
underneath. One noon
George hitched himself up on
the bench where Mac sat MaC'S faith ShOWed
nibbling his lunch and . . _„_._ u_
reading his dog-eared Bible. IH the Way he Went
"Whatcha readin', Mac, a abOUt the assembly
love story? he said, winking
at the rest of us. Mac Shop SITIOOthing OUt
finished reading the page .
before glancing up. SnarlS. Let SOme-
"I guess you might call it p hlow un
that." Mac glanced back to OMe OIUW UH " '
his book, turned a page. MVSteriOUSly M3C
"What do you make of this?"
Mac read from Luke the story WOUld De there.
of the Prodigal Son. It was
familiar to me, but I doubt
that George had ever heard it.
"Sounds like me," George said, then slipped back to his
cynical front. "It sure isn't like my old man, though."
"But it is like God," Mac said, and returned to his reading.
The next day and often thereafter a similar encounter took
place. George asked, "Whatcha readin', man?" Mac replied,
"Something that makes a lot of sense to me." Before long the
two were eating their lunch together and in deep discussion.
Considering all that had happened I should not have been
surprised when one Sunday morning George followed Mac into
the pew at the back of our church. Two years later George was
directing a YMCA boys' camp and doing a first-rate job as a
Christian counselor.
As I said before, Mac was a most improbable person to be an
evangelist. So are many others whom God uses.
Todd Lee's address is 4124 Montgomery
Crescent, Prince George, BC V2K2E5.
THE MENNONITE 143
NEWS
01 002? 031 317
LI BRARY
ASSOC ME NN BIBLICAL SEM
3003 BENHA'* AVE
ELKHART IN <W>517
EdiTORiAl
The Nicaraguan election should bring us to our knees
My (large) country has brought another (small)
Central American country to its knees. Even if I
and my fellow citizens repented from now 'till kingdom
come, we should still ask Nicaraguans for forgiveness.
Their election went to the highest bidder: the United
States.
It is no secret that while speaking loudly in favor of
democracy in Nicaragua, my country spent millions to
shape the election. (Imagine the outcry if the reverse
were true.) Congress and the Bush administration
agreed to spend $11.5 million in 1989 to influence how
people voted, most of it laundered through the presuma-
bly non-partisan National Endowment for Democracy.
Over $2 million went directly to the UNO campaign.
And Newsweek reported that even before this open "do-
nation," the Central Intelligence Agency gave $5 million
in covert money to several opposition groups that
eventually aligned with UNO, the coalition of 12 parties
and trade unions with Violeta Chamorro, now president-
elect, as their candidate.
Is it easy to guess that citizens of the Soviet Union
voted primarily for full grocery shelves in their recent
election? Just so, Nicaraguans voted primarily for
peace. Our general secretary, official observer Vern
Preheim, and Mennonite Central Committee worker
Jim Hershberger agree. Who would not simply vote for
an end to war after more than 30,000 casualties and
countless mutilations in the past 10 years? Who would
not, after five years of economic warfare imposed by a
big country on a little country?
The defeated Sandinistas get a mixed review. To their
great credit, before the Feb. 25 elections they released
1,000 former national guardsmen of the U.S. -backed
dictator Anastacio Somoza — astonishing evidence of
their ability to forgive. If Daniel Ortega had announced
an end to the draft, adds Hershberger, "he may well
have won another term in office." Common wisdom,
says Preheim, was that the Sandinistas were defeated
because they had lost touch with the people. They were
also faulted for running a "glitzy, American-style"
campaign. They were overconfident. Now it remains to
be seen if they will hand over power peacefully in April.
One contra leader (Franklin) has said that they cannot
be trusted.
The streets remained empty on Feb. 26, the day after
the elections. "UNO supporters were afraid to cele-
brate," says Preheim. "In general there is a lot of fear.
People are afraid of the contras, the Nicaraguan army
and the United States."
Now we await and pray for a more enlightened U.S.
foreign policy. What will my country do with the
government it has bought? Will it finally allow the ad-
mirably-begun revolutionary Nicaraguan dream of im-
proved medical and educational systems? Will the
United States stop forcing Nicaraguans to "live so close
to the bone," as another election observer said? Will it
finally stop supporting the contras? Will it end its
double standard of democracy? Will it begin treating
the government of Nicaragua like any other elected gov-
ernment? Will it finally get in line with the world com-
munity, which called the 1984 Nicaraguan elections free
and fair? Will it heed the South American Peace Ac-
cord? Will it stop its total war at the grass roots, at
least in this small country?
Nicaragua has suffered enough. The March 13
announcement of millions going to it from my country is
a start, but still, to my way of thinking, a way of saying,
"I will help only if you do exactly as I say."
One idea for these remaining days before Easter is to
do what the Christian community in Nicaragua did in
1986, in the heat of the bloody U.S. -backed contra at-
tacks on civilians: walk. They called it Via Cruris, the
way of the cross. Thousands walked the 300 kilometers
from Jalapa, near the Honduran border, to the capital
city of Managua.
If we are too far from local versions of Jalapa and
Managua, we can walk the way of the cross in our
churches, in our neighborhoods, between any two points
that you decide on. We can walk in our hearts, obeying
the Nicaraguan Mennonite pastor who said to Vern
Preheim, "Pray for our church and pray for our country."
That is appropriately done on our knees. Muriel T.
Stackley
THE MENNONiTE
105:7 APRIL 10, 1990
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
They knew
him in
the breaking
of the bread.
A glimmer of hope
in the tomb at
Goose Bay
Labrador: Innu
homeland or
NATO wasteland?
Darryl's cross
of love
pnoLoquE
r 1 1 he Lord is risen. The Lord is risen
I indeed. One evidence is how the Holy
Scriptures unendingly come alive. Christ is
made known to us in the breaking of the
bread, in everyday living.
For our lead writer, Bob Bartel, this hap-
pened last Easter in Nitassinan (the original
name of the Quebec-Labrador peninsula).
Events there, which continue in intensity,
spoke to him of death and resurrection. Read
more about it in Susan Miller Balzer's article
and in the news story on the Christian Peace-
maker Teams meeting (page 158). Susan is a
former volunteer with Mennonite Central
Committee in Labrador and wrote a research
paper on the Innu crisis as part of a Great
Plains Seminary course (for credit with Asso-
ciated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries).
Also in this issue, poets from the Central,
Northern, Pacific and Western districts as
well as the Mennonite Conference of Eastern
Canada help us focus praise to our risen Lord.
They are Tim Wiebe, Suzanne Lawrence, Elda
Bachman, Jim Stutzman Amstutz, A.E. Reiff,
James Klassen, Neville Peterson and Fern
Pankratz Ruth.
Get ready for Assembly 12
of Mennonite World Con-
ference: July 24-29 will be
rich in music, drama and the
arts. Choirs and groups will
come from Indonesia, Zaire,
Ontario, Kansas, Guatemala, Germany, Ohio,
Mexico, Alberta, British Columbia, Pennsylva-
nia, Quebec, Switzerland, Manitoba. Indi-
viduals who will be performing include Danny
Plett, Steve Bell, Stephen Shank, Chuck
Neufeld, Jeff Gundy, Al Reimer, Di Brandt,
Rudy Wiebe, John Ruth, Levi Miller, Jean
Janzen, David Waltner-Toews. Films will
include The Radicals, The Reconciliation, Wir
Gedenken der Opfer des Zwanzigsten
Jahrhunderts and Amish: A People of Preser-
vation. All these events will be free to those
registered.
Correction: An error occurred in Mike and
Kathy Waddell's address in the March 27
issue (p. 128). They may receive correspon-
dence through their congregation, Peace
Mennonite Community Church, 1602 S.
Parker Road, Suite 206, Denver, CO 80231.
The next issue of The Mennonite, dated
April 24, will feature mediation and criminal
justice, mts
1990 Winnipeg
CONTENTS
A glimmer of hope in the tomb at Goose Bay / 147
Labrador: Innu homeland or NATO wasteland? / 148
Early evangel / 149
Can the church survive the preaching of a
carbonated gospel? / 151
Finally / 152
Jeni Umble's response to Katie Funk Wiebe / 153
News / 154
Perestroika hits Soviet Baptists / 154
Record / 160
Resources / 162
Reviews / 163
Communal struggle / 163
A family out of strangers / 163
Letters / 164
Tornado! / 164
Is it still Easter? / 164
The branch / 165
A wooden bridge / 165
The Son of Man / 165
Hans Ritter, just a needlemaker / 166
A cross of love / 1 67
Post-Easter / 167
Broken bread helps us meet / 168
Cover: RNS photo of "The Supper at Emmaus" by Carvaggio,
courtesy of the National Gallery, London
W THE MENNONITE
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Second St., Emmaus, PA 18049; (Manitoba) in process; (Mennonite Conference of
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146 APRIL 10, 1990
1 t was another p
I Canada's treat:
| people. The we
the Innu people rep
erecting tents on th
nan. The Departme
Defence said it had
the land was their
Innu people could
these papers, for
away their rights
treaty with any gi
For setting up te
of darkness in
of its aboriginal
efore Easter saw
dly arrested for
wn land, Nitassi-
f National
rs showing that
t no signatures of
nd on any of
u had signed
ir land in any
ent.
their traditional
A
glimmer
of hope
in the tomb
at Goose Bay
Bob Bartel
eats in
manner, on six different occasions during
March 18-29, 1989!^B;e packed the
Innu onto military buses, confiscated the
tents and equipment, mjade 93 charges of
mischief, and on Easten Sunday held a
high of 26 Innu in detention.
Early in the morning, on the first day
of the week in Stephenville, where many
of the imprisoned Innu had been trans-
ferred, children came to the prison. But
the stone had not been rolled away.
Fathers and mothers of Innu children
were locked securely behind bars for
believing the government had stolen
their land.
Others marched around the lock-up.
Placards read, "Release my father and
mother." They said prayers, but the
tombstone was unmovable.
On Easter night the soldiers, under the
glaring headlights of military vehicles,
put finishing touches to the crown of
thorns: many strands of barbed wire to
prevent the Innu from walking on their
own land. A few days later, 120 extra
soldiers from New Brunswick came to
guard against resurrection.
Many people of Happy Valley and
Goose Bay called for the crucifixion of the
Innu and the release of the economic
benefits of "Barabbas." The Canadian
government did not want to deal with the
claims of the Innu. It washed its hands
and tried to hide behind the courts and
the powers of the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police and the military police.
But the court refused to crucify the
Innu. The judge acquitted four Innu for
walking on the tarmac of Canadian
Forces Base Goose Bay. The judge said
the Innu believed it was their land and
that there was a reasonable basis for
that belief. The judge went on to say
that "Canada is a vital part of the global
village and must show its maturity not
only to the segment of Canadian society
that wields great power and authority
....but also to its most desperate people.
Finally, the parties will have to negotiate
answers to their problems, since the
court is unable to answer these problems
for them."
The stone was seen to stir ever so
slightly, enough to allow a glimmer of
hope into the tomb.
Bob Bartel and his
family moved back to
Rosthern, Sask., after-
completing a three-
year service term in
Labrador in 1989
with Mennonite
Central Committee
Canada. He contin-
ues to coordinate the
Labrador program
and analyze the
Environment Impact
Statement, the De-
partment of Defence's
study of the effect of
low-level military jet
flights on the Innu
territory.
THE MENNONITE 147
The military invades its own
Labrador:
Airplanes flying in the sunny skies
over Labrador were welcome
sights when I was a Mennonite
Central Committee volunteer there in
the mid-1970s. Planes brought passen-
gers, letters from home, medicines for
the nursing station hospital and once
even cottage cheese so that a Manitoba
MCC family could make vereniky. Two
or three times a year a cargo plane
brought fresh fruits, vegetables, milk.
Labrador Airways pilots were respect-
ful of and respected by the people they
served on their life-sustaining flights.
They almost always gave summer and
fall passengers a soft landing as the
floats skimmed the harbor waters. In
winter and spring they landed the ski
planes safely on the thick ice.
But now fighter planes zoom across the
Labrador skies. Flying faster than the
speed of sound, they frighten the chil-
dren, who run to hide in the woods as
the fighters fly as low as 50 feet over-
head.
The current rate of 7,000 low-level
military flights over Labrador per year
could escalate to 40,000 flights if the
Canadian government and some military
and Goose Bay businesspeople get their
way and the North Atlantic Treaty Or-
ganization (NATO) accepts their invita-
tion to build a tactical fighter and
weapons training center at Goose Bay.
NATO's vote, postponed several times
since Canada's 1985 offer of 150,000
square kilometers of air space over
"uninhabited" Labrador and eastern
Quebec land, is expected this May.
Canada has already spent millions of
dollars promoting the militarization of
Labrador. Six million went for an envi-
ronmental assessment of low-level
flying's effects. The study, done by the
far-from-unbiased Department of
Defence, concluded that the fighters
caused only negligible environmental
damage, which would be outweighed by
Innu homeland
or NATO wasteland?
Susan Miller Balzer
the money and jobs that NATO could
bring to Labrador. The defense depart-
ment went on to offer hunters a toll-free
number to call in their whereabouts
when hunting or fishing so that the
fighter pilots would not overfly their
camps. However, hunters have docu-
mented cases when planes flew over even
though pilots knew of their campsites.
Besides, not many take telephones into
the wilderness.
The Innu (Indian) and Inuit (Eskimo)
have lived in Ntessinan (Labrador) for
about 9,000 years. Moravian missionar-
ies established permanent villages for
the Inuit as early as 1771. The Innu,
who are mostly Roman Catholic, have
had permanent settlements for less than
50 years. Both groups, as well as 18th-
and 19th-century European settlers,
make their living off the land and sea.
The native people never had the
concept of individual land ownership, so
they never bought or sold the land and
never made any land treaties with the
Canadian or provincial governments.
While pro-NATO groups want to
Map Of • Special extra low-level, high
Ntessinan ""S. '.'**■'•'■ sPeec* 'tying zones (o
_ S ' mililary aircraft
(Quebec-Labrador
Peninsula
"develop" the wilderness for their
economic and political gain, the Innu
oppose the destruction of the environ-
ment and their way of life. They have
invited Mennonites and other Christians
to be their advocates.
The Innu believe the militarization
must stop now or they will die as a
people. (The suicide rate in Sheshatshit,
their village nearest Goose Bay, is above
average.)
After making resolutions, writing
letters and speaking to leaders in
Canada and Europe, the Innu still feel
ignored. They are trying other non-
violent protests — illegal hunts, camp-
outs on the bombing range and trespass-
ing on the airport runway. Grandpar-
ents have taken their grandchildren to
camp on the military bases to symbolize
to the world that the land must be saved
for the children. Many have been
arrested, jailed and fined for their
actions.
In a landmark case on April 18, 1989,
provincial court Judge James Igloliorte
(an Anglican Inuit) acquitted four Innu.
He argued that the Innu believed that
the land belonged to them. Canada
called for a retrial with a different judge.
The Innu have now sought a court
injunction against low-level military
flights and a NATO training center.
Their case deals with "security of person"
and "aboriginal rights" guaranteed in the
Charter of Rights. Pro-NATO groups
fear that the Innu will win their suit.
The Innu believe they can't wait for land
claims settlements because their land
would be destroyed by the military long
before their claims came up for review.
In letters and testimony, the Innu
state simply that they need the land, the
caribou, and other wildlife for their own
way of life. They say that social ills (like
alcoholism) are healed when Innu leave
the village for a season to live in the
wilderness hunting and fishing camps.
148 APRIL 10, 1990
Is it only in Labrador?
Regier
"They're so loud you can't hear yourself think," says Ber-
nard Regier, a farmer east of Elbing, Kan., and a member
of New Creation Fellowship in Newton, Kan.
On occasion planes from McConnell Air Force Base, lo-
cated about 30 miles south in Wichita, Kan., fly over
Regier's farm. "They haven't flown over lately," he said on
a Sunday in March, "but there have been times they come
over just about every day."
Other farmers in Kansas have also complained about
low-level flying by military planes. Does it hurt the cattle?
"I don't know for sure," says Regier, "but it sure bothers
me."
Peace and environmental activists in
Europe pressured their countries to
decrease low-level fighter practice flights
over Germany's Black Forest and other
areas which showed environmental
stress. Consequently, Germany, the
Netherlands and Great Britain exported
their low-level fighters to Canada.
Europeans continue their peace witness
as they side with the Innu in Labrador.
ennonite Central Committee
volunteers have been in Labrador
since the 1950s. When Bob and Dorothy
Bartel worked in Labrador, the Innu
invited them to help staff the Innu
Resource Centre. Nov/ Rick and Louise
Cober Bauman work in Sheshatshit.
They research, document and publicize
the Innu people's struggle against the
military. They are intermediaries
between the Innu and the military,
police, church organizations and the
media. The Innu have encouraged the
MCC workers not to do civil disobedience
that might get them arrested and jailed.
Nevertheless, last spring Bob Bartel was
charged with mischief for transporting
Innu to the Goose Bay runway protest
camp.
Roman Catholic and some mainline
Protestant churches also work for the
Etuetiss and Germaine Riche and their family in a tent at the protest site.
Early evangel
Tim Wiebe
A glimpse of Easter hope
this bright Epiphany morning
The best of John's witness
and a few favorite Psalms
story the imagination
fire the heart
fill an empty vessel
with praise.
A January sun
surprised at its boldness
struggles above the clouds
and floods the sanctuary
with light.
We sit bathed
in the miraculous
embraced
by Spirit and Word
stirred anew
to reveal to anyone
with senses to perceive
this astounding appearance
of the divine.
Tim Wiebe's address is 312-500
Glenelm Crescent, Waterloo, ON
N2L 5C8.
THE MENNONITE 149
Bo7nbs and protest signs at bombing range
Innu. Jim Roche, a Catholic priest, has
been in prison since Sept. 26, 1989, for
his part in protest leadership. Peace
organizations publish news and write to
government leaders and to imprisoned
protesters.
The Anglican Church is caught in the
middle. Nationwide, Anglicans are
second only to Catholics in numbers of
Native members. But in its Happy
Valley (Labrador) parish, 90 percent of
the members earn their living from the
military. So when the national synod
voted last June to oppose NATO training
bases in Labrador and to support Native
people's land claims, the pro-NATO
Labrador Anglicans felt betrayed by
their church.
From my review of various church
responses to the Innu, I conclude that a
church can best proclaim the gospel with
an authentic and prophetic voice when:
We in the larger Enkenbach (West Germany) region hear the big Com-
pass Call planes warming up at the Sembach U.S. Air Base three miles
north. In class at my secondary school about 15 miles east, my students and I
quite often have to interrupt our dialogue because of low-flying military jets.
When the weather is nice, the jet noise over the Kaiserslautern region
doesn't cease before 10 p.m. Complaints are answered by the firm will of the
military personnel saying that pilots need continuous training. Hans-Joachim
Wienss, member of Enkenbach Mennonite Church
Airplanes used to be a welcome sight, bringing
letters, medicine, even cottage cheese.
•it is united on pacifism;
•it can operate conscientiously without
fear of loss of monetary support from
disgruntled members;
•church members know that their
personal morality reflects on the church
and they are repentant and forgiving;
•mission workers are willing to serve the
poor on the poor's terms and don't
impose their lifestyle on others;
•people are advocates for justice and
use "white power" to speak for the
oppressed;
•the church is separate from the state
and can call on government officials to
repent;
•church members don't give up in
despair but continue to do little things
like letter writing;
•church members at "home" and
church publications remember and
support workers in faraway places.
Can we hope? The amazing changes in
Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union
may convince NATO nations to drop
their outmoded "deep strike" strategy
and thus have no reason to proceed with
low-level flying practice in Labrador (or
in Turkey, the other place NATO is
considering for its base).
We do not trust in military strength or
strategy, but in God, who sent Jesus
Christ to reconcile the world to himself.
Let us pray, speak and act for peace — in
Labrador, in our homes and in all the
world.
Susan Miller Balzer
lives in Hesston, Kan.
150 APRIL 10, 1990
Can the church survive
the preaching of a
CARBONATED
gospel?
Katie Funk Wiebe
y experience of drinking a
bottle of soda as a child was
heady. I drank, then waited
for that delightful moment a few seconds
later when the fizz exploded into my
every cranial cavity.
One hot, dusty day, while waiting
beside a well, Jesus offered a Samaritan
woman living water to drink. Today,
fearful lest this same living water may
not prove attractive enough, some gospel
messengers add a little fizz to make it
more "user-friendly." They offer the
gospel in an iridescent, four-color glossy
print with handy coupon attached for a
little extra prize.
If Jesus were physically present today,
says British writer Malcolm Muggeridge,
he would have had a fourth temptation.
Muggeridge sets a scenario: Lucius
Gradus the Elder happens to hear Jesus
speaking and teaching. He is impressed.
Great message. If this message appeals
to him, why shouldn't it have an equally
strong impact on the general public? So
he decides to take Jesus under his wing
and build up his image: new haircut and
beard trim, new robe, his stories on cue
cards. Set the background: fountains,
organ music, a good chorus-line from
Delphi, some big names from the games,
gladiators in full rig, support from the
philosophy school of Athens. Wouldn't
Jesus agree? He would reach much
larger crowds.
B
ut would Jesus have agreed? Of
course not. Yet today the Christian
community is giving lip-service to the
belief that if the gospel had a little more
fizz, sinners would flock to the church's
doors.
A carbonated gospel allows people to
live in the kingdoms of both the Spirit
and the world and aspire to the fruits of
both. The biblical message of disci-
pleship and the cultural norm of popular-
ity become indistinguishable. "Smiling
and thinking positively have become a
shield against repenting and thinking
deeply," writes John Carmody and
Denise Lardner Carmody in Bonded in
Christ's Love.
Henry Schmidt, professor at Menno-
nite Brethren Biblical Seminary, writes
in Doorway to Discipleship that "in a
market-consumer society the media pick
up the popular dimensions of Christian-
ity, but the characteristics of the gospel
that are least marketable — self-sacrifice,
servanthood, the way of the cross,
identification with the poor, a prophetic
witness to the state, a life of simplicity
and sharing, justice and peace — don't get
communicated to a society when the
media explains what being born again is
all about."
A carbonated gospel is promoted using
the assumptions and logic of the market-
place rather than the principles of
biblical truth. Biblical teaching may be
stretched or shrunk, enlivened or toned
down to make it more closely resemble a
consumer product like oat bran.
Such a gospel grants immediate
benefits. Though seasoned Christians
have learned that God's wheels some-
times turn slowly, the carbonated gospel
offers instant health, wealth and happi-
ness. Get your request to God today;
expect an answer tomorrow, at the latest
next week. People are offered an eternal
mansion in glory, but also a recreational
vehicle as well as a trimmer, healthier
body in the present.
Charles Colson in Kingdoms in
Conflict cites a prominent evangelist
as saying, "I live in one of the finest
homes. I drive one of the finest, safest
cars. ...God designed for you to live in the
overflow." To get along without fizz is
unthinkable. From the beginning of
their Christian lives, young people are
conditioned to expect Christianity to be a
highly stimulating activity-filled diver-
sion: no fun, no Son.
Jesus, the Son of Man, may not have
had a place to lay his head, but today's
Christian should plan to eat, work, play
and sleep in comfort. Jesus' message
Whole but not holy: The fantasy that the media induce us to live by is in direct contrast to the
reality of our creation in the image of God.
THE MENNONITE 151
may have had something to say about
losing one's life for the gospel and
picking up one's cross and following him,
but that doesn't appeal to an affluent
MTV (Music Television) age.
Fast but not necessarily forward
When the focus of the gospel is
primarily on its immediate relevance to
believers, the message has a way of
degenerating into an emphasis on
capturing and subduing God. God then
becomes the resident servant who
scurries around to answer requests.
The language of such an "immediately
relevant" gospel is self-improvement and
self-fulfillment: how to eat, how to dress,
how to cope with anger and pain, how to
pray more effectively so God will answer
prayers, how to listen to a sermon so you
will be helped. God's love is measured
primarily by the tangible items that can
be displayed before friends: "Look how
the Lord blessed me." The fruits of the
Spirit (joy, peace, mercy, longsuffering)
are not something you write home about.
Needs of the poor, homeless and op-
pressed do not make attractive issues on
such agenda.
James Davison Hunter (cited in Robert
A. Bellah's Habits of the Heart) docu-
ments an important shift in conservative
evangelical piety through his study of
books published by the eight largest
publishers of evangelical literature.
Happiness, fulfillment and zest for living
are the new dominant themes. Suffering
and sacrifice are downplayed.
Whole but not holy
One of the idols of the carbonated
gospel promoters is a perfect body, free
from pain, discomfort or disability. Jan
Van Eys and Kenneth Vaux {The
Christian Century) write that contempo-
rary society thinks of "threats to health
as a calamity; we consider physical
disease an evil to be exorcised at all
costs." Illness is a moral flaw. Death is
a disaster.
Fizz-gospelers say that wholeness of
body is more important than holiness. If
you have the right kind of faith, they say,
you won't suffer. Faith in God is trans-
ferred to faith in material goods and
technology. The ultimate solution to all
human ills, they believe, is just another
invention away.
An added factor in the wholeness
phenomena is the development of a new
Christian sensuality. To be whole also
means to be sensual and sexually
fulfilled, according to this line of think-
ing. This new sex ethic, when applied to
Christianity, encourages a lifestyle that
celebrates things of the flesh, like a hip,
leggy Amy Grant in tight leather pants
bringing gospel music into the rock era of
the 1980s. This ethic emphasizes
attractive men and women for TV
viewing audiences. It is only too appar-
ent that the ugly and handicapped need
not apply for "Christian" TV positions.
With a carbonated gospel the chasm
widens. On the one hand is the fantasy
that the media induce us to live by; on
the other is the reality of our creation in
the image of God, charged with the task
of thinking God's thoughts and being
Christlike.
Therapeutic but not redemptive
Counseling is another fizz phenome-
non of this age. Students in a "full-
service" school will have access to
academic, spiritual, psychological and
career counselors. Add to this marriage.
sexuality and financial counselors, diet
and exercise therapists, and it is soon
apparent that this society does not trust
its own judgment. To live without a
therapist of some kind is, it seems,
foolhardy.
This is not to deny that society benefits
from the therapeutic community or that
God uses it. Yet there is a problem of
balance. Bellah writes that the goal of
today's growing therapeutic community
is for the individual to be autonomous,
independent of another's standards, to
like oneself, to rely on one's own judg-
ment without deferring to others. It
offers techniques for coping, as if depend-
ence on others were a weakness.
Jesus' gospel, on the other hand,
offers redemption and grace for for-
giveness and service. The goal of disci-
pleship is to take up one's cross and live
in service for Christ. The goal of the
church is inter-dependence among the
members, not independence.
Bellah states that the pure form of
therapeutic attitude denies all forms of
obligation and commitment in relation-
ships, replacing them with open, honest
communication (a value not to be
belittled). Self-realization and personal
happiness, however, are put ahead of
attachment to others. Morality is seen
Finally
Suzanne Lawrence
Leaves of consequence have finally come
To cover the branches that shelter my home.
Mists and young grasses, with vigor and zeal,
Are softening soil for feet that feel.
Daffodils pierce my retinas brown,
And give equal hope throughout the whole town.
Children have grown since they last played outdoors.
The earth, also older, grows childlike once more.
The hardness of winter is starting to thaw.
Safe under boughs, I sit down to draw,
And wonder at things that forever repeat —
The length of bare winter, the joy of bare feet.
Suzanne Lawrence's address is Route 2, Box 49A, Hillsboro, KS 67063.
152 APRIL 10. 1990
Jesus' message may have had something to
say about losing one's life for the gospel and
picking up one's cross, but that doesn't appeal
to an affluent MTV age.
as personal, not social; private, not
public. This attitude sees growth as a
purely personal matter and may necessi-
tate changing jobs or spouses, playing
bureaucratic games.
Toleration without doctrinal purity
Add too much fizz to the gospel and
you soon become tolerant of anything
and everything, not only ethically but
doctrinally, for what you believe doesn't
actually matter. Richard Foster writes
that "if the options are an everlasting
torture chamber initiated by God for
those who turn their backs on him or
who never heard of him, and the belief
that all will make it to heaven somehow,
large numbers of sensitive (thinking)
Christians will choose the latter."
In a pluralistic society it doesn't make
sense to continue to believe that someone
will go to heaven because he or she was
born in the United States rather than
inland China. And when the boundaries
of faith are erased, accountability to
one another in the body of Christ is
impossible.
Can the living water again become
pure?
We Mennonites have a bright record of
growth behind us. We therefore feel
pressure to keep that image shining
bright and untarnished by failure,
whether personal or institutional. At one
time leaders seemed clear that we knew
what God was doing with us Mennonites.
As our church matured, it has become
more institutionalized, its leaders more
professionalized, its laypeople more
content with secondary roles. We have
been affected by contemporary American
culture as much as any other denomina-
tion. A gospel with fizz looks appealing.
Soda pop that has been left standing
open in the sun for a few hours is soon
flat and tasteless. The carbonated gospel
will likewise prove its insipience with
time.
In Jeremiah's day the Lord had but
one word to the Israelites: Repent and
turn from all that does not honor a holy
and righteous God. That message is just
as timely for us Mennonites today.
Katie Funk Wiebe,
Hillsboro, Kan., wrote
this article (the second
of three) for Meeting-
house, a consortium of
Mennonite editors. The
first article was in the
March 27 issue of The
Mennonite.
Jeni Hiett Umble's response
to Katie Funk Wiebe
It wasn't a glossy brochure, but a small newspaper announcement that
initially directed me to the Manhattan (Kan.) Mennonite Fellowship. I later
joined the church because a friendly welcome, sound teaching about Mennonite
principles, small group involvement and outreach into the community all con-
vinced me that this church was acting on its beliefs. Members of the congrega-
tion also taught me about Christian community. They stood beside the banks of
a Kansas creek at my baptism and filled the pews at my wedding. Their letters
of support and encouragement followed me across the country and around the
world.
Several years later I moved away from Kansas but found small Mennonite
communities in Texas and California. Like me, members of these churches are
mostly Mennonite transplants to the city. Coming out of various conferences
and traditions, urban Mennonites must work through historical differences to
determine their own identity.
Once planted, however, urban Mennonites extend their community into their
neighborhoods. They build and maintain playgrounds, invite neighborhood
children to vacation Bible school and deliver sandwiches to the homeless. One
can feel overwhelmed by the poverty and violence of the city, but these Menno-
nite churches reach out with God's love.
It seems to me that the nature of Mennonite urban churches discourages the
preaching of a carbonated gospel. Usually small, these congregations do not
have the financial resources to print slick brochures or produce radio spots. Ad-
vertising is usually limited to a small newspaper ad or a listing in the Yellow
Pages. An answering machine attached to the pastor's home phone may provide
the only electronic message.
Nor do Mennonite urban congregations wait for professional pastoral services
the church often cannot afford. The work of the church is carried on by its
members, who teach Sunday school, greet visitors, chair committee meetings,
sponsor youth activities and help with worship. Small churches may even call
on their members to preach. It is difficult to attend an urban congregation and
remain uninvolved; there's just too much to do.
Mennonites build community in the city as they work together to plant
churches and to follow Jesus' teachings to help people in need. Theirs is not a
carbonated faith; it is the gospel in action. Christian community provides a
fellowship of believers who share the faith and who hold individuals accountable
when they slip. We can praise God that there are Mennonite churches that have
not succumbed to a carbonated gospel.
Jeni Hiett Umble is a charter member of Hope Mennonite
Church of Fort Worth, Texas. She currently lives in Irvine,
Calif., and attends Faith Community Church in Downey.
THE MENNONITE 153
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New name, new leader, new structure
Perestroika hits Soviet Baptists
Moscow — Sweeping changes
marked the 44th Congress
here of the Evangelical
Christian Baptist Union Feb.
20-24.
The organization has a new
name, a new leader, a new
organizational structure and a
new outspokenness after these
sessions, which drew more
than 700 delegates from all
over the country.
Participants included several
Mennonite Brethren from the
Orenburg region in the Ural
Mountains. International
Mennonite guests included
Paul Kraybill, executive
secretary of Mennonite World
Conference, and Larry Kehler,
who attended under the
auspices of Mennonite Central
Committee Canada.
"It was a very important and
critical conference because it
came on the heels of per-
estroika and glasnost, and for
the first time the church was
able to work freely in express-
ing concerns, protests and
criticism," said Kraybill. "After
[70] years of repression and
restraint, doors were flung
open."
The new name replaces "All-
Union Council of Evangelical
Christians-Baptists." The
change suggests more
autonomy for the Baptist
unions in the various republics
of the Soviet Union.
Forty-seven candidates formed this baptismal group at the Menno-
nite Brethren Church in Danskoe, U.S.S.R.
Delegates voted to abolish
the office of general secretary.
A new structure strengthened
the presidency and three vice
presidents.
"There was plenty of debate
and controversy — at times
sharp — and rather critical
statements." said Kraybill. He
added, "One might observe
that this is a positive thing in
the sense that the trials,
suffering and struggles of the
last 70 years have always been
suppressed."
In a time of repentance the
leadership openly expressed a
recognition of mistakes in the
past. "The church has to go
through a time of catharsis and
restructuring," said Kraybill. "It
will need to have a greater
sense of being a church of all
the people."
The number of baptized
believers as of Jan. 1 is
204,156 in 2,260 churches.
This contrasts with earlier
figures that had claimed the
number of Baptists was as high
as 550,000. The previous
totals included children and not
just baptized believers. Recent
declines in membership are
due to the withdrawal of 42,000
Pentecostals and the departure
to Germany of some 15.000
people (mostly Mennonites).
The number of baptisms has in
fact been rising rapidly in
recent years. Previously many
individuals had refused baptism
for fear of persecution.
For the churches the rapid
changes in the Soviet Union
present great opportunity but
also adjustments that will often
be traumatic, said Kraybill.
"Freedom doesn't automati-
cally generate new structures;
and even in the church there is
a great gap between the rigid
structures of the past and the
need for aggressive, active
initiative and creative involve-
ment, which are absolutely
necessary if the church is going
to adapt to the new society," he
said.
The church has been in a
defensive mode for so long that
the adjustment to the new
realities will not be easy.
"There is a search for Bibles
by the millions," said Kraybill.
People desperately need
education, leadership training
and more literature.
Mennonites continue their
emigration to the West.
Perhaps one-third to one-half
have left, and there is no end in
sight.
In his conversations Kraybill
found that some people feel it
is inevitable that all will leave;
others are not so sure. The
unpredictability jolts many
congregations.
He asked one Baptist how
the Baptists will feel when all
the Mennonites have departed.
"We will feel like orphans,"
was the reply.
Another mentioned the
positive testimony of the
Mennonite presence over the
years and the benefits it will
bring for future evangelistic
154 APRIL 10. 1990
The president of Cambodia's National
Assembly has issued a decree recognizing
Christianity, according to a Jan. 17 BBC
(British Broadcasting Corporation) report.
All religion was banned in the country
during the years of Khmer Rouge rule from
1975-79. Under the following government,
Buddhism and Islam were legalized, but
Christians still could not worship openly.
Government officials saw Christianity as a
foreign religion that had worked with
Western imperialism and was not to be
trusted. Legalization means that many
churches that have been meeting under-
ground will now be able to meet openly.
Mennonite Chad Aid, an organization
founded at the 1984 Mennonite World
Conference sessions in Strasbourg,
France, has changed its name and ex-
panded its focus. In a meeting in Neuwied,
West Germany, members of five sponsor-
ing organizations decided to change the
name to Mennonite Aid. The organization
will channel assistance to African nations
where the five agencies are working or
where ties have been established with local
churches. Cooperating in Mennonite Aid
are Caisse de Secours (France), Swiss
Mennonite Organization, European
Mennonite Missions Committee, Interna-
tional Mennonite Organization and Men-
nonite Central Committee.
World Evangelical Fellowship has settled
on Indonesia as the location for its Ninth
General Assembly, to be held June 21-26,
1992. WEF international director David M.
Howard announced the selection after his
recommendation was unanimously
approved by the WEF Executive Council.
The search for a suitable site had pro-
ceeded over two years, with facilities in
Africa, the Caribbean and Southern Europe
also actively considered. The General
Assembly is the ruling body of WEF.
NEWS
New hymnal publishers
will produce handbook,
large-print edition
Oak Brook, III.— The 1992
publication date nears for a
joint Brethren-Mennonite
hymnal. Among the 350-hymn
"active" list is a new musical
setting for Brian Wren's "When
Love is Found," written
especially for this hymnal by
Alice Parker.
Nancy Faus, chair, reports
"sensitivity toward the constitu-
ency." People who express
opinions "affect our votes."
As each hymn is brought for a
vote, the council listens to the
recommendations of the text
and music committees.
Preliminary votes may be taken
on recommended changes in
wording, musical key, choice of
stanzas.
The council seeks the right
balance of material, said
Rebecca Slough, managing
editor, of First Mennonite
Church, San Francisco.
Currently hymns are being
evaluated individually, on their
own merits. But at some point
the council will look at catego-
ries of hymns, age, topic and
the balance between "Brethren"
and "Mennonite" hymns.
The Church of the Brethren,
with a hymnal 19 years older
than the currently-used
Mennonite Hymnal, feels more
need to update and therefore
expects more change. Only
some of the hymns that come
out of each hymnal are actually
either Brethren-written or
Mennonite-written. Many
come from another tradition.
The new hymnal will have a blue
Hymnal Sampler, examined here
Nafziger, Harrisonburg, Va., and
Kirsten), co-pastor, Altona (Man.)
The publisher's committee
has decided to publish a series
of monographs on topics
related to the new hymnal:
"Worship Planning," "Denomi-
and silver cover, like that of the
by Nancy Faus, Oak Brook, III.; Ken
Marilyn Houser Hamm (holding
) Mennonite Church.
efforts in the areas where they
have lived.
Kraybill and Kehler met with
the government's new chair-
man of the Council of Religious
Affairs and felt free to "discuss
frankly the situation of the
Mennonites and the intention to
support and relate to them."
Future contacts include a
visit later this spring by a
delegation including Jacob F.
Pauls, vice president for North
America of Mennonite World
Conference; J.M. Klaassen,
representing Mennonite Central
Committee Canada; Loretta
Fast, representing MCC; and
Daniel Janzen, representing
European Mennonites. David
Shelly, with news from Baptist
World Alliance Information
Service
Paul Kraybill and Larry Kehler met with representatives of
autonomous Mennonite Brethren congregations in the Soviet
Union and with other German-speaking Baptists of Mennon-
ite background. Kehler said, "We asked how they were
relating to the kirchliche (church) Mennonites," who by
mutual agreement do not affiliate with the Evangelical
Christian Baptist Union. Frank Martens, pastor in Kirghizia of
a Baptist congregation made up mainly of people of German
descent, said he now invites a small group of local kirchliche
Mennonites to communion. This would have been impos-
sible previously because of difference of opinion over
baptism. Martens added, "God is calling me to stay here."
His congregation of 500 is now down to half that size as a
result of the outflow of people from the Soviet Union.
national Styles of Worship,"
"Language Issues," "History of
Hymnology" and "New Hymns."
The publishers will also
produce a handbook to the new
hymnal with historical notes on
each hymn, an accompanist
edition that includes perform-
ance notes and alternate
arrangements, and an organist
edition — a large-print edition
with a special binding.
The publishers decided on a
blue and silver cover similar to
that of the Hymnal Sampler
produced last summer.
The publishers also an-
nounced a two-stage pre-
publication discount for the
hymnal. A 20 percent discount
will be offered July 1 to Dec.
31, 1991. A 10 percent
discount will be offered Jan. 1
to June 1, 1992. Wendy
Chamberlain McFadden,
Church of the Brethren
THE MENNONITE 155
Christians in Moscow have formed the
first Russian Bible Society in 150 years,
according to the American Bible Society.
The Russian Bible Society was launched
Jan. 17 by several prominent church and
civic leaders. To date, membership has
included only individuals, not the church
bodies they represent. The society will
work under the auspices of the Soviet
Charity and Health Foundation.
A Celebration of Conscience will be held
this year to commemorate the 50th anniver-
sary of the Burke/Wadsworth Act, which
provided legal provisions for conscientious
objectors in the United States. Mennonite
Central Committee U.S. Peace Section is a
sponsor. A national Celebration of
Conscience conference will be held Aug. 3-
5 in Bryn Mawr, Pa.; regional conferences
will be held in Indiana, Kansas and
California. People of all ages are invited.
For more information contact MCC U.S.
Peace Section, Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-
0500 (717) 859-1151.
Conrad Grebel College and the University
of St. Jerome's College, both of Waterloo,
Ont., in celebration of their 25th and 125th
anniversaries, respectively, are sponsoring
a national conference entitled "Educating
for the Kingdom? Church-Related Col-
leges in English-Speaking Canada," to be
held May 1-2 in Waterloo. Registration for
the conference is $100. For more informa-
tion contact Rod Sawatsky at (519) 885-
0220.
NEWS
Saskatchewan Mennonites
struggle with budgets,
discuss camps
Saskatoon (GCMC) — "A mouse
is an elephant according to the
budget specifications of the
Conference of Mennonites of
Saskatchewan," said Henry
Reimer, First Mennonite
Church, Saskatoon, at the
conference's annual sessions
Feb. 23-24.
"I can only console myself
that a mouse is a resilient
creature," he added. Although
his remarks brought laughter,
the mood here at the Mount
Royal Mennonite Church was
sober as the 166 delegates
struggled with what was
described as a "bare-bones"
budget for 1990.
The 1990 budget proposal
totaled $537,470 and made no
provisions for the 1989 deficit
of $26,687. Due to the
financial situation, three
missions committee projects
were terminated: evangelism
awareness, chaplaincy and
Choice Books. "We can't
continue starving our projects,
or they will all die," said
treasurer Peter Dyck.
In addition the 1990 budget
asked for a 16.6 percent
increase in contributions over
last year. Twenty-three of 43
congregations gave less than
the per member asking in 1989;
four of the 23 churches gave
no money to the conference.
"We need to be able to sell
these programs back home in
our churches if we are going to
make the budget. I'm not sure
we can do it. The economy in
Saskatchewan is going
downhill," said Jake Driedger,
North Star Mennonite Church,
Drake. "I will have to vote for
the budget, but I am fearful for
the budget next year."
Helen Andres, Rosthern,
noted that Swift Current Bible
Institute and Rosthern Junior
College receive a large share
(47.3 percent of 1990) of the
budget money. Another
delegate asked that an
additional $2,000 be added to
the missions committee
projects because the "budget is
too inward-looking." His
proposal was defeated by
delegates. Instead they
passed the proposed 1990
budget of $537,470. Later,
Mennonite Trust gave the
conference a surprise donation
of $7,600.
Another major item on the
agenda was the report of the
Camp Coordinating Committee
Task Force, which had been
formed at the request of the
conference executive. The
task force was to examine the
rationale and economics of
operating three camps in
Saskatchewan — Camp Elim,
Rosthern Bible Camp and
Shekinah Retreat Centre.
The task force outlined nine
possible options, with a strong
recommendation for the
delegates to consider the one
which would develop Shekinah
Retreat Centre as a central,
Helen Kornelsen and Leona
Bartel at the Saskatchewan
conference sessions
year-round campsite and
provide subsidies to the
Rosthern and Elim camps for
their summer programs.
Fred Hayes, Emmaus
Mennonite Church, Wymark,
moved that the camp issue be
tabled for a year so that the
issue could first be discussed in
the local churches. Delegates
passed his motion 95-54. He
encouraged the task force to
visit churches during the year.
Once again delegates
discussed the 1986 General
Conference Mennonite Church
resolution on human sexuality.
A group from the Martensville
Mennonite Mission Church
proposed the following change
in one of the resolution's
paragraphs: "We confess our
fear and our rejection of those
of us with different sexual
desires and our lack of
compassion for them in their
struggles." ("Our rejection" is
preceded by "repent of," and
"desires" reads "orientation" in
the original resolution.) Chair-
person Benno A. Klassen
urged people to come "with
sensitivity to the diversity of
opinion on this topic." Dele-
gates passed the wording
changes in a vote of 45-29.
One of the reports included a
"thank-you" from a member of
the Spanish-speaking congre-
gation that meets in First Men-
nonite Church, Saskatoon:
"We want to thank you for your
hospitality in making us feel
welcome in a new land."
Several people expressed
their concern about the
operations of the Rosthern
Mennonite Youth Farm. "We
need to look at where we are
going as a conference. When
was it decided that the youth
farm should switch from
providing service-oriented
programs to ones that are
funded by the government?"
said John Friesen, Rosthern.
The Mennonite Nursing Home
that is part of the youth farm
receives the majority of its
income from the government.
No action was taken on this.
Sheldon Sawatzky, General
Conference missionary in
Taiwan, was guest speaker.
He spoke on "Many Peoples
Becoming One."
Newly elected chairperson
John R. Peters, Saskatoon,
closed the conference. "An
organization cannot survive
long by backtracking," he
warned. Peters said he hoped
the conference could move
beyond its current financial
problems. Carta Reimer, news
service editor, General
Conference Mennonite Church
156 APRIL 10, 1990
Citizens for Public Justice, based in Toronto, advocates
a comprehensive, life-affirming initiative consisting of (1 )
extensive, life-supporting social policy measures that can
alleviate many of the factors that lead women to seek
abortions, and (2) essential, life-protecting amendments to
Bill C-43 (in the Canadian Parliament) that entrench the
right to life of the unborn. "Only when the human rights and
socioeconomic needs of unborn children, women and
families are properly safeguarded and advanced together
will the abortion deadlock be broken," said CPJ executive
director Harry Kits. "This requires government to look
beyond legislation alone to all of our public policy priorities
and to implement social policy changes that protect and
sustain life at all stages of development."
Many Old Colony Mennonites in Bolivia are in prison for not paying
debts to loan sharks. "They couldn't read the fine print," says Menno
Ediger, a Mennonite Central Committee worker who with his wife,
Margaretha, runs a cultural center and outreach program in Santa Cruz
directed at the colonists. Abraham Groening, 45, a farmer with 13
children, has spent six months in the Santa Cruz jail and has yet to have
a court hearing. "I borrowed $4,000," he said, "but the debt grew faster
than I could pay it back." In two years he owed $40,000, he said. Six
brethren share Groening's predicament and his cellblock. Hundreds of
others have managed to avoid prison but have been victimized,
squeezed after borrowing at exorbitant interest rates or guaranteeing the
loans of others. (Orange County [Calif.] Register)
NEWS
Mennonites
in Japan
face the 1990s
Aoshima, Japan — The Japan
Mennonite Christian Church
Conference convened here
Feb. 10-11. Participants
included 1 1 pastors, 22 lay
Christians and 10 North
American missionaries.
Pastor Matoba of Kano set
the tone for the conference with
a short message based on
John 13:34-35.
The 18 participating
churches reported 25 baptisms
last year. Two churches have
plans for building new sanctu-
aries this year. One pastor and
his family (his wife, six children
and his mother) are donating
family land to the church he
pastors.
"Boldly proclaim the gospel,"
said Anna Dyck, missionary in
Japan for almost 37 years.
This was followed by a
communion service.
John Sommer gave a
presentation on "Internationali-
zation of Missions," which was
followed by group discussions.
"Why missions?" and "How
can we present Christ without a
western label?" were some of
the questions. One pastor
said, "Let's start prayer
meetings for overseas mis-
sion." Another proposed, "We
need to have rallies to empha-
size missions."
The pastors expressed the
desire for more long-term
missionaries.
Thus JMCCC moves into the
90s. Mary Derksen, Fukuoka,
Japan
Let's talk Missions
at OMSC
r?
.<sf-
J. W /
4 k
G. Linwood Barney
September - December 1990
Ralph R. Covell
January - May 1991
Announcing 1990-1991
Senior Mission Scholars
in Residence
The Overseas Ministries Study Center welcomes into
residence this year Dr. G. Linwood Barney and Dr. Ralph R. Covell
as Senior Mission Scholars. In addition to sharing in the leader-
ship of OMSC's regular Study Program, these highly respected
colleagues will offer to our missionary and overseas residents
personal consultation and tutorial assistance. Write for Study
Program information and Application for Residence.
Overseas Ministries Study Center
490 Prospect Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06511
Tel: (203) 624-6672 Fax: (203) 865-2857
Senior Scholars, 1991-1992:
Dr. Eric J. Sharpe (Fall) Dr. Harvie M. Conn (Spring)
THE MENNONITE 157
A mentor program at Pleasant Oaks
Mennonite Church, Middlebury, Ind.,
establishes intentional relationships
between young people and adults. The
mentor enables the young person to work
toward the development of clarification of
personal identity, interests and abilities;
faith and values, and lifestyle choices.
Young people are invited to enter the
program when they enter sixth grade. This
year 19 youth requested mentors.
Clarice Kratz, co-pastor at Maple Avenue
Mennonite Church, Waukesha, Wis., says
that only in the recent decade have we
acknowledged cruel family behaviors
resulting in battered wives and children. "A
lot of energy goes into hiding what is
happening behind closed doors," she says.
The greatest challenge is admitting we
have a problem. The more we hide, she
said, the more we encourage dishonesty.
Living with constant abuse perpetuates
harm in a peace-teaching church. The
Inter-Mennonite Family Life Ministry
Council met Feb. 16-18 to discuss these
issues. Thirty-seven representatives came
from districts, provincial organizations and
committees. Thelma Horner
In the last 12 months half a million
children have died around the world as a
result of the slowing down or reversal of
development. Indebted governments have
also cut expenditures on welfare services
affecting the growth of children. The 40
least developed countries have slashed
spending on health by 50 percent and on
education by 25 percent over the last few
years. "In many nations the poor have
been little benefitted from the billions of
dollars that were often so irresponsibly lent
and so irresponsibly borrowed," says
James Grant, executive director of
UNICEF. {National Council of Churches
Review)
NEWS
Christian Peacemaker
Teams listen to Innu crisis
Ottawa — "We want to protect
our way of life and our chil-
dren," said Innu elder Elizabeth
Penashue. "We're putting
every effort to stop military
development of our land." She
told how Canada's efforts to
"develop" the Innu homeland
by marketing it to European
and American air forces affect
her family.
She and her husband,
Francis, and Chief Daniel
Ashini, 78 registrants, several
of their children and a number
of the hosting Ottawa Menno-
nite Church members came
together here Feb. 23-25 to
learn of and respond to "The
Innu Crisis and the Call of
Christ."
This Christian Peacemaker
Teams consultation in Can-
ada's capital was organized by
a Kitchener/Waterloo CPT
committee and endorsed and/
or supported by eight groups:
the General Conference
Mennonite Church, Conference
of Mennonites in Canada,
Institute of Peace and Conflict
Studies, Conrad Grebel
College. Mennonite Confer-
ence of Eastern Canada Peace
and Justice Commission. Men-
nonite Central Committee
Canada Native Concerns, MCC
Canada Peace and Social
Concerns, MCC Ontario, and
Stirling Avenue and Olive
Branch Mennonite churches.
Resource people included the
three Innu guests from She-
shatshit, Nitassinan, as well as
past and present MCC volun-
teers at the Innu Resource
Centre, Bob Bartel and Rick
and Louise Cober Bauman.
The crisis in Nitassinan (the
Innu nation that covers much of
Eastern Quebec and Labrador)
accelerates as more and more
low-level fighters fly across
Innu hunting land. The 7,000
flights made in 1989 could
increase to 40,000 if NATO
builds its proposed Tactical
Fighting and Weapons Training
1970-1990 k
TOURMAGINATION'S 20th ANNIVERSARY
You can trust your travel to 20 years of
experience. Our 1 970 hope was to
translate the compelling "Anabaptist
Vision" into the very lives of people
through travel. That has happened! Our
1 990 tours are strong. Of course, after
20 years you would expect it.
Europe 90A
Europe 90B
Europe 90C
Western Canada 90A
Souderton to MWC 12
May 14-23
June 11-30
June 25-July 3
July 13-24
July 19-Aug. 6
Western Canada 90B July 29-Aug. 18
Arnold Cressman, Henry D. Landes
Jan Gleysteen, Neal Weaver
John L. Ruth, Wilmer Martin
Arnold & Rhoda Cressman
Hubert Schwartzentruber,
Henry D. Landes
Jan Gleysteen, Alfred Willms
TOUR-
MAGI NATION
1210 Loucks Ave. 131 Erb Street W. 569 Yoder Rd., P.O. Box 376
Scottdale, PA 15683 Waterloo, ONT N2L1T7 Harleysville, PA 19438
412-887-5440 519-747-0517 215-256-3011
412-887-9436 519-745-7433 215-723-8413
m
Centre in Goose Bay, Labra-
dor. This would greatly expand
the air force base that the
United States and Canada built
there 50 years ago.
Destructive and environ-
Mennonites are
welcome if they
abide by Innu
terms, the first
being non-violence.
Chief Daniel Ashini
mental effects of the low-level
flying and war-games practice
include the startle effect,
trauma, 140 decibel noise, fuel
dumping, aluminum chaff
contaminating the food chain,
seven-foot wide and seven-foot
deep craters and 12,000
square kilometers of restricted
areas for bombing. The
military's presence in Goose
Bay (pop. 7,000) also brings
social/moral/health break-
downs. Soldiers entice Innu
girls to the bases with alcohol,
abuse them sexually and throw
them out to find their own way
home. If the NATO base is
built in Goose Bay, 65,000 men
per year would train there for
two-week stints. Statistically,
35-70 of them would have
AIDS. The 10,000 Innu believe
this is a life and death struggle
for them. Drinking and suicide
attempts increase in the Innu
villages as hopes for continuing
the Innu way of life get dashed.
Some, like Elizabeth
Penashue, who spent two
158 APRIL 10, 1990
The Bethel College board of directors
met March 8-10 on the Bethel campus in
North Newton, Kan., under the theme
"Enrollment Management." The board
approved a budget of $7,034,000 for the
1990-91 fiscal year. The board also
accepted with regret the resignation of
president Harold J. Schultz, who will
complete his sixth term in July 1991 . The
college recently received a $186,000
challenge grant from the Knight Foundation
to assist it in a comprehensive effort to
improve the retention of freshmen.
By midsummer the Mennonite Central
Committee account in the Canadian
Foodgrains Bank may be empty. "I don't
think this has ever happened before," says
Ron Bietz, who administers the MCC Food
Program. He explains that the shortfall is
the result of higher than usual requests for
food and the 1988 prairie drought, which
saw lower than usual donations to the
account. According to Bietz, MCC will
need 2,500 metric tonnes of wheat to meet
a request for food for India and leave some
left over for other needs. The donated
wheat is matched three-for-one by the
Canadian International Development
Agency.
An Australian scientist and an Indian
Hindu lawyer will share the 1 990 Temple-
ton Prize for Progress in Religion. Biologist
L. Charles Birch of Sydney, Australia, and
Baba Amte, who runs a community for
people with leprosy near Nagpur, India, will
share the prize of 330,000 pounds
($200,000). {National Catholic Reporter)
NEWS
"We want to protect our children," Elizabeth Penashue (center) told
the Christian Peacemaker Teams consultation. She is flanked by
Daniel Ashini (left) and Francis Penashue.
weeks in jail in Newfoundland
for her protests, aren't giving
up. After 1 0 years of diplomatic
protests — speaking and letter
writing — the Innu began direct
non-violent action to stop the
military's theft of their land.
They've walked and camped
on the air force runways and
bombing ranges, sometimes
taking their small children along
to symbolize why they want to
preserve the land. For this they
were arrested for trespassing
and mischief and taken to
court. In their latest trial in
February, the judge kept
refusing to hear their evidence,
so they walked out of the court.
They then decided to quit
providing their own translator.
The court brought a Goose Bay
Innu inmate to translate, but
the defendants persuaded him
not to translate. The court
adjourned until March 28 "to
get a translator, which I think
will be a hard thing to do
because the Innu people are in
a conspiracy," Chief Daniel
Ashini said.
Low-level flights will resume
in April, and the Innu are
committed to disrupting them,
with hopes of banning them
altogether. Some Mennonites
may find their way onto the
bases to stand with the Innu.
They are welcome, Chief
Daniel said, if they abide by
Innu terms — the first being non-
violence.
Only a few will make the long
trip to Labrador, and not
everyone who goes can expect
to be part of an action, since
the Innu strategy is to surprise
the air forces by showing up in
different places unexpectedly.
However, Mennonites can help
in other ways:
•Raise money for the Innu
Defense Fund. Court costs
are $400,000 ($4 from every
Canadian Mennonite).
•Write letters on behalf of the
Innu.
•Take part in rallies, vigils
and awareness-raising events.
•Advocate for the Innu in
What to do, where to write
Further information is available from the Innu Resource
Centre, c/o Louise or Rick Cober Bauman, Gen./Del. N.W.
River, Nitassinan, Canada A0P 1N0.
Letters regarding policy should go to Brian Mulroney P.M.,
House of Commons, Room 309-F, Centre Block, Ottawa, ON
K1A0A6.
Donations may be sent to the Innu Defence Fund, c/o
Assembly of First Nations, 47 Clarence St., Suite 300,
Ottawa, ON K1A0A6.
conversations/negotiations with
authorities. CPT can serve a
networking function for small
local groups who commit
themselves to keep working at
problems.
The CPT group assembled at
Ottawa affirmed the long and
close relationship of MCC with
Labrador's people. Christian
Peacemaker Teams (spon-
sored by General Conference
Mennonites, Mennonite
Church, Church of the Brethren
and Brethren in Christ) want to
work through the open chan-
nels MCC has established.
During Aug. 21-30 MCC
Canada will sponsor a seminar
for 10 participants who will live
and learn in an Innu camp in
Labrador.
CPT participants from
Canada, the United States and
the Netherlands learned that
the Innu crisis is not unique.
Their own governments abuse
land and people in many ways
as they prepare for war.
"Does your government know
that you, the peace church,
oppose this thing?" Menno
Wiebe asked.
Lawrence Hart, Cheyenne
Peace Chief from Oklahoma,
led the concluding worship,
preaching on "Spiritual Re-
sources for Peacemaking."
"God incarnate in Christ
touched the earth," Hart said.
"God will again touch the
earth." Susan Miller Balzer
It is the challenge of the
church to place non-
violent pressure on
government in support of
their Innu brothers and
sisters. This non-violent
pressure stems from the
call of Christ, which asks
that we care enough to
confront our enemies. As
church people are
educated and empowered
to stand with the Innu, the
active, non-violent love of
Christ is seen as their
greatest tool against op-
pression. Christian
Peacemaker Teams will
stand in the support of the
Innu struggle for justice
and self-determination.
Gene Stoltzfus, CPT
coordinator
THE MENNONITE 159
The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence is
making an effort to enact a federal ban on
all privately used asault weapons. Michael
K. Beard, a United Methodist and president
of the coalition, said, "We need a president
-with the courage and the vision to call for
an outright ban and to make it clear he will
sign such legislation."
RECOltd
In an effort to share the pain of Panama's
poor, Panamanian President Guillermo
Endara launched a water-only fast March 1
for Lent and has been sleeping and running
his government out of a makeshift office in
the Metropolitan Cathderal in Panama City.
"Many are starving here," he told Catholic
News Service March 8. "Every night, many
mothers have to put hungry children to bed.
This pains me, and I feel I should share
their pain." Some observers have said that
the fast is a move to hasten a $1 billion
assistance package promised by U.S.
President Bush shortly after 14,000 U.S.
troops intervened in December 1989.
(National Catholic Reporter)
A former federal scientist said he was
pressured to change his findings of a high
cancer rate among workers at the Rocky
Flats nuclear weapons plant near Denver.
The plant processes plutonium, a radioac-
tive material. Gregg Wilkinson made the
accusations against U.S. Department of
Energy officials regarding a study he made
several years ago. The department runs
the plant. He made his comments to a
panel appointed by Energy Secretary
James Watkins to recommend how the
DOE can improve its health program for
workers. (National Catholic Reporter)
WORliERS
Paul Amaker, president of
Walsenhausen Bible School in
Switzerland, was guest speaker
at a conference in Uruguay
attended by 250 German-
speaking young people from
Mennonite churches in
Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay.
Larry Becker, First Church,
Newton, Kan., has been
reappointed assistant business
manager for the Division of
General Services of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church.
Gerhard Ens, Winnipeg, has
been reappointed as editor of
Der Bote.
Del Epp has begun serving
the Glenlea (Man.) Church.
Ed Epp, Bethel Church,
Winnipeg, MCC country
representative in Lebanon,
visited MCC's Bangladesh job
creation program in late 1989
to better develop income-
generating programs in
Lebanon. He was accompa-
nied by Hussein Atieh, MCC
staff person in Lebanon. MCC
worker Sandra Reisinger
Franklin, living in Saidpur,
Bangladesh, was their guide.
Dorothy Nickel Friesen has
P. Friesen Gates
F. Keller
H. Keller
resigned as pastor at Manhat-
tan (Kan.) Fellowship, effective
July 1 , to accept a position at
Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind., as
assistant academic dean/dean
of students.
Phil Friesen was licensed for
the ministry Feb. 25 at Faith
Church, Minneapolis.
Gary Gates has resigned as
president of the Evangelical
Mennonite Church, completing
eight years in that capacity.
The denomination's offices are
in Fort Wayne, Ind. It is a
participating member in Africa
Inter-Mennonite Mission and
publishes the magazine EMC
Today.
Mike Ginter has been called
as pastor at Compass Imman-
uel Church, Rapid View, Sask.
Linford Good, Marietta, Pa.,
is the project administrator of
LIFE (Living in Faithful Evan-
gelism), a 36-
GC — General Conference
COE — Commission on Education
COM — Commission on Overseas Mission
MC — Mennonite Church
MBM — Mennonite Board of Missions
MCC — Mennonite Central Committee
month process
to help MC and
GC congrega-
tions discover
a new vision
for outreach.
Ralph
Graber began
Harms
Horst
as pastor at West Zion Church,
Moundridge, Kan., on Feb. 18,
after serving as interim pastor.
Galen Harms, Grace Hill
Church, Newton, Kan., began
March 19 as mail clerk and
printer for Faith and Life Press,
a program of COE.
Frank Horst has begun as
interim pastor at First Church,
Aberdeen, Idaho. He and his
wife, LaVerne, were editors of
the Pacific District Messenger
from 1981 to 1985.
Frank and Holly Keller,
Bethel College Church, North
Newton, Kan., have accepted a
three-year assignment as MCC
country representatives in
Cairo, Egypt, beginning in
June. Frank has served as
Western District Conference
minister since 1978. Prior to
that he was pastor at
Hoffnungsau Church, Inman,
Kan., for six years. Holly has
worked as administrative
assistant at GC central offices,
first for COE and since 1985 for
COM. The Kellers are origi-
nally from Zion Church,
Souderton, Pa., where Frank
served three years as assistant
pastor.
Dan Klassen will begin as
associate pastor at Peace
Church, Richmond, B.C., in
October.
Lorraine Letkemann,
Coaldale (Alta.) Church, began
a one-year assignment on
March 1 in Argentina as a
mission intern with MBM. She
is the daughter of Peter and
Katy Letkemann, Lethbridge.
David Neufeld began a part-
time interim arrangement in
December 1989 with Fiske
(Sask.) Church alongside his
pastoral work at Herschel
(Sask.) Church.
Anna Portnag, Chicago, will
translate / Heard Good News
Today by Cornelia Lehn into
Russian. Walter Sawatzky,
Elkhart, Ind., is overseeing the
translation. Portnag is featured
in the October 1989 issue of
Christian Living.
Maries Preheim, Bethel
160 APRIL 10, 1990
The Commission on Education of the General
Conference Mennonite Church has created a new
\ position — Venture Clubs consultant in Canada.
ff Connie Loeppky, a member of Springstein (Man.)
j£ ' Mennonite Church, began April 1 to serve Cana-
J dian General Conference congregations and to
V., respond to inquiries from other denominational
; ' groups. Loeppky has been a member of the
\\\\\\\\\Y\A\lu ecjjtorial council of Venture Clubs since its
Loeppky inception in 1985. She is a writer of the personal
exploration projects in the club program. "We expect Connie's
role will include marketing Venture Clubs material in Canada and
that she will also be available to conduct workshops and seminars
in congregations across Canada," says Rosella Wiens Regier,
secretary for children's education for COE. Connie is completing
a degree in education at the University of Manitoba.
RECOlid
Preheim Reimer
College Church, North
Newton, Kan., conducted the
500-voice choir at the 28th
International Festival of
Mennonite High School Choirs
at Rockway Mennonite
Collegiate, Kitchener, Ont. The
13 participating choirs came
from Puerto Rico, Pennsylva-
nia, Oregon, Florida, Indiana,
Ohio, South Dakota, Virginia,
Iowa and Ontario. Preheim is a
member of the music faculty at
Bethel College, North Newton.
Car la Reimer, Shalom
Church, Newton, Kan., has
resigned from her position as
news service editor for the
General Conference Mennonite
Church, effective May 31 . She
has served in this position
since October 1986. Reimer
and her husband, Nathan Dick,
have accepted three-year
teaching positions at Wood-
stock School in India.
Jeanne Rempel, Upland,
Calif., was recognized as a
commissioned pastor by the
Southwest Mennonite Confer-
ence (MC). She serves as co-
pastor and church planter with
her husband, Dennis, at
Mennonite Community Fellow-
ship, Redlands/Hemet, Calif.
Helen Snyder Reusser,
Kitchener, will retire July 31
from her position as Minister of
Christian education for the
Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada. Her work as
resource person for the
Foundation Series will be
assumed by Eleanor Snyder,
also a minister of Christian
education for MCEC.
Phil Rich, Archbold, Ohio,
was elected to another term as
chair of the MCC U.S. execu-
tive committee; Donald
Steelberg, Wichita, Kan.,
continues as vice chair for
three years; Burton Buller,
Henderson, Neb., was elected
secretary for two more years;
Norman Shenk, Salunga, Pa.,
was elected to the MCC U.S.
board as representative from
the MCC East Coast board,
and Harriet Sider Bicksler,
Harrisburg, Pa., was appointed
to represent MCC U.S. to the
MCC U.S. Peace Section
board.
George Richert, Regina, and
Gerald Gerbrandt, Winnipeg,
have been named to a task
force to develop a broad
statement of policy on Menno-
nite seminary education in
Canada.
Ernie Sawatsky was installed
March 4 as pastor at Leth-
bridge (Alta.) Church after a
six-month leave of absence.
Ed Springer will begin as
pastor at St. Louis Fellowship
on Aug. 1 .
William Stafford gave the
Keeney Peace Lecture at
Bluffton (Ohio) College on
March 20. He spoke on
"Making Peace Among the
Words: the Creative Writer and
the Peace Witness." He
served in Brethren Civilian
Public Service in Arkansas and
The Muria Synod, Mennonite
churches in Indonesia, cur-
rently has a goal that it calls "1-
3-1 ." Each person is to reach
one person for Christ in the
next three years and each
congregation is to plant a
church in the next three years.
As of November 1 989 the
churches were ahead of their
goal.
in California during World War
II.
Edward and Mildred
Stoltzfus, Park View Church,
Harrisonburg, Va., have served
at Union Biblical Seminary,
Pune, India, for three months.
Edward taught, and Mildred
worked in the library. Their
assignment was a joint
appointment by COM and
MBM.
Belva and Verney Unruh,
First Church, Newton, Kan.,
were honored by COM at its
March 5 dinner for their work
with COM, which began in
1951. They were missionaries
in Japan for 15 years and in
Taiwan for 10 years. In
addition Verney has been on
COM administrative staff for 13
years, currently serving as
interim secretary for Asia.
Raymond Wong has
resigned as pastor at Calgary
(Alta.) Chinese Church,
effective March 1 .
— compiled by Angela Rempel
Women in Mission invites
applicants for a 3/5 time
coordinator position beginning
Sept. 1. Duties will include admini-
stration, leadership training,
attending district/provincial retreats
and conferences as a resource
person, planning executive and
advisory council meetings, and
coordinating preparation of
resource materials.
Send letter of application and
resume to Sara Regier, Coordina-
tor, Women in Mission, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114, phone (316)
283-5100. Applications accepted
until May 1 .
Wildwood Mennonite Church of
Saskatoon invites applications for
the position of full-time pastor.
Send inquiries or resumes to
Pastoral Search Committee,
Wildwood Mennonite Church, 1502
Acadia Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7H
5H8.
Youth leader/assistant pastor
required immediately, to work
especially with youth and young
adults, at Zion Mennonite Church
in Swift Current, Sask.
Please send inquiries/resume to
Hilda Wiens Schmidt, Chairperson,
Pastoral Search Committee, 1150
Jubilee Drive, Swift Current, SK
S9H 2A2, (306) 773-6537.
The General Conference is
seeking a news service editor to
write, edit and release articles
about the activities of the confer-
ence. A three-quarter-time
administrative position to work at
headquarters in Newton, Kan.
Some travel required. Starting
date mid-May or negotiable.
Qualifications: strong reporting,
writing and editing skills; basic
photography skills; organizational
ability; ability to meet deadlines;
strong interpersonal skills;
minimum of bachelor's degree in
English and/or communications.
Application deadline April 20.
Please request an application from
Dave Linscheid, Communications
Director, General Conference
Mennonite Church. Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114-0347, (316)
283-5100.
First Mennonite Church
Saskatoon. Sask.
Invites applications from interested
persons in:
youth and music ministry
Commencing: Aug. 1, 1990
(This could be a shared position.)
Primary responsibilities:
leadership in youth and music
ministry
Application deadline: April 30
For information or application,
contact:
Wally Krause, Congregational
Chairperson
418 Queen St.
Saskatoon, SK S7K 0M3
Telephone (306) 653-5325
THE MENNONITE 161
Brethren in Christ church leader Arthur
Climenhaga reports growth of the Christian
community in Orissa, India, despite heavy
persecution from the Hindu majority.
Church officers are under police protection.
•The area is also one of extreme poverty;
the people have to eat mango seeds for
nutrition during several months each year.
"I challenge every congregation that is
integrating newcomers who are learning
English to get The Mennonite on cassette,"
says Florence Driedger, moderator of the
General Conference Mennonite Church.
(See ad below.) "It helps them learn
[English] if they can listen to the words
while reading the text. The bonus is that
they learn about our conference while
learning English," she says. Driedger has
also read Cornelia Lehn's story books onto
cassette tapes to assist newcomers to her
congregation, Peace Mennonite Church,
Regina.
RESOURCES
»ooks
Caring for Your Own Dead by
Lisa Carlson (Upper Access
Publishers, 1987, $19.95 cloth,
$14.95 paper) is an account of
personal experiences with
death, a history of funeral
customs, a handbook on organ
donations, a state-by-state
directory of laws and services.
The life enrichment commit-
tee of the Western District
Conference has compiled The
Growing Silver Resource to
help congregations assess the
gifts and needs of older people.
All WDC congregations
received a copy. Several
copies are available in the
WDC resource library in North
Newton, Kan.
J$6€T $30
Order
The Mennonite
on cassette
at a new price:
for people with sight impairment
for commuters
for people learning English
~J Send me a one-year subscription for The Mennonite
on cassette for only $30.
Name
Address
Mail to: The Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114.
Sex and family therapist
Mary Ann Mayo speaks to the
hard issues in language kids
understand in her book
Caution: Sexual Choices May
Be Hazardous to Your Health
(Zondervan, 1989, $8.95).
— compiled by Gordon Houser
Belton CPS Camp #55 Reunion
July 20,21,22, 1990 at Mountain
View Mennonite Church, near
Creston, with Kalispell, Montana
address.
Campers who have changed
addresss or have not received
previous reunion announcements
should promptly contact Reunion
Secretary-Treasurer for further
information: Oscar E. Roth, 240 N.
Lombard, Lombard, IL 60148,
phone (708) 627-3840.
The Bethel Mennonite Church of
Mountain Lake, Minn., will cele-
brate is centennial June 22-24,
1990. The celebration will begin
with a German program on Friday
evening. Saturday evening will
feature a musical pageant
depicting the history of the church.
The weekend will conclude with a
Sunday morning worship service
led by former pastors of the Bethel
congregation and a noon fellow-
ship meal. Special ethnic meals
and lunches as well as other
activities and displays will be a part
of the celebrations. A pictorial
history book of the church and a
pictorial directory of the congrega-
tion will be available. Friends of
the church and former members
should make plans now to attend
this event.
The Canadian Association of Mennonite
Schools will celebrate 100 years of
Mennonite Christian education at the
CAMS Music Festival '90, to be held May
5-6 in Winnipeg. A band concert will be
held May 5 at 7:30 p.m. at 181 Riverton
Avenue. Cost is $6 per person. On May 6
a choral concert, including a 450-voice
mass choir, will be held at 8 p.m. at the
Centennial Concert Hall. Cost is $1 0 and
$8 per adult, $6 per student.
Are you lonely? Maybe Cross-
roads can help you too. Some of
the couples who have met their
mates through us include a nurse
and a minister, a teacher and a
carpenter, and a widow and a
farmer. Other clients are meeting
friends who share their interests.
Some are still waiting to meet the
right one. Perhaps they are
looking for you. How will you find
out if you don't join?
For information write to Cross-
roads, Box 32, North Tonawanda,
NY 14120.
wilderness
wind
Camp
Wilderness Wind Camp. Ely, Minne-
sota, is offering a variety of wilder-
ness trips for individual or couple
participation. Openings are avail-
able for the following 1990 trips:
CREATION AND RENEWAL: A
WILDERNESS CANOEING
SEMINAR
Leaders: Perry Yoder and
Tim Lehman June 20-29
Cost: $205.00
COUPLES CANOEING
Leaders: Paula and Tim Lehman
July 28-August 4
Cost: $230.00 per couple
PICTURED ROCKS WOMEN'S
BACKPACKING TRIP
Leaders: Linda Shetler and
Paula Lehman July 8-14
Cost: $124.25
Wilderness Wind is a Mennonite-
affiliated camp committed to teach-
ing spirituality, wilderness ethics,
and Christian community.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Write: Wilderness Wind Camp
c/o Tim Lehman
Rt. 5, Box 41 B
Newton, KS 67114
Phone: (316) 283-9482
162 APRIL 10, 1990
REVIEWS
tooks
Communal struggle
Torches Rekindled: The Bruderhof s
Struggle for Renewal by Merrill Mow
(Plough Publishing House, 1989, 309
pages)
Reviewed by Debbie Fast, #16 - 247 Erb
St. W., Waterloo, ON N2L 1V8
I once visited the New Meadow Run
Bruderhof community in Pennsylvania
as a member of a Mennonite children's
choir from Ontario. My memories of that
visit are faint, but I do recall my surprise
that so many people
wanted to live
together and to
share everything.
It was early May,
and I also remem-
ber the fun of
dancing around a
maypole decorated
with flowers and
colored ribbons.
Merrill Mow's
Torches Rekindled
helps answer my
question about the
inspiration for these communities, which
have been established not only in
Pennsylvania but in other parts of North
and South America and in Europe. He
also captures the sense of celebration I
observed around the maypole.
As Mow reflects, "In such a life one
stands by the church community — with
God and in God — faithful to all who give
themselves to that same way." Commu-
nal living is not without its struggles,
however, and Mow focuses attention on
the internal conflicts among Bruderhof
members after Eberhard Arnold's death
and on their 1950s break with the
Hutterites (whom they had joined during
Arnold's lifetime).
Unfortunately, Mow's account is
disjointed and often difficult to follow.
This could be attributed to the fact that
the book is compiled of informal reflec-
tions— "Merrill Mow. ..telling the Bruder-
hof communities at mealtimes about
their history." His reflections were
intended for people already familiar with
the Bruderhof communities and with the
complicated dynamics of their interac-
tions. To an outsider the rambling
commentary can be frustrating — like a
puzzle without all the necessary pieces.
Another weakness of the book is Mow's
frequent vagueness — whether inten-
tional or not — about the reasons for the
"struggles" he so often refers to. He says
about the spring of 1957, for example,
that "the difficulties grew and their
number increased. Most of them had to
do with outward things. ..but these
cannot be the real cause of inner prob-
lems; there is always some deeper
reason." Mow never goes on to explain
what this "deeper reason" was, and says
simply that these difficulties eventually
led to another division.
The reader is often left to wonder what
is going on between the lines of Mow's
historical account. One recurring
question concerns the portrayal of the
group's leader of those years, Heini
Arnold (son of Eberhard). Mow seems to
have been quite involved in the leader-
ship of the Bruderhof and thus close to
Heini. Perhaps for this reason he has
nothing but praise for the leader's
wisdom and spiritual strength. Mow
does refer to an "attack" against Heini,
however, and to "lingerings of feeling
against the Arnolds as a family." Mow
never explains why others did not share
his uncritical love and admiration for
Heini.
The missing pieces of Torches
Rekindled make it a frustrating book to
read. But for the reader willing to
persevere through pages of disjointed
and detailed narrative, Mow's book offers
a glimpse into a little-known group of
exceptional spiritual strength and
commitment.
A family out of strangers
Resident Aliens by Stanley Hauerwas
and William H. Willimon (Abingdon,
1989, 175 pages)
Reviewed bv Arthur P. Boers, 477 Lincoln
Road, Windsor, ON N8Y 2G6
Two United Methodists launch an Ana-
baptist challenge to contemporary
churches. The church has tried too hard
to be relevant by joining fashionable
causes (of the left and right) and manipu-
lating political power, they write. We let
the world determine our questions... and
thus also our solutions and agenda.
"Alas, in leaning over to speak to the
modern world, we have fallen in."
Our task, however, is to be God's
colony in a strange world; "our common-
wealth is in heaven" (Philippians 3:20).
"The church does not exist to ask what
needs doing to keep the world running
smoothly and then to motivate our
people to go do it," the authors write.
"The church is not to be judged by how
useful we are as a 'supportive institution'
and our clergy as members of a 'helping
profession.' The church has its own
reason for being, hid within its own
mandate and not found in the world. We
are not chartered by the Emperor."
But we rely more on governments than
on God, trying to get the state to legislate
behavior, this book says. "Most of our
social activism is formed on the presump-
tion that God is superfluous to the
formation of a world of peace with
justice." A confessing church "knows
that its most credible form of witness
(and the most 'effective' thing it can do
for the world) is the actual creation of a
living, breathing, visible community of
faith."
Anabaptism does not mean with-
drawal. Anabaptists did not retreat from
the world but were driven from it. "We
serve the world by showing it something
that it is not, namely, a place where God
is forming a family out of strangers."
Although the authors are informed by
Anabaptism, they will not receive a
warm welcome in Mennonite circles.
They wonder how Christians can
casually ally with non-believers on peace
and justice issues:
"What good is a
peace movement
that works for
peace for the same
idolatrous reasons
we build bombs —
namely, the anxious
self-interest
protection of our
world as it is?"
They also challenge
all sides of the
abortion debate.
"Atheism slips
into the church where God really does
not matter, as we go about building
bigger and better congregations..., con-
firming people's self-esteem..., enabling
people to adjust to their anxieties
brought on by their materialism."
This call is disturbingly pertinent. "So
we must gather, on a regular basis, for
worship. To speak about God in a world
that lives as if there is no God. We must
speak to one another as beloved brothers
and sisters in a world which encourages
us to live as strangers. We must pray to
God to give us what we cannot have by
our own efforts in a world which teaches
us we are self-sufficient and all-powerful.
In such a world, what we do... on Sunday
morning becomes a matter of life and
death."
Stanley Hauerwas and
William H. Willimon
Resident
Aliens
A provocative
Christian
assessment of
culture and ministry
for people who know that
something is wrong
THE MENNONITE 163
Letters
Help tell Mennoscah's story
April 1 marked 40 years since Helen and
I moved from Newton to the old home on
the west side of the Ninnescah River at
Camp Mennoscah, near Murdock, Kan.
For the Western District Conference
young people it was a milestone in our
retreat and camping program.
On that day life changed for us and our
two boys. It was a step back to rather
primitive living. Donations came: some
chickens, hogs, two horses, an old lumber
wagon and some old farm equipment for
two horses. We plastered and papered in
the house. All the while letters and
information flowed from our typewriter
and duplicator.
Our goal was to build up the camp-
ground. Permanent buildings had to be
erected. We kept our church young
people's groups informed and requested
help for almost everything. The first
days in May were most rewarding. Blue-
prints for the dining hall had been drawn
by Stanley Regier, architect in Wichita.
On May 6 the footing for the dining hall
was poured. By May 20 the electric
company had set posts and strung the
wire to the camp. For the first time we
cooked on our electric range instead of
the old heating stove. On May 14 the
Tor
n a
d
o
■
(for those who lost homes and
contents in the March 13
tornadoes)
Elda Bachman
Momentos are gone.
Earthly values are shifted.
Minds are bewildered.
Order has become disorder.
Recycling seems ridiculous.
Yet, life and love go on.
Elda Bachman lives at 1104 W. Broad-
way, Newton, KS 67114
cornerstone to the dining hall (which also
was to serve as the large meeting hall)
was laid and the project dedicated.
For 1951 the retreats were planned to
be on the east side of the river, since the
dining hall was to be complete enough to
use. The first cabins for the camp were
not built until 1952; young people used
tents or other facilities for sleeping.
I am collecting material that will
someday be useful for writing a history of
Camp Mennoscah, especially those first
years. I would be glad to have pictures
or slides of "tenting" in 1949 and 1950 on
the west side of the river along that row
of cottonwood trees; activities during
those summers; tents and facilities used
on the east side in 1951; workers and
builders; early retreat groups; retreat
leaders. I will give all my writings about
Camp Mennoscah and all that is col-
lected to Bethel College's Mennonite
Library and Archives. Be sure to
identify the group, individuals or scene.
If anyone has Camp Mennoscah
Retreat Bulletins for the years 1952,
1953 and 1954, I would be glad to receive
copies for my collection. Also I invite you
to write a short note to tell of any
experience you had at Camp Mennoscah
in those early years. Tell of your favorite
camp leader. Which programs were your
favorites? Did your camping experience
bring two of you to eventual marriage?
What inspirations did you get from your
camping experience?
I have some information about contri-
butions, donations and projects that were
supplied for the camp, but if you pro-
vided something special or if you know
of a project your youth group provided,
please write me about it. This will be
greatly appreciated — not only by me now
but later by our children, who are now or
will become campers at Camp
Mennoscah. Adam Mueller, 604 North
St., Halstead, KS 67056
Thank you, Levi
I deeply appreciated Levi Keidel's contri-
bution "Does Prayer Make a Difference?"
(Feb. 27). It is powerful. Frank Horst,
First Mennonite Church, Box 246,
Aberdeen, ID 83210
Anyone at all?
Something in the General Conference
Mennonite Church that continues to
disturb me is the lack of restrictions,
standards, qualifications for a congrega-
tion's calling of a pastor. It appears that
congregations may call anyone at all, or
almost so. That upsets me. Is there a
remedy? Adrian H. Amstutz, 5115
Walton St., Long Beach, CA 90815
Basis for discussion
We used one of the editorials, "Legal or
Illegal Abortions Don't Make Us Moral
(May 9, 1989), in a small group discus-
sion [here at Stirling Avenue Mennonite
Church]. May God continue to bless and
guide you. Estelle Enns, 208-1414 King
St., Kitchener, ON N2G 4T8
Is it still Easter?
Jim Stutzman Amstutz
Is it still Easter
when it frosts in the morning
and the tulips close tight
remembering the Tuesday
when the sun teased them out?
Is it still Easter
when an Illinois doctor
playing tennis with his son
lies down for a rest
and never gets up?
Is it still Easter
when the snow and wind
remind you of December gray days
when gardens weren't half turned
and cherry blossoms were memories?
Is it still Easter
when your childhood friend
cries on your shoulder
and says it isn't fair
that his dad died at 56?
It is still Easter
because Easter is more
than a season or circumstance
and more
than a morning of mourning
and more....
Jim Stutzman Amstutz's address is 240
S. Lawn Ave., Bluffton, OH 4581 7. He
wrote this about the death of Robert
Stutzman.
164 APRIL 10, 1990
The branch
A.E. Reiff
When the Lord of all descended into flesh,
Came through the thousand worlds into the one
Of mercy, wisdom, beauty, love,
Unlike the prism that divides the ray,
Undiffused, he came into the body's clay,
The Son of the divine wisdom,
The Son, the incarnate redeemer.
Our world has been recovered by his being
No extraterrestrial intelligence.
His human body shaped it to a tree
That roots in wisdom but whose beauty's trunk
To the earth sphere a branch extended.
On that tree the Lord Beauteous hung suspended,
And then we were able to receive him!
A.E. Reiff s address is 2645 E. Willetta, Phoenix, AZ 85008.
A wooden bridge
James Klassen
The Son of Man
Neville Peterson
You've probably seen pictures of one
stretching from one bank to the
other
bridging the gap
year after year
using strong beams
God uses a
wooden bridge
stretching from
heaven to earth
bridging the gap
year after year
using strong beams
the cross
James Klassen s address is 4505 W.
Toledo, Broken Arrow, OK 74012.
I contemplate the Son of Man, whose body was as frail as mine.
When touching outcasts of whatever sin you like to name
He calmly faced the fierce wrath of whitewashed sepulchers,
and didn't shun from suffering false accusations or
unjust punishment when another's well-being was involved.
He was steadfast in God's love; made so by faith and hope.
He persevered through a death humiliating — cruel.
He is more than my example now.
He is the risen, reigning, Lord of life.
Neville Peterson is pastor at Faith Mennonite Church, 16th and I St.,
Geneva, NE 68361.
THE MENNONITE 165
Hans Ritter, just a needlemaker
Anabaptist
saints
with
feet
of clay
Second
in a
series
of six
Walter Klaassen
In March 1527 the authorities in Er-
langen questioned three women about
the whereabouts of their husbands. One
was the wife of a needlemaker, Hans
Ritter. She told them that some days
earlier he had risen early and told her
that he had to go to find out the truth
about the old and the new faith. His
departure was also flight, since the
authorities were after him because he
had become an Anabaptist. There had
been meetings at his house when a small
boy had read the Bible aloud, and Hans
and others had discussed what was
read. Hans himself confessed to being
illiterate.
Thus Hans Ritter took to the road and
traveled in the Rhine country and as far
as Nicolsburg, near Vienna, making his
living by crafting and selling needles to
cobblers and tailors. After nearly two
years he returned home to his family
because he had heard that the Lutheran
authorities were committed to the gospel
and the Word of God. But he was
promptly arrested, imprisoned and
interrogated over a period of several
months. From his statements we know
what he did during his absence.
He had, he said, hesitated to be
baptized because he knew it would bring
him suffering. But then he had been
convinced by the Scripture that whoso-
ever believed and was baptized would be
saved. Then Hans Hut had baptized
him, and he had obeyed the command to
"proclaim the gospel to all creatures."
He began his witness to people, he
confessed, by telling them that being a
Christian meant to suffer and to abstain
from all the frivolities of the world. If his
listeners were inclined to do this, he told
them they had to be born again and
receive God's word and will, as Mary did.
Then he explained to them the Christian
faith with the petitions of the Lord's
Prayer and the Twelve Articles of the
Apostles' Creed.
When asked about baptism he refuted
the practice of infant baptism because
babies could not have faith. His baptism
meant that he committed himself to the
brothers and sisters and that he was
prepared to be disciplined by them.
When the brothers and sisters met
each other they said, "The peace of the
Lord be with you," and responded with,
"And also with you and us all." Since in
the Lord's Prayer they prayed to be
forgiven even as they forgave, they
thereby abandoned all vengeance.
Consequently he had renounced all use
of the sword, but that was not a law
among them. It depended upon how
much liberty in the faith one had.
Hans Ritter must have been a persua-
sive witness, since the authorities
thought it wise to have a Lutheran
pastor publish a point-by-point refuta-
tion of his statements. Several scholars
were sent to his prison to persuade him
to recant. In a letter to his captors he
said that he was unable to argue with
them because they were too educated for
him.
He did not renounce his faith. "If my
views are so dangerous to my gracious
lord and his subject," he wrote, "let me go
somewhere else with my wife and
children." The authorities agreed, and
he and his family journeyed to Moravia
to be with their own people there.
Walter Klaassen and
his wife, Ruth Klaas-
sen, journeyed within
the last several years to
Vernon, B.C., after
living and teaching in
Waterloo, Ont, and
North Newton, Kan.
166 APRIL 10, 1990
MEdiTATioN
A cross of love
Vic Buller
Two men came to our worship service at the Damiano
Center here in Duluth, Minn. One was Darryl Barber, and
he brought a friend who had been the victim of a hit-and-run
driver. The friend had been told that his liver had been all but
cut in two and that he would not live long. He wanted to go to
his reservation in Wisconsin to be with his family. He had no
money. Myrtle, my wife, took him to the bus depot, bought him
a ticket, and he went home.
A few days later Darryl came to tell me he would like to pay
for his friend's ticket. I said all I wanted was to know how his
friend would make out. I would pray for him to get well. In the
months following I often asked Darryl what he heard from his
friend, but he did not hear from him. Since he did not know
exactly where his friend was, he couldn't call him.
One day Darryl came in and said, "Would you accept a cross
if I made one?" I told him I would be honored.
A week later he told me the cross was finished, but he would
have to put it on a leather thong. Soon afterward he called to
see how long I would be in the office. He said he would bring
Disciples
Hennonite
Fellowship
Duluth Mft
Vic Buller, 206 W. Fourth St., Room #18, Duluth, MN 55806, is pastor
at Disciples Mennonite Fellowship. Here he holds the pipestone cross
made by Darryl Barber.
the cross to me. He walked more than a mile to the Damiano
Center.
When Darryl handed me the cross, his eyes fastened to mine
to see how I would accept it. It was a thing of rare beauty. I
told him so and thanked him again and again. My eyes told
him so, too. He left with a smile on his face.
The next day he came in, walked up to the desk, looked
straight into my eyes and said, "You know, when I gave you the
cross yesterday, I felt so good. I walked home and sat and
thought about it, feeling good for an hour, when the phone
rang. It was my friend, the one you helped. He was calling
from Hibbing and is working with the circus."
Post-Easter
Fern Pankratz Ruth
We've cried you to the cross again,
We took the bread and wine;
We shivered with the minor strain
Of music's anodyne.
We re-enacted and reread
Your mission's darkest day,
And ruefully remembered
The love put on display.
We mimed once more the agony,
And played the Christian game.
Oh, Jesus Christ of Calvary!
Expunge the players' shame!
Fern Pankratz Ruth's address is Box 417, North
Newton, KS 17117.
THE MENNONITE 167
NEWS
01 0022 031 318
L I B7 ARY
ASSOC ME NN rU3LICAL S^M
30 03 8EMHAM AVE
ELKHART IN 46517
EdiTORIAl
Broken bread helps us meet
Who shall separate us from the love of the risen
Christ? People of the Word know well the
answer to Paul's rhetorical question (recorded for us in
Romans 8:35). The answer, of course, is a ringing, "No
one. Nothing."
Nothing. Not 70 years of repressive government (see
page 154). Not distortions of the
gospel of Jesus Christ (see page
151). Not severe persecution (see
page 166). Not despair (see page
167).
And, I add, as my community
continues to build back after the
March 13 tornadoes, not natural
disaster. Let me give you one
picture.
A
people filing past the long table of donated food. "Poten-
tially there are 3,000 of us back at the base," said one
soldier, partly in jest.
A disaster, for all its horror, brings together those
who ordinarily would have no contact (except perhaps to
mutter at each other under their breath when a war
plane splits the air by flying too close to
the ground). A disaster, for all its
destruction, can bring to one table
people who would never consider eating
together.
If nothing can separate us from the
love of Christ, what brings us to that
love? Simply breaking bread together.
This allows us to see that of Christ in
each other.
urea
^ oj thts 6reaxC
week after twisters devas-
tated many farms and much
of the town of Hesston in south
central Kansas, soldiers came
from McConnell Air Force Base in
Wichita to assist in the clean-up.
They were dressed in civilian clothes. Their command-
ing officer had given them permission to come on their
own time. They wore Mennonite Disaster Service
stickers on their shirts, having checked in with the MDS
dispatcher in Hesston.
Six of them came to one of the farms in the affected
area. "This is good public relations for the air base,"
commented the resident farmer upon greeting the
soldiers. "The only way we've known you so far is by the
low-level test flights you do overhead, deafening us and
angering us."
The response of the soldiers was immediate and re-
morseful: "We know. Especially the days after the tor-
nado. We told our commanding officer that we didn't
want to fly where the tornadoes went. But we had to
obey orders."
The soldiers spent the whole day at the farm, joining
the host of other workers, picking up debris. The day, of
course, included the noon meal in the garage, with
The simple act of hospitality was the
single most important thing the
two disciples did that day they walked
to Emmaus," says Kathleen Hayes, a
member of Diamond Street Mennonite
Church, Philadelphia, in ESA [Evan-
gelicals for Social Action] Advocate. "It was far greater
than their intellectual analysis of the scriptural texts or
their mulling over the minute details of the previous
week. Inviting Jesus [to supper] made recognition
possible. Yet Jesus not only breaks the bread; he is the
bread. And it is broken bread.... He has entered into
communion with us in our brokenness so that we can
recognize him and commune with him."
Imagine this. The two disciples, rushing to an ap-
pointment in Emmaus, or weary of this stranger intrud-
ing on their grief, could have found a way to dismiss
Jesus before turning in for the night. They could have
offered him some money to catch a ride. Or they could
have simply excused themselves. After all, they hadn't
read the letter to the Hebrews (13:2) and the possibility
of "entertaining angels unawares."
Their hospitality gives this gem of a story, to teach us,
to keep us in the sphere of the love of the risen Lord.
Muriel T. Stackley
MENNONITE
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID. WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
105:8 APRIL 24, 1990
7 reasons South Dakota should
not kill James Smith
Yes, the church will survive
This Chicago street gang reminds
me off church
Lei
it's call him Ahab.
Although he
sometimes wishes he
had never joined the
gang, he's in too
deep. His days are
numbered.
(See page 1 90.)
pRoloquE
Earlier this year Stanley and Anita (Pan-
nabecker) Bohn visited their daughter,
Lori, who works for Mennonite Central Com-
mittee in Sudan, and Stan's brother and
sister-in-law, John and Tina (Warkentin)
Bohn, our missionaries in Lesotho. Stan and
Anita's report included this amazing informa-
tion: an "extremely sympathetic" interview of
Ron Kraybill, now living in Capetown, on the
front page of a South African newspaper.
(Many of us have learned to know Ron as one
of the first Mennonite staff people in media-
tion.) In the interview Ron described two
kinds of mediation, one win-lose, the other
win-win. South Africa, it seems, is listening.
More on the subject is in the following pages.
I also call your attention to the fine print on
the right, to the paragraph beginning with the
word "Advisers." Two changes are in process
just now: Irma Fast Dueck and Steve Estes
have completed their service as representa-
tives of Manitoba and the Central District,
respectively. Join me in thanking them for
being there, for being available for counsel, for
conveying local concerns and for reporting the
annual summary of their province/district.
These advisers are your representatives.
Your ideas and concerns may come directly to
me or to them.
Get ready for Assembly 12
of Mennonite World
Conference: MWC planners
have announced June 3 as
Mennonite World Fellowship
Sunday. Our congregations
are encouraged to invite someone from an-
other church, preferably someone from an-
other nation or culture, to participate in
worship on that day. Pastors are invited to
use the MWC theme as a sermon topic on that
day: "Witnessing to Christ in Today's World."
Churches are also encouraged to pray for the
Winnipeg sessions (July 24-29) on June 3. For
more information contact MWC, 465 Gun-
dersen Drive, Suite 200, Carol Stream, IL
60188, (708) 690-9666.
1990 Winnipeg
The next issue of The Mennonite, dated May 8,
will give attention to family-related subjects.
mts
CONTENTS
Seven reasons South Dakota should not kill James Smith / 171
Everyone wins with mediation / 172
Yes, the church will survive / 174
Something better than survival / 176
Faith / 177
Faith and doubt / 177
News / 178
Central District report / 1 78
Manitoba report / 179
Record / 184
Resources / 186
I was in prison and you visited me / 188
Letters / 188
This Chicago street gang reminds me of church / 190
Reviews / 191
Church/society in Japan / 191
Hymnal suggestions / 191
Answers and empires / 192
Cover: Photo by David S. Strickler, Box 54, 5 Parsonage St., Newville,
PA 17241
(W) fi£ MENNONiTE
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170 APRIL 24, 1990
7 reasons South Dakota
should not
kill ^ c m
James Smith ^^ft^ yw
Dave Waldowski
I watched the James Elmer Smith
trial closely to see if South Dakota
would execute someone for the first
time in 43 years. I believe that a 1947
execution should be the last one in South
Dakota for the following reasons:
1. Violence and vengeance are
poor means for problem solving. We
should be motivated by compassion and
redemption in the problem-solving
process. Listen to the one who said, "You
have heard it said, An eye for an eye, but
I say, Turn the other cheek."
2. Violence and vengeance breed
more of the same. If the state uses
violence to solve its problems, it becomes
a model to be copied by many citizens as
a proper means of problem solving. This
was the case in Romania, where the
Ceausescu government used widespread
violence as policy. Subsequently the
people learned violence and used it in
establishing their new government. This
is a striking contrast to the "velvet
revolution" in Czechoslovakia, where
James Gannon reported that "there was
remarkably little anger or hatred in the
spirit of this revolution."
3. The innocent are often victim-
ized. In the United States at least 23
innocent people have been executed.
Over 350 have been on death row before
being found innocent.
4. The powerless are most often
executed. A Louisiana prosecutor said,
"There is virtually no chance of a
wealthy person getting the death
penalty." John O'Conner, Roman
Catholic Cardinal of New York, said,
"The overwhelming number of people
executed by the state are minorities."
5. We are not to repay evil for evil.
If we put James Smith to death, we are
using the same method of problem
solving that he used, violence and killing.
Evil must not be our tool in fighting evil.
Compassion and redemptive efforts give
us hope in curing evil.
6. When we deliberately take a
human life, we desensitize ourselves
to the sacredness of human life. I
have heard people commend the Middle
Eastern nations that punish by bodily
dismemberment. Do such practices deter
crime? What if a law enforcement
official or judicial official is corrupt and
vengeful? Does this system help people
respect life?
7. The use of violence blinds us to
redemptive means of problem
solving. One official in our community
has estimated that 50 percent of our
prison population could successfully and
productively function through a struc-
tured halfway-house system. Redemp-
tive alternatives for problem solving are
available if we can overcome our fears
and expand our thinking.
Jesus lived in an empire that "solved
its problems" by crucifying people. The
place where the city of Jerusalem solved
Violence and vengeance: An electric chair at
the Trenton (N.J.) State Prison
its problems was called Golgotha (place
of the skull), where hundreds were exe-
cuted. Like those 23 innocent people
that we in the United States have
executed, Jesus was innocent. (Inciden-
tally, Jerusalem was crushed in A.D. 70,
when over a million people were killed by
the Roman armies. Violence breeds
violence.)
These same seven points can be used
to resist domestic violence, abortion as
well as the existence and use of nuclear
weapons.
Dave Waldowski is pastor at Good Shepherd
Mennonite Church,
1801 W. 41st St., Sioux
Falls, S.D. 57105. He
wrote this during
Smith's trial. Smith is,
says Dave, "a very sick
man" and was sen-
tenced March 27 to two
life sentences without
parole for killing a 68-
year-old woman while
robbing a bank.
THE MENNONITE 171
Lloyd Bowman at work
In all kinds of cases
Everyone wins
with mediation
Andrea Schrock Wenger
I've always been interested in seeing
walls come down between people,"
says Lloyd Bowman, Mennonite
Central Committee U.S. worker. Bow-
man serves as assistant director of the
Lancaster (Pa.) Mediation Center.
The center, begun by a group of local
attorneys in 1982, provides mediation
services to people interested in alterna-
tives to the court system. Bowman
answers calls to the center, hears callers'
situations and arranges mediation
sessions or refers callers elsewhere.
172 APRIL 24, 1990
fifi If it works, you've solved the problem.
If it doesn't, you've lost nothing tyty
People of all ages and backgrounds use
the center's services, says Bowman. Last
year the center dealt with 152 cases; 37
of them were resolved through media-
tion. Cases include landlord/tenant and
property boundary disputes, neighbor-
hood disagreements, business problems
and others.
"Everybody is a winner with media-
tion," says Bowman. Disputing neigh-
bors may go to court, for example, and a
"winner" and a "loser" are established.
"But the problem is still unresolved; the
two parties aren't reconciled," says
Bowman.
"I tell people who call here that
mediation is their best option," Bowman
explains. "It's fast and inexpensive. If it
works, you've solved the problem. If it
doesn't, you've lost nothing."
Besides arranging mediation sessions
Bowman has had the freedom during his
two-year MCC term to shape the direc-
tion of the center. Currently he is
developing a system to follow up the
mediated cases. He also hopes to clarify
the center's relationship with the local
court system, and he is working on
refining the center's training process for
its 30 volunteer mediators.
Other projects keep Bowman busy, too.
He contacts area schools to encourage
them to take advantage of the center's
conflict resolution training package for
children, and he is planning a conflict
resolution workshop for local social
service, religious and business groups.
Bowman says he became interested in
the idea of conflict resolution during his
teen years, though "I didn't know it had
a name until I was in [Messiah] college."
As a pastor's son, Bowman noticed that
"the Anabaptist tendency is to ignore,
pass over and avoid conflict instead of
talking openly about congregational
problems."
In college Bowman served on the
school's judicial council, a group that
dealt with campus grievances. One
professor encouraged students to use
mediation techniques to settle griev-
ances. "That made an impression on
me," says Bowman. His senior thesis
was titled "Non-Violence as a Political
Strategy."
Today Bowman believes that conflict,
when dealt with constructively, is normal
and healthy. "I've integrated the skills
I've learned at work into my personal life
so that I know firsthand that mediation
works," he says. But that does not mean
it is easy, Bowman says, laughing. "It
takes courage for a person to decide to
mediate. It's a scary thing to make
yourself so vulnerable."
Besides his work at the center,
Bowman is involved in several commu-
nity roles. As a volunteer with the
Lancaster AIDS Project he has served as
a "buddy" to a person with AIDS living in
the area. He is also on the board of the
Lancaster Chapter of the National
Conference of Christians and Jews, a
group working to bring together people of
all faiths and ethnic backgrounds.
"This MCC term has taught me about
myself," says Bowman. "I've learned
people skills, communication skills and
my own strengths and liabilities. It's
going to help me decide where to go from
here."
Andrea Schrock Wenger works for MCC
Information Services, Box 500, Akron, PA
17501-0500.
A partial directory of people
involved in mediation services
Richard Blackburn, 528 E. Madison, Lombard, IL 60148
Lloyd Bowman, 50 N. Duke, Old Court House, First Floor, Lancaster, PA
17602
Ron Claassen, 3075 N. Bethel, Sanger, CA 93657
Barbara Date, 2271 Birch Lane, Eugene, OR 97403
Larry A. Dunn, 105 Chestnut, Souderton, PA 18964
Dave Gustafson, 101-20678 Eastleigh Crescent, Langley, BC V3A 4C4
Dan Hooley, Third St. S.E., Canton, OH 44707
Dennis Koehn, 1021 S. Seventh St., Goshen, IN 46526
Ron Kraybill, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, Cape Town,
Republic of South Africa
John Paul Lederach, Eastern Mennonite College, Harrisonburg, VA 22801 (as
of June)
Wayne Northey, 134 Plaza Drive, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9
Alice Price, Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-0500
Dean Peachey, 298 Frederick St., Kitchener, ON N2H 2N5
Merril Raber, 215 S. Pine, Newton, KS 67114
Paul Redekop, 205-13 17A Portage Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3G 0V3
Vern Redekop, 5 Beddoe Lane, Gloucester, ON K1B 3X9
Harold Regier, 726 N. Main, Newton, KS 67114
Melita Rempel, Open Circle, 205-1317A Portage Ave., Winnipeg, MB R3G
0V3
Barb Schmidt, Second Floor, 534 Main, Wichita, KS 67203
Nancy Sider, 251 Park Place, Harrisonburg, VA 22801
Daniel Stoltzfus, 409 E. Broadway, South Bend, IN 46618
Jim Stutzman, 14 La Teer Drive, Normal, IL 61761
Dave Worth, 50 Kent Ave., Kitchener, ON N2G 3R1
Howard Zehr, 107 W. Lexington, Elkhart, IN 46516
THE MENNONITE 173
Yes,
the church will
SURVIVE
Katie Funk Wiebe
While researching this series of
three articles, I heard and read
discouraging reports by people
much more knowledgeable than I about
the status of the contemporary church.
I read Charles Colson's (Kingdoms in
Conflict) strong indictment of today's
church: "Post-World War II Christianity
is a religion of private comfort and
blessing that fills the holes in life that
pleasure, success and money leave open,"
writes Colson. I didn't want to agree, but
with his nationwide contacts, he should
know.
Howard A. Snyder in Liberating the
Church reinforces Colson's view: "Like
the nation, America's churches breathe
the atmosphere of self-protection and
self-aggrandizement. They run after the
same things the world does. The church
is not free for the Kingdom. Its sickness
is symbolized by the average church
budget: 80 or 90 percent spent on itself,
a pittance for the rest of the world."
What to do with these and other devas-
tating comments about today's church?
Analyze the apathy. Church leaders
speak of frequent absences of members
at church functions, especially on long
weekends; of lower attendance at Sunday
school, especially the adults, and at
evening and special services. They
bemoan fewer volunteers for church
programming, weakening stewardship
and moral accountability, and lessening
loyalty to denominational concerns.
Conference-wide, leaders speak of an
unnamed weariness in the church with
being the vibrant witnessing body of
Jesus Christ. They admit that church
growth is slow in this country as com-
pared to Third World countries. Per-
sonal spiritual growth, ethical values,
Bible study and prayer, evangelism and
missions, relief and development are all
still important, but not terribly impor-
tant. Not as important as being free to
follow one's own agenda.
Nominating committee members and
others tell of being turned down in re-
sponse to their requests for help: "Sorry,
but I'm just too busy this winter to work
on the worship committee," one teacher
said. The nominating committee
member had heard that response often.
"We want free time to travel and visit
other churches," said the newly retired
businessman and his wife.
"Our children are out of Sunday school
and children's clubs — we've done our
share," explained the middle-aged father.
"I'm working full time this year and
can't handle another thing or I'll shat-
ter." This from a mother of four.
Those attempting to involve members
in ministry sigh and keep phoning. By
the time the matter comes to arm
twisting (and often it does), they have
long ago reluctantly abandoned gift
discernment and mutual accountability
to the body of Christ. Service and
ministry have become institutional
terms, not loving deeds done out of a
sense of vocation.
I factored other details into my
developing thesis of church apathy: "I'm
tired of being preached at," one woman
told me bluntly. "I can't face another
preaching service."
Yet she yearns for a powerful church
moving into new spiritual frontiers. She
wants to be part of a church in which she
does more than listen to sermons and
drop money into the velvet-lined plate
passing under her nose each Sunday.
What is the state of the church? Is the
spirit of Christ still active? My mail
today again brought several letters
asking for money for various church and
conference projects. Are all of these
projects really holy causes, I dare to ask.
Will the church survive this overabun-
dance of information and dearth of
vitality? The institution obviously will,
but what about the church as a covenant-
ing body of believers?
In a first draft of this article I placed
myself on the side of Colson and Snyder,
assured that I could lay bare the church
as an impoverished institution, ham-
pered by an insidious hierarchicalism
and a laid-back membership satisfied
with a private fizzy-faith. I despaired
when I read that meeting the annual
budget was the great institutional
accomplishment of some congregations
and that faith issues never become a
reality for many members.
I couldn't dismiss the statement by
Robert Bellah, co-author of Habits of the
Heart, that an authentic community
occurs only when commitments of
members carry them beyond the private
life into public endeavor. A truly
Christian community has a distinctively
Christian lifestyle that is not determined
by social, ethnic or economic status.
Where is the body of Christ that has
transcended secular values to live out
Christ's teaching among the "pretensions
and illusions of a contemporary society?"
Must "business as usual" be the epitaph
we write over today's church?
And, adds Snyder, "When community
is weak, successful evangelism will do
little more than speed the church's
accommodation to surrounding society —
bring the world into the church rather
than bringing the gospel into the world."
Is it possible to make bold statements
about a new life in Christ? Grace is
sufficient for every trying moment. God
hasn't been shoved to second place just
because technology and history provide
explanations for life's questions. The
working of the Spirit rather than
management skills accounts for growth.
In a mature church an uncritical faith
and trust in God as sovereign Lord is
timely.
174 APRIL 24, 1990
A truly Christian commu-
nity has a distinctively
Christian lifestyle that is
not determined by social,
ethnic or economic status.
I had to admit that those Old Testa-
ment stories about manna and quails
dropping from heaven make good
children's entertainment but don't
always satisfy the church member who is
troubled about making mortgage
payments.
Three stages of faith. I found courage
and enlightenment in a concept that I
believe was first expounded by theolo-
gian Paul Ricoeur with regard to Bible
study. My understanding of what he
said is that when we first encounter the
Word of God we approach it with a
childlike belief, devouring every word
like a famished refugee. Belief comes
easy. But in a second stage some
Christians distance themselves from the
Word as they look more critically at the
text. The Bible suddenly contains too
many inconsistencies, and some people
lose their faith at this stage. In a third
stage, the "second naivete," wonder for
the Word is restored. The Bible is again
God's Word but at a more profound level,
deepened by personal struggle and
doubts.
Other writers are applying this to the
Christian life in general. The church
came through the renewal movement
several decades ago with great hope for
expansion. God's promises of renewal
never looked brighter. We were in our
first naivete.
But difficult years followed. We
witnessed thousands upon thousands
suffering through drought, famine, flood,
mass hunger, homelessness. Problems
such as divorce and abuse affected the
I Christian family. The communal
movement, which seemed to herald a
new age for the church, hardened along
institutional lines.
I see the church passing through the
second stage of belief, the critical
analysis stage. This accounts for at least
Where is this
spirit of
"gelassenhe.it"
more evident
than among
older
people
who have
found that
God takes them
through the
difficult days?
03
Z
some of the lethargy. Large professional
staffs, excellent management, topline
computing systems and slick marketing
skills — these dissipate the mystery of the
divine corporate life (of which Paul wrote
to the Ephesian church), which provides
the impetus for volunteerism. How can
any sense of calling survive marketing
jargon?
But true faith, the third stage, never
Something better than survival
Rebekah Burch Basinger
That we should ask if the church will survive tells me we have a problem. That
we might settle for mere survival is even more troublesome. Surely we want
something better for our churches than simply keeping the doors open.
We've always been a "can do" kind of people. Give us a natural disaster or a
social injustice and we're at our best. Unfortunately the challenges facing
General Conference churches today cannot be addressed by a volunteer team
from Mennonite Disaster Service.
Urbanization, two-career marriages, the high cost of life in the suburbs,
busyness — these are the "emergencies" with which we must be prepared to deal.
Initial findings in the latest Harder and Kaufman study show that less than a
quarter of us have remained on the farm. And more than 50 percent of married
women in our congregations are employed outside the home.
That we have trouble finding volunteer workers or that attendance at weekday
services has declined should come as no surprise. What is surprising is that we
would expect urban churches to respond to prescriptions for community that
worked in a rural setting in the past. Clearly the time has come to take a hard
look at what it means to be the church in the 1990s.
I object when "seat time" is equated with commitment. During a recent visit to
Messiah College, Robert Bellah described Americans as a frenzied people and
questioned whether the church need add to this frenzy by piling on program
after program that must be staffed and attended. Congregations might be better
served if busy families were encouraged to spend a quiet evening together at
home.
I am bothered by the disdain shown for professional staff in the church, pri-
marily because of the burden it places on women. After all, in years past it was
women who did the work (or who made it possible for a man to do the work) that
we now pay professionals to do. Given the employment schedules of men and
women today, it is unrealistic to expect volunteers to undertake large-scale, long-
term projects. Even the most dedicated workers have but 24 hours a day at their
disposal.
I am also concerned if we cling to a romanticized view of the past. In his new
book, On Leadership, John Gardner suggests that "the problems of today go
unsolved while people mumble the slogans of yesterday." He says we are guilty
of espousing processes that were designed to solve problems that no longer exist.
He challenges us instead to "renew and reinterpret our values" and to "generate
new goals appropriate to new circumstances."
I agree with Katie Wiebe that we dare not become "quagmired...in the dark-
ness of perplexity." However, I am not certain that a naive faith is the answer.
Survival, or better yet renewal, demands a willingness to look at our assump-
tions and habits — the way we "get things done" in the church. We must learn
what it means to worship, serve and care for one another in a busy, urban world.
May God grant us the wisdom and the courage to seek something better for his
church than mere survival.
Rebekah Basinger writes, "With work, a family, completing a
dissertation and a variety of volunteer assignments, survival is
about I hope for at the moment. " She is assistant to the president at
Messiah College in Grantham, Pa. She and her husband, Randall,
hold dual membership in the Brethren in Christ and General
Conference Mennonite (St. John Mennonite Church, Pandora, Ohio)
churches.
becomes quagmired. It moves through
the darkness of perplexity to the third
stage. Christians hold onto faith because
there is nothing else to hang on to. With
Peter they say, "Lord, to whom shall we
go? You alone have the words of eternal
life."
They know that good people are not
immune to suffering. They cannot give
answers to the reasons for injustice in
this world. As Daniel J. Sinundsen
writes in Hope for All Seasons, they
"have not received their share of the
world's resources, not been protected
from danger, not received justice from
this world and have not been supported
by loving human communities." But
they have faith. The words they say are
not much different from those they
uttered about God during their first
naivete. But the basis for them is
deeper, more secure. And they volunteer
and serve the church.
Such people understand that forgive-
ness of sin, whether before God or before
humankind, is a spiritual cleansing, not
just a relational technique. They
acknowledge Christ's presence with
them, not to assure them wealth and
happiness but to see them through each
day's struggles. They keep witnessing to
Christ's righteousness, even if evil seems
to be in control, simply because God asks
for obedience.
A way to describe this third stage is
with the German word gelassenheit — a
simple trust in God. We are in God's
hands. God is on our side. We worship
because God is God over all. If that is
naivete, so let it be. We need such trust
for a dark age.
Where is this spirit of gelassenheit
more evident than among older people
who have found that God takes them
through the difficult days. They have set
their vision on a hope. They know that
we all must do our own believing and
serving. If eyesight is bad, they write
their prayer lists in large print because
prayer is important. They wait in hope
for the promise of their Redeemer. With
such people the church will survive,
for they serve as models to the next
generation.
Katie Funk Wiebe,
Hillsboro, Kan., wrote
this article (last of
three) for Meeting-
house, a consortium of
Mennonite editors.
The first and second
articles were in March
27 and April 10 issues,
respectively
176 APRIL 24, 1990
Faith
Neil C. Fitzgerald
Faith
arid
Salt spray tousles my hair.
Sanderlings scurry at my feet.
The ocean is replete with whitecaps
rushing onto the shifting sand.
I stand watching a lone gull
soar and bank and glide
as the wide expanse of ocean
fills my soul and I am aware,
daring to love God means plunging
into the depths and, like the gull,
depending on God to lift me up.
Neil C. Fitzgerald's address is Box 192,
S. Dartmouth, MA 02748.
Faith and doubt —
mirror images,
reflections from the same light,
like Siamese twins linked together —
inseparable.
Marilyn Black Phemister lives in Pawnee
Rock, KS 67567
Marilyn Black Phemister
THE MENNONITE 177
The U.S. government's testing of nuclear
weapons is an illegal use of Indian lands
that is threatening the health of native
people downwind, said Pauline Esteves, an
elder of the Western Shoshone Nation,
March 1 6. Speaking at the Center for
Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque,
N.M., Esteves said that the Nevada Test
Site, which is on part of the 26 million acres
owned by the tribe, is also bringing harm to
the environment. "Mother Earth is not at
peace," she said, citing as examples
changes in the quality of deer hide and
willow branches used in traditional crafts.
An Illinois congregation raised more
than $70,000 in cash on a recent "miracle
Sunday" toward the purchase of four
acres of land for a new building. When
the members of First Mennonite Church,
Champaign-Urbana approved an option
on the property two weeks earlier, they
agreed they needed that much cash in
order to make the $300,000 purchase.
The special day was designated Miracle
Sunday because the $70,000 exceeds
the total annual budget of the 84-member
congregation.
NEWS
Celebrates Bluffton College's 90th anniversary
Central District discusses environment
Doug and Paulette Reichenbach, Wayland, Iowa, pantomime the
creation story.
Bluffton, Ohio— "For God so
loved the cosmos..." cried out
keynote speaker Melvin
Schmidt in the first address of
the 34th annual sessions
March 22-25 here of the
Central District Conference.
"We have no more right to
destroy the world," said
Schmidt, "than we had to
create it. Rethinking our
attitudes involves theology."
Predictably, some of the I90
delegates took issue with
Schmidt's strong emphasis,
asking for more material on
"whosoever believeth in him."
But with the stated theme
"What On Earth Are We Doing,"
this gathering took the opportu-
nity to educate itself by
listening to Michael Edmiston,
Arden Slotter, Sally Weaver
Sommer, Steven Steiner and
Robert Suter. representing
various scientific and economic
disciplines. Meeting on the
Bluffton College campus made
these resource people readily
available. The district also
celebrated the college's 90th
birthday on this occasion and
will expand its fund of scholar-
ships given to Bluffton College
students from the district.
Following the "care of the
environment" theme, Roberta
Krehbiel, Donnellson, Iowa,
told the hushed gathering
about her arduous search for a
medical diagnosis before she
was finally told that she
suffered from "toxic overload."
"Chemicals and drugs are our
constant companions." she
said. "We must do all we can
to get rid of pollution. As Chris-
tians we should be leaders in
this."
The district welcomed one
new congregation: Christ
Community Mennonite Church,
Schaumburg, III., pastored by
LeRoy and Pauline Kennel.
Living in Faithful Evangelism
(LIFE) will be given increased
emphasis. The delegates
passed one resolution: a call
for congregations to teach the
gospel of peace especially to
youth, to support Christian
Peacemaker Teams and to
challenge the government to
revise its priorities.
Committee leaders intro-
duced an array of 1 7 work-
shops and 10 "hearings" all
over the campus. Women in
Mission gave "fruit of the Spirit
awards" and unwrapped a
"Lazarus," thus stating that men
were invited to their meetings,
which include much more than
rolling bandages.
Randall Kaufman, Windom,
Kan., and Marvin Zehr. former
Central District pastor now in
Wichita, described the Tenth
Man program that assists
church planting.
The evangelism and church
development committee.
following a "Many Peoples
Becoming God's People" track,
announced plans to begin
several churches in Detroit in
coming years and to work with
Japanese people in Ohio.
A slate of new officers was
accepted by acclamation.
Treasurer Kent Yoder, Goshen,
Ind., presented the budget,
grouped around the four goals
of the General Conference
Mennonite Church: evangelize,
teach biblical principles,
develop church leadership,
seek Christian unity.
The district surpassed its
1 989 budget of $258,729 by 2
percent, meeting all its mission
obligations. However, because
it was a lean budget and
unexpected expenses came,
the district ended the year with
a $1 .500 deficit. The approved
1 990 budget of $271 ,650 is a 3
percent increase and runs
through June 1 991 , when the
district will reconvene. Plans
are for that meeting to be in the
Fort Wayne and Berne, Ind.,
area with the Indiana-Michigan
Conference of the Mennonite
Church.
A bicycle tour, with the 1991
meeting as its goal, was an-
nounced by Jake Elias.
president-elect from Elkhart,
Ind., after he rode onto the
stage on his bicycle, also
indicating "what on earth" he
was doing for the environment.
Muriel T. Stackley
178 APRIL 24, 1990
The first Mennonite retreat on disability
will be held July 21-23 in Winnipeg,
immediately prior to Mennonite World
Conference. Guest speaker George
Stromeyer, a spiritual guide in L'Arche, is a
founding member of the L'Arche community
in Erie, Pa. The sessions will feature
signed music and poetry, singing and other
artistic expressions by participants. Early
registration is encouraged. Write to
Mennonite Central Committee Canada, 134
Plaza Drive, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9.
Fighting in northern Ethiopia has
created the risk of famine there and is
blocking all possibilities of effective
international response. Negotiations had
been under way to allow a corridor for safe
passage of food aid from the northern port
city of Massawa into the province of Tigre.
But by Feb. 26 the Eritrean People's
Liberation Front had taken the port.
Millions of Ethiopians are at risk of death
from hunger. Estimates range from 2.5 to
5 million people who could die. Ethiopian
churches have initiated discussion of a
possible safe corridor for food from the
government-held port of Assab into non-
government areas of Tigre.
Hyde Park Anabaptist Fellowship of
Chicago has disbanded, due primarily to a
decrease in attendance. Started in 1984, it
was affiliated with the General Conference
Mennonite Church, the Mennonite Church
and the Church of the Brethren. Pastor
Mitchell Brown continues as pastor at the
other congregation he led, Evanston (III.)
Mennonite Church.
NEWS
Manitoba Mennonites to
implement reorganization
Winnipeg (GCMC)— Delegates
to the annual sessions of the
Conference of Mennonites in
Manitoba held here Feb. 23-24
were faced with the realities of
a revision in their conference's
structures.
As a result of special
delegate sessions in June
1989, the position of a confer-
ence executive secretary and a
pastoral leadership commission
were added to the conference
structures. Terry Burkhalter,
who was director of Camps
with Meaning for 10 years and
is currently director of a camp
in Florida, will begin as
executive secretary Sept. 1 .
Delegates to the February
conference wondered, What
does this position mean? How
will it affect the staff and
finances of the conference?
What is the job description?
Will this add to the already
growing bureaucracy in the
office?
The new pastoral leadership
commission, composed of four
pastors elected by the confer-
ence, has been designed to
help the conference pastor give
direction to the provincial
pastors. It will also implement
the guidelines for licensing,
ordaining and commissioning
pastors.
The 232 delegates attending
the annual meeting at the
Sargent Avenue Mennonite
Church had ample time to
discuss issues. After each
commission report they
organized themselves into
small discussion groups. Their
reports reflected affirmation as
well as concerns.
Having just moved into the
new offices at 600 Shaftesbury
Boulevard in Winnipeg, the
faith and life commission
reported that it was extremely
happy with its new recording
studio. There was affirmation
for its radio programs and a
slight nudge to begin to explore
video possibilities.
Camps with Meaning's report
noted that approximately 8,500
people rent the facilities in
winter compared to 1 ,000
during summer. The report
included a subsidy request
(based on the expenses per
summer camper) totaling
$16,000 for all three camps.
The response from the
delegates was that if camps
were a mission there should be
no problem funding them.
The educational ministries
commission lamented the
departure of Abe Bergen who
has resigned after 13 success-
ful years in youth ministry. His
ministry was seen as an
outstanding accomplishment.
The delegates drafted and
passed a resolution commis-
sioning the education commis-
sion to organize a music
committee with a mandate to
develop hymn-sing evenings, a
youth choir songfest, music
seminars for church conductors
and to correlate the Elim Choral
lending library with another
Mennonite library.
The outreach ministries com-
mission reported on a success-
ful chaplaincy program and
work with Vietnamese as well
as the German-speaking
Mennonites from Mexico who
are coming to Manitoba.
Members asked for special
direction in church planting.
The delegates approved a
total budget of $1 ,372,400 for
1990, which will translate to
$63 per member for a total of
$704,000 in church obligations.
Conference speaker Ray
Frey, stewardship director for
the General Conference
Mennonite Church, spoke on
"Good Stewards of God's
Varied Grace." He highlighted
the need for risk, vision and
renewal. Wilma Derksen,
Western regional editor,
Mennonite Reporter
Nine speakers
will address
Assembly 12
Carol Stream, III. — Mennonite
World Conference will feature
nine major speakers represent-
ing five continents. MWC
president Ross T. Bender,
Elkhart, Ind., will be keynote
speaker for the opening
worship service on July 24.
The others are Washington
Aratani
Koontz
Pankratz
Nzash
de Mendez
Mudenda
Bender
Brun
Brun, Uruguay; Toshiko
Aratani, Japan; Gayle Gerber
Koontz, U.S.; James Pankratz,
Canada; Nzash Lumeya,
Central African Republic; Maria
Leonor de Mendez, Guatemala;
Alle Hoekema (not pictured),
The Netherlands; Philip C.
Mudenda, Zambia.
The morning sessions will
focus on daily subthemes.
These include "Christ, theLight
of the World," "Living Christ as
Community," "Following Christ
as Disciples," "Proclaiming
Christ as Witnesses" and "Em-
powered by the Holy Spirit."
THE MENNONITE 179
Lawndale Mennonite Church has opened
its doors again to the Chicago Mennonite
Learning Center, reports Cam-O-Gram, the
Chicago Area Mennonites newsletter. The
school will be in the church facility for
classes this September. CMLC first began
at the Lawndale Church building in 1981
and was there for three years before
moving into the St. Agnes School.
Eden Mennonite Church,
Moundridge, Kan., dedicated a
new building March 25, two years
and two months after a fire
destroyed the old building on Jan.
25, 1988. A crowd of 1 ,200, far
exceeding the congregation's
membership of 794, attended the
service. In a litany of dedication
the congregation read, "We lost a
building, but we didn't lose our church. The church is people, the body of believers...."
Moundridge native Tim Schrag, pastor at First Mennonite Church, Beatrice, Neb., encour-
aged the congregation to dedicate the new building by showing love, mercy, forgiveness
and compassion each day. A mass choir performed "Praise the Lord, Ye Heavens Adore
Him" by J. Harold Moyer, professor of music at Bethel College, North Newton, Kan. The
piece was commissioned for Eden's dedication service.
The new Eden Mennonite Church building
NEWS
Ministry to students
is high priority
for Mennonite leaders
Vancouver (GCMC) — Approxi-
mately 60 people from the
Mennonite Brethren (MB) and
the General Conference
Mennonite Church (GC) met
here March 10 for a student
ministry conference.
"Only one out of five of our
Mennonite students are at
Mennonite schools. Another
one out of five are at Christian
schools. We're concerned
about the remaining three out
of five," said Palmer Becker,
co-director at the Menno
Simons Centre, Vancouver, a
residence for Mennonite
students at the University of
British Columbia.
The conference was spon-
sored by the Menno Simons
Centre and the Mennonite
Brethren Church. Most of the
participants came from British
Columbia, although there were
denominational representatives
from the General Conference,
Mennonite Brethren and
Mennonite Church.
"Our first priority is to
recommend a strategy to our
provincial structures," said
Becker. "However, we hope
the wider conferences will listen
to what we have to say."
Presenters highlighted five
papers previously distributed.
Two designated responders,
one a student at University of
British Columbia, added their
responses to the paper, then
discussion was encouraged
from the wider audience.
Presenters highlighted five
models for student ministries.
The first explored possibilities
for more cooperation between
churches and parachurch
organizations.
"Young adult ministry
becomes old fast," said one
respondent. "By the time you
have figured out what works,
interests change and you have
to try something different."
Parachurch groups are able
to "go with the flow" more easily
than churches or denomina-
tions. On the other hand, para-
church groups can only be as
effective as the churches that
support them with funding and
people. Local churches still
need to be in touch with
students to encourage a church
"home."
The second strategy
examined the option of pro-
viding a sense of community
through a campus residency
while also easing a critical
student housing shortage. This
approach is more denomination
specific. Although there can be
opportunity for outreach to the
wider campus, historically
residences have concentrated
on keeping a stable base for
their inhabitants. Students ex-
pressed the need for this "safe
haven" after facing a secular
student population all day.
The third strategy focused on
one-to-one interaction through
a chaplaincy program. The
various chaplains on campus
enjoy a loose association with
each other, but their ap-
proaches are basically individ-
ual and denomination specific.
The tension expressed here
was between the futility of
reaching a significant number
of students with only a few
people and the importance of a
one-on-one relationship.
Generally chaplaincy was
viewed as one approach in
conjunction with another
model.
A fourth strategy is the
attention paid to a certain
segment of students by a local
church. The local congregation
invites and welcomes students
into their community through
housing and various ministry
options. This model requires
much work and commitment on
the part of the hosting congre-
gation but provides opportunity
to become tuned to the student
ethos.
Dan Unrau, Fort Garry
(Man.) Mennonite Brethren
Church, also pointed out the
rich blessing that students give
to congregations. Students are
drawn to what they like, such
as "their kind of music" and
innovative ways to worship.
"They are good consumers,"
said Unrau, quoting from a
survey by sociologist Reginald
Bibby.
This model seemed to draw
the most interest. There may
be opportunity for pastors and
laity to provide individual
attention, yet the church as a
whole can work to include
individuals or groups of
students. The local congrega-
tion may also help empower
students to participate in para-
church groups, even if it means
limiting their involvement in the
church.
The final model focused on
ministry to foreign students.
Sharing specific examples from
her experience, Liz Kroeker,
SWISS MENNONITE HERITAGE TOUR
including the Oberammergau Passion Play
June 26 -July 17, 1990
Dr. Delbert Gratz, Tour Director
A study tour of places connected with Swiss Mennonite
heritage, as well as of general cultural and historical interest
that are located in Northern Switzerland, Eastern France and
Southern Germany.
For complete details contact Dorothy Weaver at:
■
imjlf Menno Travel Service
*~"^L^ 210 South Main Street
/ ' Goshen, IN 46526
219-534-1521 or 1-800-373^991
180 APRIL 24, 1990
Staff comment
Will change in
Eastern Europe cause us
to forget the rest of the world?
"Don't forget us."
That is the message coming to MCC from African, Asian
and Latin American Mennonites and other Christians
watching the radical changes occurring in Eastern Europe
and the Soviet Union. They worry that North American
Mennonites, with their historical connection to Eastern
Europe and the Soviet Union, will join the rush to provide
aid to those countries, abandoning needy people in the
world's poorest nations.
Mennonite connections to the Soviet Union go back to the
18th century; last year marked the 200th anniversary of
Mennonite presence in that country. MCC was created 70
years ago to feed starving people, including many
Mennonites, in the Soviet Union. Around 80,000
Mennonite-related people still live in the Soviet Union,
though many are taking advantage of loosening of
restrictions there to leave the country.
Worry about abandonment by international agencies is
strong in Africa, according to MCC Africa co-secretary
Eric Olfert. Pastor Nkumbi of Zaire's Mennonite
Evangelical Church asked Olfert during a visit if events in
Eastern Europe will draw MCC attention, resources,
connections and interest to that part of the world, at the
expense of churches in the South.
"I told him that I shared his concern," Olfert recalls, "and
that I would try to help it be heard in appropriate places.
Africans appear not only to be concerned that resources
will be diverted, but that networking, attention, and energy
of all kinds will be focused on Eastern Europe."
MCC Contact (USPS 689-760) is
published in February, April, June,
August and November by Mennonite
Central Committee, PO Box 500,
Akron, PA 17501-0500. Editors are
Charmayne Denlinger Brubaker, Ardell
Stauffer, Andrea Schrock Wenger and
John Longhurst. Graphic design by
Veronica Isaak. Copies are sent in bulk
to church addresses upon request.
Address correspondence to MCC
Contact Editor, 21 South 12th Stteet,
PO Box 500, Akron, PA, 17501-0500.
In Canada address correspondence to
MCC Contact Editor, MCC Canada,
134 Plaza Dr., Winnipeg, MB, R3T
5K9. Second class postage paid at
Akron, Pa., and additional mailing
offices. POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to PO Box 500, Akron, PA
17501-0500. Printed in U.S.A.
Photo credits: Page 1 , Harvey Harman;
Page 2, Steve Friesen; Page 5, Lowell
Detweiler; Page 7, Harvey Harman;
Page 8, Nancy and Peter Wedel
At MCC and MCC Canada annual meetings in January,
board members affirmed a course of action that will find
MCC responding to some needs in Eastern Europe, while
keeping long-standing commitments to the Third World.
"We want to help people in Eastern Europe and the Soviet
Union," says Ray Brubacher, director of MCC's overseas
programs. "But we don't want to divert resources from the
needier parts of the world. Eastern Europe is not as poor
as many other parts of the world."
Keeping concerns from neighbors in the south in mind,
MCC will address some needs in Eastern Europe in 1990.
MCC is sending $60,000 worth of medical supplies, dental
equipment, vegetable seeds and food aid to Romania. MCC
is also assisting in construction of medical clinics in
earthquake damaged Soviet Armenia and has sent
wheelchairs, medical equipment, Bibles and Bible
commentaries to the Soviet Union.
• • • John Longhurst
Information Services
MCC Canada
3 MCC Contact/April 1990
Elijah in El Salvador
Tito turns off the jeep radio and announces it's time to
plan the mass. Five of us are bouncing along in the jeep
with Tito, a priest in eastern El Salvador, on our way to
an isolated village. We sigh, reluctant to stop our bantering.
"Come on," he prods. "Get the Bible out and let's read."
The Old Testament scripture was I Kings 17 where Elijah
was fed for days by a poor widow who had only a handful
of flour and a little oil. "How shall we do this?" Tito asks.
"How about a skit? Let's act out the Elijah story," someone
suggests. This story has caught our imaginations.
Discussion starts in earnest. Gradually it no longer feels
like work. It's fun. The priest with his eight years of
seminary education is silent. No fancy explanations are
required for this passage. Salvadorans know the story well.
Elijah, a man of God, is fleeing repression. He is sent to a
poor widow gathering firewood, a daily routine in most
Salvadorans' lives. The widow is planning to prepare a last
meal for herself and her son and then await death because
she has no more food. But what she has she shares with
Elijah. She believes. She dares to hope.
Excitement charges the jeep. We are "doing theology,"
reading the Bible and reflecting on the country's current
situation of repression and hunger in light of the Word.
The biblical stories seem immediate.
Then we hit a roadblock. Soldiers stop us to search our
bags. The U.S. -backed Salvadoran military routinely
accuses the church of hiding guns and giving classes on
their use. But there are no guns. Though they find no reason
to detain us, they tell us we cannot go on. We protest. By
now we all badly want to present the Elijah story. But the
decision is final. The new colonel in charge of the zone has
decided that we need a safe conduct pass to be in the area.
When we get home Tito speaks with the colonel, who agrees
that pastoral work in rural areas could continue without
military permission. However, four days later soldiers from
the barracks make a speech. Before passing out U.S. food
supplies in an action intended to gain the hearts and minds
of the people, they say: "We are a democracy. We are here
to protect you. The guerrillas are terrorists." Then they
add a new line: "Tito is one of the most famous guerrillas
in the department and he could die anytime."
A week later Tito returns without incident to the area where
we had been denied entry. The events of the past week
were not talked about directly, but Elijah's story generated
much discussion. "I have been very zealous for the Lord
God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant...
and put your prophets to death with the sword... and now
they are trying to kill me too." (I Kings 19:10)
For Tito, and many others in El Salvador, the biblical story
of Elijah is all too real.
• • • Audrey Patterson of
Narvon, Pa.
MCC El Salvador
News from MCC
• • •
Five thousand sets of William
Barclay New Testament
commentaries, translated into
Russian, were shipped to the
Soviet Union in January. The
commentary project is a joint
effort of MCC, Baptist World
Alliance and the All-Union
Council of Evangelical
Christians/Baptists. The 75,000
books, valued at $250,000,
arrived in Moscow in late
February.
Last year MCCers in Guatemala
helped develop a coffee huller
made of locally available
materials. A steel, factory-made
imported huller cost $277. The
new wooden huller costs $55,
making it affordable to
campesino farmers so they can
prepare their own coffee for
market.
• • •
The Christian Council of
Mozambique (CCM) recently
completed distribution in
Mozambique of a large
shipment of Zimbabwean white
maize (corn). MCC donated
1 1 ,760 metric tons of Canadian
wheat that were exchanged for
the 7,000 tons of maize in
Zimbabwe. The maize was then
shipped to CCM.
• • •
Lloyd Bowman, MCC U.S.
worker, serves as assistant
director at the Lancaster (Pa.)
Mediation Center. "Everybody
is a winner with mediation,"
notes Bowman, who says he
has always been interested in
"seeing walls come down
between people."
MCC workers in Bangladesh,
with local MCC staff, are
investigating beekeeping as an
income-generating activity for
poor rural households. They
researched different types of
hives in seven locations and
learned about bee behavior,
pests and diseases and how to
find and catch bees in the wild.
Demand for honey is high in
Bangladesh; establishing a
beehive program will provide
honey without destroying and
robbing wild hives.
• • •
Two MCC Canada-sponsored
Native Canadian/Mennonite
seminars will be held this
summer. The August 3 to 14
Haida Mennonite seminar will
provide an opportunity to learn
about the Haida people who live
along the coast of British
Columbia. The seminar will
include visits to old growth
forests and to traditional village
and fishing sites. Cost will be
about $1 ,500 per person. An
August 21 to 30 seminar is
planned for college students to
learn about low-level flying
from the Innu in Labrador.
Participants will work with the
Innu in a community project.
There is no registration fee;
participants must arrange
travel to Labrador. For more
information contact MCC
Canada, 134 Plaza Dr.,
Winnipeg, Man. R3T 5K9.
4 MCC Contact/April 1990
In the shadow
of the cross
Israeli soldiers on the West
One of my favorite spots in the Holy Land is the Mount
of Olives. On its slopes overlooking Jerusalem one can still
find a place under an olive tree that might be similar to
where Jesus walked when he was here. In one location
commemorating the place Jesus may have stopped and
wept over Jerusalem, a small "tear-drop" chapel has been
built.
Pausing in this chapel to meditate or pray, one looks
through a window westward over Old Jerusalem. In the
window is a cross; beyond that cross lies much of the pain
and struggle of this holy place.
One can see the Golden Gate in the eastern wall of the Old
City. Tradition suggests it was the gate Jesus used for his
triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The Jews, still waiting for
the Messiah, have closed this gate. They believe it will be
opened only when the Messiah comes. To make that event
even more difficult, Muslims have used the space outside
the gate as a burial ground, knowing that neither Jew nor
Muslim would walk over sacred burial sites.
Just inside the gate and wall lies the Temple Mount. Here
David's threshing ground became the site for Solomon's
temple and for the second temple in which Jesus taught.
That temple was destroyed by the Romans. Beyond the
temple site, the Western Wall of the Temple Mount stands,
the most revered place in Jerusalem for Jews today. The
Temple Mount later became a holy site for Muslims; the
Dome of the Rock and the Al Aksa Mosque now standing
there. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all lay claim to these
holy places.
Bank. May God's love find its
way into the hearts of all, that
peace may finally come to this
troubled land.
In the name of Yaweh/God/ Allah, adherents of these three
religions have battled for centuries over Jerusalem. No
other city has been destroyed and rebuilt so many times.
Thousands upon thousands have been killed. Today
various Christian groups still scrap for control of every
square foot of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Jews and
Muslims clash over the Western Wall and Temple Mount.
And the larger Israeli/Palestinian struggle, which claims
lives every day, is often viewed by each side as a Holy War.
Each side believes in their sacred right to the land of
Palestine.
In the shadow of his cross, Jesus looked upon this scene
and wept for Jerusalem. Today we also weep for the people
who continue to live in pain and suffering. But let us also,
as Christ's disciples, pray and work so that His love may
find its way into the hearts of all, and that peace may finally
come to this troubled land.
• • • Lowell Detweiler
Mennonite Disaster Service
MCC U.S.
During a 1989 sabbatical Lowell and his wife, Ruth, spent several
months in the Middle East.
5 MCC Contact/ April 1990
The Lord our God
is one Lord
"Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."
Jesus called this the greatest commandment. He knew there
is nothing so radical, so life changing, so powerful as
worshipping God alone, above everything else.
When Jesus told a teacher of the Law that this was the
greatest commandment, he was in the midst of intrigue,
plots, stratagems and spoils, very aware that only one week
remained before his crucifixion. In the midst of such
struggle and stress, the core of his ministry came clearly
upon him. Some of his most significant acts and profound
utterances happened during this last week in Jerusalem.
The healing of blind Bartimaeus, the triumphal entry, the
clearing of the temple, the withering of the fig tree, the
crucifixion, the resurrection.
Mark devotes nearly a third of his gospel to Christ's final
week in Jerusalem. Even then, before today's onslaught of
homelessness, crack addiction, murder rates,
institutionalized poverty and substandard housing, I think
Mark knew that urban environments are often sites of
much of the demonic. I think he knew Christ would be
tested greatly there. In that testing came forth much truth.
In New Orleans, we have been challenged to remember
that "the Lord our God is one Lord." It has been difficult
to remember that our God is one God above all else, within
all else, when we are surrounded by structural decay,
political corruption and human suffering. It has been
difficult to remember that God cries when a 12-year old is
shot in the thigh, caught in the crossfire of two drive-by
drug dealers just four blocks from where we live.
It is then that I remember Christ's words: "Hear, O Israel,
the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your mind and with all your strength."
• • • Jody Miller Shearer of
Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
MCC New Orleans
Urgent openings
• • •
Ethiopia/Bangladesh:
Agriculturists
• • •
Akron, Pa.: Secretaries and
SELFHELP Crafts warehouse
workers
• • •
Saskatoon, Sask.: Office
manager
• • •
Egypt/Laos: Nurses
• • •
China/Swaziland: ESL teachers
• • •
Winnipeg, Man. Atlanta, Ga.:
Childcare workers
Belle Glade, Fla.: Community
health and education workers
Resources
• • •
Dream & Nightmare:
Celebrating 200 Years of
Mennonites in Russia, a new
MCC-produced, 33-minute VHS
video. Gives a firsthand
account of celebrations in the
Soviet Union commemorating
the 200th anniversary of the
coming of Mennonites to the
Soviet Union. Filmed by Peter
and Elf rieda Dyck, it provides a
glimpse of Russian Mennonite
church and community life and
their hopes and struggles. For
free loan contact the MCC office
nearest you. For purchase send
check or money order for $30
(Can.) to MCC Canada, 134
Plaza Drive, Winnipeg, MB R3T
5K9 or $25 (U.S.) to MCC, PO
Box 500, Akron, PA 1 7501 -0500.
• • •
A Middle East reader, 16-page
study booklet for church,
school or individual use.
Includes information on
religions, Christian groups,
major political players and
conflicts. Also provides
information on alternative
activities for visitors to the
region, Mennonite work there
and biblical prophecy.
Available from all MCC offices.
• • •
Caretakers; Earth stewardship
for children, the new MCC
children's learning and giving
project that teaches children to
be good stewards of God's
creation. Includes learning
activities, fund raising ideas,
information on the environment
and MCC work, and a brightly
colored board game. Available
from all MCC offices.
• • •
An MCC photo-cube bank holds
money for MCC projects and
has inserts depicting MCC
work. Inserts on gardening and
hunger are now available. The
banks are ideal for family or
Sunday school giving projects.
Business people could display
them near cash registers.
Available from all MCC offices.
6 MCC Contact/ April 1990
Country profile
South Africa
Population: 35,625,000
Per capita income: $4,000
MCC present since: 1978
Number of MCCers: 8
1989 expenses: $190,638
The church was at the center of
momentous changes in Eastern
Europe last year. The church
has also been pivotal in the
struggle against apartheid in
South Africa. Detainees jailed
without charges went on a
hunger strike initiated by
Christians who decided to fast
and pray for their freedom.
News of the fast spread to other
prisons, and soon hundreds of
detainees and thousands of
people outside the prisons
joined the fast. Authorities,
afraid that the fasters might
starve to death, set them free.
Churches also carried on a
"Standing for the Truth"
campaign, in which they trained
people in nonviolent resistance.
Most of MCC's 1989 budget for
South Africa supported
religious and peace groups
there. MCC especially
supported groups working for
nonviolent change. MCC gave
grants toward costs of a
national conference of
conscientious objector support
groups, and to a conference for
people who aid families of
political prisoners and
detainees. MCC also supported
a South African family studying
at Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries in Elkhart,
Ind.
MCCers in South Africa write:
"We are continually impressed
with the strength of the people
of South Africa who have for so
long struggled under a
repressive system of
government. The ability of
people to live under such
harassment and retain their
faith and their willingness to
forgive makes us feel humble."
SOUTH AFRICA
7 MCC Contact/ April 1990
MCCer Nancy Wedel
with friends in Zaire.
Thoughts on personnel
Can you help us
fill these positions?
Every year MCC looks for people to fill assignments around
the world. Here are a few people wedidnotfindinl989:
agriculturists for Haiti and Ethiopia; prison worker for
Edmonton, Alta.; nurses for Kentucky, Sudan, Laos and
Cambodia; an obstetrician for Mozambique; and a school
counselor for Port Hardy, B.C.
Cash projects
• • •
(June) Soup kitchen, Jamaica:
750,000 of Greater Kingston's
people live in poverty. MCC
assists Faith Centre, a soup
kitchen there. MCC purchases
red peas and other locally
grown produce and delivers it
to the center, which is run by
the Brothers of the Poor, a
Catholic order. Red peas
provide much needed protein in
a meager diet. $55 buys one
bushel of red peas. $500 buys
nine bushels of peas for the
soup kitchen. Please include
project number B920-20 with
your contribution.
• • •
(July) Canals and dams,
Cambodia: MCC helps build
canals and dams in Cambodia
that carry much needed water
to farmers' rice paddies. An
MCC engineer helps residents
of the village of Beng Krachap
build canals and gates for
canals. $2,000 is the total cost
of cement for this project.
Please include project number
B71 1 -30 with your contribution.
Material aid projects
• • •
(June) Sheets: Each year MCC
sends sheets to hospitals,
clinics and orphanages
overseas and to women's
shelters in the United States.
Recent shipments have gone to
Bangladesh and the Israeli-
occupied West Bank. Single-
sized flat sheets are preferred.
They may be white or colored.
• • •
(July) Fabrics: MCC wants to
send 10,000 yards of cloth to
Nicaragua and Tanzania this
year. Sewing cooperatives and
women's groups use the
material to sew for their families
or to make items to sell. Light
or medium-weight, color-fast
cotton or rayon is preferred.
Bolts of material are especially
needed.
Each year MCC is challenged to find people for certain
hard-to-fill positions, especially in education, health,
agriculture and victim/offender ministries. This year we
added a new hard-to-fill category — people to work with
those who have AIDS.
Do we have a hard time filling these positions because not
enough Mennonites and Brethren in Christ have the right
kind of training and experience? Is it because the idea of
Christian service is not as strong as it once was? Is it because
some kinds of assignments are not glamorous enough?
We are grateful for people who do say "yes" to the call of
service. This year 470 people joined MCC. The agencies
and churches with whom they work are impressed with
their dedication and commitment. But still there are unfilled
openings...
Can you help us fill those positions? We need committed,
capable people who are ready to accept the challenge of
Christian service. If you, or someone you know, are ready
to serve with MCC, give us a call.
• • • Len Siemens
Personnel Services
MCC Canada
8 MCC Contact/April 1990
Peace Mennonite Fellowship is the name
of the new Mennonite congregation forming
in the Rancho Cucamonga area of West
San Bernardino County, Calif. The
congregation began meeting monthly in
October 1988. Jeff Wright accepted
responsibility as church planter/pastor in
June 1989 on a part-time basis. In
February members adopted their first
budget. Wright assumed full-time pastoral
responsibility March 1. Nancy Reigsecker,
Randy Pastrone, Marlene Eshleman and
Bonnie Bare were affirmed as part of a new
leadership team.
Mennonite Central Committee workers
living in Mombin Crochu, Haiti, packed their
belongings and moved 14 miles down the
road to the small town of Rankit last
October. It was the end of MCC involve-
ment in a 10-year development project and
the beginning of a new one. The new
program will be similar to the one in
Mombin Crochu. The development model
encourages formation of peasant groups.
Groups discuss political issues and
address social needs they identify. In
Mombin Crochu groups also studied
agriculture and health lessons and pooled
their money to build community grain
storage silos.
About 40 people met in St. Maurice,
France, a suburb of Paris, last Oct. 28 to
dedicate the new Centre Mennonite
d'Etudes et de Rencontre (Mennonite
Study Center). The house in St. Maurice
also serves as the meetingplace for Foyer
Grebel Christian Community, a multiracial
church growing out of work with students.
The small fellowship joined the French
Mennonite Conference in 1986.
NEWS
Vancouver, spoke about the
opportunities available to
witness to foreign students.
These people often feel
isolated and confused in an
alien culture. Language
differences compound the
problem of trying to study new
material. Simple hospitality
and intentional inclusion by
local congregations is a
powerful example, she said.
By the end of the confer-
ence, it was clear that student
ministry will continue to be a
high concern among denomi-
national leaders. The unan-
swered question was how to
bring enthusiasm for student
ministry to local congregations.
Church leadership has to
begin by affirming what is
happening now and build on
successes. Priority for ministry
must come from the local
church, concentrating on what
can be done "now." Some felt
that in order to coordinate
student ministry and become
"more efficient," structures and
strategies should be developed
at the conference level.
One participant said, "I hope
this is the beginning of a
cooperative, intentional ministry
for our university and college
students. They are our future."
Another participant said, "I
hope we can spark a vision for
student ministry in the
churches. In order for us to
have integrity, we must be
open to change, open to new
ways of doing ministry." Ken
Hawkley, secretary for adult
and young adult education,
Commission on Education of
the General Conference
Mennonite Church
Rempel coordinates groups
that once 'adopted' her
Rempel
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)— As a
first-time missionary in Burkina
Faso in the late 1970s, Jeanne
Rempel counted on the support
she received from Women in
Mission (WM), a program of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church.
"WM reached out to my
husband and me in ways that
didn't come from others," said
Rempel, Upland, Calif., in an
interview here.
"There were
several groups
and individuals
that truly
adopted us."
Later, as
Rempel visited
women's
groups as part
of her mission-
ary itinerations, she was
impressed with "their sincerity
and faith. I knew their hearts
were in the right place."
Rempel, who is the newly
elected WM president, believes
"it would be a shame for such
an exciting and vital organiza-
tion to fade away" because of
declining membership. WM's
membership has dropped 20
percent in the last 10 years.
Although WM's focus in the
past, and even in the present,
has been on missions, Rempel
wants to create an "umbrella"
for WM that would include the
concerns of all women. "Many
women my age have no desire
to spend their time quilting, but
they may have an ardent
interest in issues such as
domestic abuse and homeless-
ness," she said.
"Where WM has hurt itself is
that it has not blessed the
passion of each woman in the
General Conference. If a
woman feels called to work in
the kitchen, WM should bless
her. If she feels called to be a
pastor, WM should bless her,"
she said. "Women are as
gifted as men. The church is
shortchanged when we don't
use all of their gifts."
To accomplish this change,
"WM needs to give more
attention to the local level. The
dream has to come from the
grass roots," said Rempel, who
is co-pastor at Mennonite
Community Fellowship,
Redlands. "If we intelligently
and courageously face the
needs next door, we are better
equipped to face the needs of
our continent and our world.
"I envision each church
supporting many different
groups of women according to
their interests," she said.
"Ideally women across the
United States and Canada
could network about their
common concerns.
"I want every woman to be
empowered by the church and
specifically the women around
her. I want every woman to
have an inner sense of who
God wants her to be," said
Rempel. Carla Reimer, GCMC
news service editor
MCCC invites youth to help
St. Catharines, Ont. (Meetinghouse)— Canadian college students (left
to right) Krista Steinmann, Michael Huebert, Krista Neustaedter and
Connie Lepp attended board meetings of Mennonite Central Com-
mittee Canada here in January. These and two others were invited
to observe and speak to the board, which in turn elected "young
people" Mike Hannigan, Kitchener, and Sophie Tiessen, Winnipeg,
as members-at-large. The youth said they were impressed with the
board's readiness to take decisive action on, for example, the
proposed NATO base in Labrador— to "squash the bug" and not just
chase it to Turkey. They expressed dismay that, though discussing
environmental issues, board members ate lunches served on throw-
away styrofoam plates. From a report by Ron Rempel, editor, Men-
nonite Reporter
Nearly a decade after they were first
arrested, the "Plowshares 8" have been
ordered to appear for resentencing on
charges of burglary, conspiracy and crimi-
nal mischief. On Sept. 9, 1980, the eight
peace activists — including Daniel and Philip
Berrigan — were arrested for a raid at the
General Electric missile assembly plant in
King of Prussia, Pa., where they used
hammers to damage missile parts.
Actor Stephen Shank begins his interpreta-
tion of the Revelation of John.
After emerging from a garbage can,
actor Stephen Shank's first words in por-
traying the Apostle John were, "From John,
to the seven churches in Asia, grace and
peace to you..." (Revelation 1 :4). Shank,
under the direction of Cor Stedelinck, used
contemporary images alongside the entire
New Jerusalem Bible text in a two-hour
presentation of the book of Revelation at a
Jan. 31 performance in Elkhart, Ind. Over
900 people attended. Shank's one-person
play, produced by Trapeze, a non-profit
Belgian organization, was commissioned
for presentation at Pastors' Week at
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries
in Elkhart.
NEWS
Burkina Faso takes daring Mennonite
step with young offenders writers
conference
set for fall
Akron, Pa. (MCC)— "A monu-
mental decision was made at
the government's recent con-
ference on youth," writes Men-
nonite Central Committee
worker Pamela Leach in a
recent report from Burkina
Faso. All minors will be
removed from prison and sent
instead to a training school,
Leach writes. "The decision
bodes well for the future of
minor offenders in Burkina."
Leach works with inmates
and ex-offenders in Ouaga-
dougou, the capital of Burkina
Faso. She has been in contact
with Justice Ministry officials
about possible improvements in
the handling of minors by the
country's justice system. She
was informed that a special
judge for minors is being
installed.
"I keep in touch with the
judges and social workers and
lobby them for speed and
releases where necessary,"
Leach writes. One problem is
youth who remain in prison
past their release date. A
minor must be released to his
or her family or be transported
home; some youth must remain
in prison when adequate
preparations have not been
made for release.
Within the prison, more
educated inmates currently act
as "animators," working with
minors. Classes are offered in
the prison on a range of
subjects, and projects such as
gardening and livestock-raising
are provided. Health issues,
from the dangers of smoking to
the problem of malaria and the
spread of AIDS, are also
addressed.
Leach stays in touch with
minors who are released,
helping them find employment
where possible. Former
prisoners have taken jobs such
as moped mechanic, cafe
operator and road worker.
Another now farms with his
family. "The closer minors get
to traditional family and village
life the more successful their
social readjustment," writes
Leach.
Hillsboro, Kan. (Meeting-
house)— The biennial Menno-
nite Writers' Conference will
come to the Midwest this year.
Around 200 participants are
expected to attend the week-
end event, which will be held
Sept. 21 -23 at the Cross Wind
Conference Center in Hesston,
Kan.
Sponsored by Meetinghouse,
a Mennonite and Brethren in
Christ editors' group, the
^E5
riOR
LVERYDAY
Compiled by Elaine Sommers Rich
"Prayer Is A Connection With God."
This book helps make these
connections— during times of solitude,
in small groups, in corporate worship.
Some are long and eloquent, others
short and crisp. Over 100 prayers, 30
of them for children.
ISBN 0-87303-137-7 • 96 pages •
Paperback $6.95 Canada $8.95
Available at your local bookstore or
Faith and Life Press Faith and Life Press
718 Main, Box 347 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.
Newton, KS 67114-0347 Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4
316/283-5100
204/888-6781
conference is open to anyone
interested in learning more
about writing and publishing.
Previous conferences were
held in Manitoba, Oregon and
Pennsylvania.
Planners hope this year's
event will help beginning and
veteran writers improve their
skills and encourage them to
use those skills as a ministry
for the church.
"Whether you write for a
newsletter or a newspaper, for
pay or for pleasure, for church
or community, poetry or prose,
sermons or prayers, you will
find much here that applies to
what you have been doing and
what you want to do," says
Muriel T. Stackley, editor of
The Mennonite and conference
coordinator.
George Neavoll, editorial
page editor of the Wichita
(Kan.) Eagle, will be the
keynote speaker. He will
address the topic "Make Them
Think: Writing for the Video
Generation." Neavoll is an
award-winning journalist and
has traveled extensively
throughout the world. He was
a Peace Corps volunteer in
India during the 1960s.
In addition to Neavoll, the
program will include workshops
on a wide range of topics,
worship sessions, entertain-
ment and opportunities to
become acquainted with
Mennonite editors and writers.
Anyone wanting more
information and a registration
form may write to Mennonite
Writers' Conference, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114. Don
Ratzlaff, editor, The Christian
Leader
182 APRIL 24, 1990
A federal court judge in Canada has
dismissed an application by the Toosey
Indian Band in British Columbia to end
Canadian military maneuvers in the
Chilcotin backwoods. Justice George Addy
also dismissed an application to compel the
Defence Ministry to conduct an environ-
mental assessment to determine if the
exercises would harm the environment,
saying that the ministry had given plenty of
consideration to possible environmental
effects. (Winnipeg Free Press)
The Fresno (Calif.) Metropolitan Museum is
showcasing the cultural traditions of the Menno-
nite community in an exhibition of more than 25
Mennonite quilts and textile arts. The exhibition
is called "Colorful Quilts and Quiet Lives: Men-
nonite Textile Arts." The exhibit also tells the
story of the Mennonites, one of the many pioneer
groups to settle in the Fresno area around the
turn of the century.
Kathleen Heinrichs, quilts chairperson for the West
Coast Mennonite Relief Sale, with Ross McGuire,
director of the Fresno Metropolitan Museum
NEWS
Face-to-Face brings
offenders, victims together
Winnipeg (MCCC)— You would
think the last thing a burglary
victim wants to do is go to jail to
meet men convicted of "break
and enter." But a unique
Winnipeg program is proving
that belief wrong.
Called Face-to-Face, the
Mennonite Central Committee
Canada-sponsored program
brings burglary victims to the
Headingley Correctional
Institution to meet men who
have committed theft. Since
October last year, the program
has run three successful
sessions.
The program, one of only two
in Canada — the other, in St.
John's, Newfoundland, is also
sponsored by MCCC — meets a
need for both victims and
offenders, according to Face-
to-Face director Jake
Letkemann. "Victims come
seeking answers to the
question 'Why me?' The
meetings help them realize that
the burglary was nothing
personal, not an attack on
them. The session seems to
help relieve their anxieties as
they meet and confront
offenders."
Victims do not meet the
actual offender who burglarized
their home; instead, they meet
offenders convicted of that
crime. The meetings help
offenders realize the human
consequences of their crime.
"It's not just a theft of prop-
erty— it also steals peace of
mind from the victim,"
Letkemann says.
After her home was broken
into a year ago, Winnipeg
resident Amanda Klippenstein
was frightened and angry. Her
participation in a Face-to-Face
session gave a chance to tell
offenders how badly the break-
in scared her. "What surprised
them most was how we reacted
to the burglary," she says.
"They thought, Insurance will
cover it — why worry? But I
could tell them how it scared
me."
Although Face-to-Face
currently only works with
burglary victims, Letkemann
says they are open to helping
victims of violent crime also. A
recent survey showed that
most victims of violent crime
are open to meeting an
offender; many of the respon-
dents indicated that such a
meeting would be an important
part of their healing process.
Virtually all the offenders
interviewed also expressed
interest in meeting their victims.
According to Letkemann, this
kind of face-to-face meeting is
important because our legal
situation does not allow victims
and offenders to meet. "I often
hear offenders say that they'd
like to apologize to their
victims, but it's impossible in
our present court situation."
"Crime doesn't happen
between the court and the
offender — it takes place
between people," he adds.
Face-to-Face helps people go
beyond the court system to
seek restorative justice.
Serve victims
of crime, says
VOM survey
Winnipeg (MCCC)— The
Victim/Offender Ministries
(VOM) program of Mennonite
Central Committee Canada
should continue, but more
emphasis should be placed on
serving victims of crime,
according to a recent survey.
The survey, part of a review
of VOM's 13-year service in
Canada, was sent to people
connected to VOM, criminal
justice professionals and
Mennonite and Brethren in
Christ conference leaders.
Respondents showed strong
support for all aspects of
VOM's work, with a number
suggesting that an area for
future work is with families who
have experienced violence.
As a result of the survey and
review, the MCC Canada
board, meeting in St. Cathar-
ines, Ont, in January, recom-
mended that the program
continue and that more
attention be paid to victims of
crime, beyond current VOM
service through mediation. The
review also recommends that
the reality of Native over-repre-
sentation in the criminal justice
system be addressed by VOM,
including advocating "the de-
velopment of Native justice
systems, increased use of
Native counselors in the
criminal justice system and the
potential for new approaches to
dealing with crime under Native
self-government."
Issues the review suggests
for future consideration include
support for community chap-
laincy programs, crime
prevention and support to staff
in the criminal justice system.
Community chaplaincy was
singled out because "all too
frequently ex-offenders feel
they do not fit into existing
church structures," while crime
prevention touches a concern
by VOM volunteers and staff
that they frequently "deal only
Native over-
representation in the
criminal justice system
should be addressed.
with the symptoms of crime."
In suggesting that more
attention be paid to staff who
work in the criminal justice
system, the review notes that
while they "are employed in
difficult and stressful work,
VOM has done little in the way
of addressing their needs."
The review also suggests
that while MCC has responded
to global famine, poverty and
health needs, "it has lagged in
response to the treatment of
prisoners" in the developing
world. The review proposes
that work with prisoners
overseas, many of whom live in
"appalling" conditions, be given
higher priority by MCC.
The MCC Canada VOM
program began in 1976. Today
more than 1 ,000 people
regularly visit prisoners and
serve as mediators in MCC-
related programs in Canada.
THE MENNONITE 183
World Friendship Center, Hiroshima,
Japan, is hosting a 25th anniversary tour
Aug. 1-18. With departures from Chicago
and San Francisco, the tour will visit
historic Kyoto, then spend five days in
Hiroshima and Nagasaki to coincide with
the recognition ceremonies on Aug. 6 and
9. For information write John and Marie
Ebersole, 314 Hickory Lane, Route 2,
North Manchester, IN 46962. The Com-
mission on Overseas Mission participates
in staffing WFC.
RECOltd
Six peace activists, including a Menno-
nite, Gene Stoltzfus, were arrested March
23 when they conducted a pray-in at the
Salvadoran Consulate to urge an end to
human-rights abuses and persecution of
church workers in El Salvador. They
attempted to enter the consulate offices to
present a letter to the consul general. They
were charged with criminal trespassing and
released on signature bonds. "By going to
jail we hope to arouse the conscience of
our city to oppose all U.S. military and
economic aid to El Salvador," Stoltzfus
said. He is a co-founder of Synapses, an
interfaith peace and justice group.
Rudy Wiebe, Patrick Friesen, Andreas
Schroeder and Di Brandt are some of the
best Canadian Mennonite writers and are
all coming to Conrad Grebel College,
Waterloo, Ont., May 10-12 for a major
literary conference. "Mennonite/s Writing in
Canada: a Conference on Canadian
Literature" is designed as an inquiry into
and celebration of Mennonite literature.
Sessions will explore the literary and
historical context in which the current
generation of Mennonite authors write and
some recurrent themes in their work. For
further information contact Kim Jernigan,
The New Quarterly, c/o ELPP, PAS 2082,
University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L
3G1, (519) 885-1211.
WORliERS
Myron Augsburger and J.
Howard Kauffman addressed
the Mennonite Council on
Church and Media, April 17-19,
in Nashville, Tenn. Augsburger
also led a seminar at the
Religious Communications
Congress 1990 in Nashville.
Don Bakely was the featured
speaker at the annual Inter-
Collegiate Peace Fellowship
conference at Canadian
Mennonite Bible College,
Winnipeg, Feb. 22-24. Bakely,
a United Methodist minister in
Kansas City, Kan., addressed
the theme "Urban Peacemak-
ing: Backyard Christianity."
Students from eight Menno-
nite colleges attended the
conference.
Anne Bargen, Winfield, B.C.,
and C. Arnold Snyder, associ-
ate professor of history and
peace and conflict studies at
Conrad Grebel College,
Waterloo, Ont., were recipients
of the second award from the
Frank H. Epp Memorial Fund.
Bargen preserves and trans-
lates Mennonite family letters
written from the Soviet Union in
the 1930s, and Snyder is
undertaking a study of "Ana-
AMBS — Associated Men-
nonite Biblical Seminaries
COM — Commission on
Overseas Mission
MCC — Mennonite
Central Committee
baptist Peace Theologies and
the Church Today."
John and Tina Buhler,
George and Dorothy Dyck,
Gerald and Leona Dyck, Abe
and Ann Thiessen, and Carl
and Rita Wiebe were commis-
sioned March 4 as deacon
couples at First Church, Burns
Lake, B.C.
Larry Cornies, London, Ont.,
former associate editor of The
Mennonite, has been named
head of the arts and entertain-
ment desk of the London Free
Press.
Elizabeth Gravador Domin-
guez, Old Testament scholar
and teacher at two graduate
schools in the Philippines, is
visiting professor at AMBS,
February to May.
Michele Durand has been
appointed the women's
basketball coach at Bluffton
(Ohio) College. She served as
assistant coach since 1988.
Byron Emmert is serving as
an assistant pastor at Bethel
Church, Mountain Lake, Minn.,
along with Jeff Minor and
Norman Geissinger.
Anna Ens, Winnipeg, Erwin
Rempel, Newton, Kan., and
Jeanne Zook, Portland, Ore.,
have been reappointed by
COM for additional three-year
terms as representatives on the
Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission
board. Continuing representa-
tives are Dennis Rempel,
Upland, Calif., Sara Regier,
North Newton, Kan., and
Charles Sprunger, Trappe, Pa.
Donna and Kelly Epp,
Bethesda Church, Henderson,
Dominguez G. Janzen
Neb., served in St. Croix Jan.
10-Feb. 13 with Mennonite
Disaster Service in rebuilding
after a hurricane.
Toinette Eugene, Chicago
Theological Seminary, gave the
Staley Distinguished Christian
Scholar lecture at Goshen
(Ind.) College. She spoke on
"Can Faith Survive Injustice? A
Question for Women in the
Church."
Ronn Frantz was appointed
president of Chicago Area
Mennonites, Dan Schrock
secretary and Raymond Bell
member-at-large. Samuel
Pagan was reappointed
member-at-large, and David
Suter was reappointed
treasurer.
Rosanne Goble has resigned
as Western District Conference
Resource Library director,
effective May 18. In June she
will begin as director of
Ridgeway (Va.) Branch Library.
Dennis Hollinger from AMBS
spoke Palm Sunday and during
pre-Easter services at First
Church, Berne, Ind.
George Janzen has resigned
as pastor at Cedar Valley
Church, Mission, B.C. He and
his wife, Martha, plan to return
to Japan with COM.
Tim King, First Church,
Bluffton, Ohio; Terry Reichen-
bach, St. John Church,
Pandora, Ohio; and Jim
Sprunger, Grace Church,
Pandora, have been named
counselors for Mennonite
Mutual Aid serving the Bluffton,
Findlay and Pandora areas,
respectively.
Doug and Jude Krehbiel,
Shalom Church, Newton, Kan.,
are touring the United States
and Canada, sponsored by the
Commission on Education and
MCC. Known as Road Less
Traveled, they perform a
The following four people will teach Great Plains Seminary
courses in south central Kansas in the 1990-1991 school
year: David Augsburger, Elkhart, Ind., "Personality and
Religious Experience" during the January interterm; Duane
Friesen, North Newton, Kan., "Introduction to Ethics" during
summer 1990; Ron Guengerich, Hesston, Kan., "Psalms"
during spring semester 1991 ; and James Juhnke, North
Newton, Kan., "The Mennonite Experience in America" during
the fall semester 1990. Credit is available through Associated
Mennonite Biblical Seminaries. Contact Jacob T. Friesen,
Box 306, North Newton, KS 67117.
184 APRIL 24, 1990
Mennonite pastors in Winnipeg who counsel victims of domestic violence
agree that there is a time when, for safety's sake, a victim must leave a spouse.
They do not, however, want to be the ones who tell the victim to leave. That is
one of the conclusions of a recently released study of the attitudes of the city's
41 Mennonite pastors toward victims of abuse. According to Isaac Block, the
study's author and assistant professor of contemporary ministries at Mennonite
Brethren Bible College, the study shows that the pastors find it difficult to deal
with the tension between upholding the church's commitment to the permanence
of marriage and the need to seek the victim's well-being. The study found that
only 15 percent of the pastors would tell a victim of physical violence to leave
their spouse immediately. Eighty-three percent would tell the victim to stay at
home but seek professional counseling. The pastors said they had received
reports of about 1 ,090 incidents of abuse in the past year— 341 reports of
physical abuse, 593 instances of psychological abuse, 68 instances of abuse
against pets and property and 88 other kinds of abuse. No effort was made to
determine whether these incidents occurred only among people in the 41
Mennonite congregations in Winnipeg.
R ECO lid
Witness for Peace has heard reports from
Nicaragua's war zones that shed doubt on the
ability of the recent Toncontin peace accord to end
the contra war. The agreement, signed in Hondu-
ras by leaders of UNO, contra leaders and Nicara-
guan Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo, calls for
contras inside Honduras to turn over their arms by
April 20. However, it does not stipulate conditions
for the disarming of those contras who have left
Honduras and moved back into Nicaragua.
Meanwhile, eyewitnesses report increasing
numbers of contras inside Nicaragua.
Lohrentz
O'Connor
variety of musical styles on
banjo, dulcimer, mandolin,
recorder, harmonica, bass,
synthesizer, acoustic and
electric guitars. They are
promoting the book and
cassette, "Journey with Justice"
(Faith and Life Press, 1989), for
which they wrote the music.
Paula Diller Lehman wrote the
text.
Tim Lohrentz, Jubilee
Church, North Newton, Kan.,
was one of 20 people who
were in El Salvador March 15-
25 sponsored by the Going
Home Campaign, an interfaith
effort to accompany Salva-
doran refugees returning home.
On this fifth trip to El Salvador
Lohrentz was not harassed.
Last October he was captured
and held for nine hours by
security forces.
Kathleen M. O 'Conner,
Maryknoll (N.Y.) School of
Theology, gave four lectures in
the annual AMBS theological
lectureship under the heading
"Wisdom: A Spirituality for
Justice."
Helen Peifer, Akron (Pa.)
Church, is the new director of
Diamond Street Preschool
Center, Philadelphia.
Steve Ratzlaff, Seattle
Church, was pastor-in-
residence on the Bethel
Reesor-Taylor Shelly
College campus, North New-
ton, Kan., March 30-April 6.
Rachel Reesor-Taylor,
Montreal, is the recipient of the
AMBS lectureship stipend for
women graduate students, an
annual award to underwrite
graduate-level research and
provide teaching experience.
She is in Elkhart for the spring
semester.
Ron Rempel, Stirling Avenue
Church, Waterloo, Ont., has
been appointed to another five-
year term as editor and
manager of Mennonite
Reporter.
Ed Rinnich is the new pastor
at West New Hopedale Church,
Ringwood, Okla.
Linda Shelly, Elkhart, Ind.,
has accepted a three-year
assignment with MCC in
Central America, beginning in
August. She will live in a
Mennonite community in
Honduras, coordinate MCC's
Central America regional peace
efforts and assist in a new
church-planting project. Her
parents are Andrew and Viola
Shelly, Newton, Kan.
Arnold and Marie Siebert,
Bethesda Church, Henderson,
Neb., served for 2 1/2 months
of voluntary service in
Brownsville, Texas, under
Mennonite Board of Missions.
Waltner
Weaver
Yoder
Phil Stolzfus, student at
AMBS, is student assistant
pastor at Salem Church,
Freeman, S.D., through
August.
John K. StonermW lead an
individual retreat of prayer and
spiritual renewal at Laurelville
Mennonite Church Center, Mt.
Pleasant, Pa. Stoner is on the
staff of MCC Peace Section.
George Strohmeyer, spiritual
director of the L'Arche Commu-
nity, Erie, Pa., will be the
speaker for the First Interna-
tional Mennonite Retreat on
Disability, to be held July 21-23
in Winnipeg.
Ken Strong has resigned as
youth/assistant pastor at
Hesston (Kan.) Inter-Mennonite
Church, effective June 30.
Erland Waltner, Elkhart, Ind.,
was the Holy Week speaker at
Bethel Church, Mountain Lake,
Minn.
Margaret Shelly Weaver,
First Church, Bluffton, Ohio,
was honored March 31 by the
Triplett Memorial Foundation
for her contributions to the
quality of life in Bluffton. She
taught Latin and human values
in Bluffton High School the past
25 years.
Russel Welty was installed
as interim pastor at Durham
(N.C.) Church on March 18.
June Alliman
Yoder, profes-
sor of preach-
ing and com-
munications at
AMBS, was
Holy Week
speaker in the
Moundridge,
Kan., commu-
nity April 8-12.
She spoke at nightly meetings
in the high school and at First
and West Zion churches.
— compiled by Angela Rempel
Faculty position in microbiol-
ogy: One semester full-time
position for fall 1990. Teach
microbiology and assist in an intro-
ductory biology course, both
including laboratory. Advanced
degree in microbiology and
teaching experience preferred.
Minorities and women are urged to
apply.
Send resume to Dr. Lee Snyder,
Eastern Mennonite College.
Harrisonburg, VA 22801
Full-time openings in English and
special education and a half-time
position in guidance are available
at Christopher Dock Mennonite
High School beginning in 1990-
91 . The guidance poisiton may be
combined with subject area
teaching to comprise a full-time
position. Co-curricular openings
include yearbook, baseball, soccer
and cross country.
Contact Elaine A. Moyer, acting
principal, Christopher Dock
Mennonite High School. 1000
Forty Foot Road, Lansdale, PA
19446-4398, phone (215) 362-
2675.
THE MENNONITE 185
Mennonites are guilty of silence and even denial about the The Tokyo Mission Research Institute, inaugurated last
problem of violence against women, say Clare Schumm of December, promotes the scholarly study of missiological issues in
Elkhart, Ind., and Fred Loganbill of Newton, Kan. They attended Japan. It is a joint venture of Tokyo Biblical Seminary, Japan
an ecumenical conference in March that sought ways for men to Anabaptist Center and OMS International. Japan Anabaptist
stand in solidarity with women against sexist violence. "Before, I Center in Tokyo offers seminars and provides a place for study
thought it was other men who are abusive, not me. Now I and research. It is operated by the Tokyo Area Fellowship of
recognize the power I have because I am a white, middle-class Mennonite Churches, five Mennonite congregations that relate to
male as well as the subtle ways I use that power to oppress the Commission on Overseas Mission of the General Conference
women," said Schumm, family life staff person for the General Mennonite Church and Mennonite Board of Missions of the
Conference Mennonite Church and the Mennonite Church. "Most Mennonite Church,
men don't understand the full spectrum of discrimination that
women experience," Loganbill said. He and Schumm hope
to plan a similar event for Mennonite men in order to raise
awareness.
RESOURCES
* sshooks
A Life for a Life? The Death
Penalty on Trial by Vernon W.
Redekop (Herald Press, 1990,
$5.95, $6.95 in Canada)
explores creative approaches
for dealing with offenders and
offers thoughts about how
society may reduce the
incidence of crime to bring
healing and wholeness to
society.
Through clinical and personal
research, psychologist Richard
Walters (a self-described re-
formed perfectionist) discerns
the liabilities of perfectionism in
Escape the Trap: Help for
Perfectionists and Those Who
Live with Them (Zondervan,
1989, $7.95).
In May a Worship Kit:
Sabbath for the Environment
($5) will be available to
churches. The kit enables the
planning of worship services
and subsequent congregational
activities with an environmental
stewardship theme. Order from
Jubilee, 1 15 Woolwich St., 2nd
Floor, Guelph, ON N1H 3V1,
(519) 837-1620.
Don't Stop the Music by
Dana Key with Steve Rabey
(Zondervan, 1989, $6.95)
offers biblical principles with
which all music should be
evaluated, secular or Christian.
In contrast to the traditional
focus on proclamation and to
the more recent emphasis on
church growth, The Logic of
Evangelism by William J.
Abraham (Eerdmans, 1989,
$12.95) argues that evangelism
should be construed as primary
initiation into the kingdom of
God.
Lenka of Emma Creek by
Sophia Unruh, illustrated by
Arch Unruh (Faith and Life
Press, 1989, $8.95, $10.75 in
Canada), is a children's book
that tells the story of how a
young girl helps a woman who
is mistreated by her neighbors.
Based on Proverbs 22:6 and
Romans 12:6-8, Discover
Your Children's Gifts by Don
and Katie Fortune (Revell,
1989, $9.95) offers direction for
discovering children's personal-
ity gifts and helping them find
their place in life.
Make Me Like You, Lord by
Colleen Townsend Evans
(Revell, 1989, $10.95) invites
readers to leave all spiritual
straining behind and to "soak"
quietly in the presence of
Jesus.
Doubt "can bring us into a
better place with Christ," writes
Winkie Pratney in The Thomas
Factor (Revell, 1989, $6.95).
Crisis: Crucible of Praise
by Latayne C. Scott (Zonder-
van, 1989, $6.95) tells how
praising God can broaden a
person's understanding to see
that God is actively involved
even though circumstances
remain troubling.
Bluffton (Ohio) College has
available an Information and
Resource Directory that also
lists a speakers' bureau and
topics for group presentations.
Contact Paul J. Sager, Box
668, Bluffton, OH 45817.
— compiled by Gordon Houser
Wildwood Mennonite Church of
Saskatoon invites applications for
the position of full-time pastor.
Send inquiries or resumes to
Pastoral Search Committee,
Wildwood Mennonite Church, 1502
Acadia Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7H
5H8.
Faculty Position in Music:
Private voice instruction. Teaching
in areas of music theory and ap-
preciation; possible work with vocal
ensemble. Beginning Fall 1990.
Doctorate preferred. Minorities
and women are urged to apply.
Send resume to Dr. Lee Snyder,
Eastern Mennonite College,
Harrisonburg, VA 22801
Youth leader/assistant pastor
required immediately, to work
especially with youth and young
adults, at Zion Mennonite Church
in Swift Current, Sask.
Please send inquiries/resume to
Hilda Wiens Schmidt, Chairperson,
Pastoral Search Committee, 1150
Jubilee Drive, Swift Current, SK
S9H 2A2, (306) 773-6537.
Freeman Academy has positions
open for 1990-91 for a Bible
instructor and a vocal and
instrumental music instructor.
Freeman Academy is a Christian
junior-senior high school, grades 7-
12, affiliated with the General
Conference Mennonite Church. To
apply, send letter and credentials
to Leroy Saner, Principal, Freeman
Academy, Box 1000, Freeman, SD
57029, (605) 925-4237.
Master's level clinician with CAC
at Philhaven Hospital. Philhaven
is looking to employ a clinician with
a master's degree and Certified
Addictions Counselor's designation
to work in an outpatient setting
providing clinical services to clients
with mental health and substance
abuse problems. Philhaven is a
96-bed, private psychiatric facility
operating from a Christian
perspective to provide a broad
range of mental health services.
Competitive salary and benefits.
For additional information and
application contact:
Jay Garber, personnel director
Philhaven
P.O. Box 550
Mt. Gretna, PA 17064
(717) 270-2451
SOCIAL SERVICE JOBS
Social Worker Aide
Community center-based position involves interviewing, program coordination and
home visits. Interest in social work required.
Emergency Service Coordinator
Operate a small shelter and work with an inter-church emergency assistance pro-
gram. Experience helpful.
Intake Interviewer
Do screening and referrals for a low- and moderate-income housing pro-
gram. Includes some tenant/landlord work. Spanish fluency desired.
Social Worker
Work closely with an educational and therapy team in a center for
emotionally disturbed children. Includes individual and group ther-
apy and work with families. BSW desired. Good MSW supervi-
sion.
C 3 56 wo r k© r
Involves all aspects of making and supervising matches
for a Big Brother program. Responsible for home vis-
its, counseling, referrals and special events. BSW
preferred. Related education/experience consid-
ered.
Write or call for details or a complete list of ^
openings in Canada and the United {gr /b
States. ^X^C/
186 APRIL 24, 1990
I was in prison
and you
visited me
Letters
Thanks
Menno Wiebe
I was in prison and you
visited me
began LaBlanc as he addressed
the circle of
christians
the prison wall
he said
reeks with despair
ten thousand inmates
across the land clamor
at the prison wailing wall
trapped in the cage
where we are trained to
hate
where all further potential
of bitterness is
only nourished
we survive
in this devil's playground
the place to brew out
perpetual evil
the final judgment test
is coming, said Jesus
I was in jail and you
visited me
the inmate said, so come
and see us
you brothers of the faith
come bring a little justice
to our jails
and free yourselves
from your fears of us
Menno Wiebe, recasting the words
of Jean LaBlanc, is Native Con-
cerns staff person for Mennonite
Central Committee Canada.
I appreciate the beauty and depth of
many of the articles. Thank you for
helping put together a paper of caring
and encouragement. Gladys E. Harder,
1721 Palm Drive, Apt. B, Fort Collins,
CO 80526
More on Nicaragua
You don't have all the information [Edi-
torial, March 27]. Russia sent more
arms and money to Nicaragua than did
the United States. The reason Nicara-
gua had free elections is because Russia
withdrew its support. Russia's economy
got so bad that it could no longer support
all its satellite countries. There's a lot
our government does that I don't approve
of, like military things. But when I read
this editorial I see a leaning to the left.
To me it's pure communism. It's like
saying that communism is OK. Our
foreign policy in Central America should
have everybody's attention. Gary
Krebill, Route 1, Box 46, Donnellson, IA
52625 (by telephone)
We've come a long way
"Can the Church Survive the Profession-
alization of Its Leadership?" by Katie
Funk Wiebe [March 271 cries out for
response.
What does a statement like this say
about the varieties of gifts: "They [the
laity] put their energies into their
vocation, play, family or their personal
enrichment." This is called the "self-
disenfranchisement" of the laity. If I
don't see my gifts as being part of the
traditional ministry — preaching, counsel-
ing and so on — I have just been told that
my gifts are second-class. If my vocation,
family and even play are not somehow
serving God, at least in some indirect
way, then something is wrong. To look
at the other side of the coin, what does
the title of the article say to me if I do see
my gifts as being preaching and counsel-
ing and so on? I also seem to have been
told that my gifts are second-class, since
they are not just my gifts but are
supposed to be shared around in the
Christian community.
Secondly, it is worthwhile to ask when
in the history of the General Conference
Mennonite Church and the Mennonite
Church has the gap between clergy and
laity been the widest? When have the
ordained been most clearly "special
people" with a fence of ordination around
them? It was in the authoritarian,
patriarchal era of "elders" and "bishops,"
elected for life from the laity. We've
come a long way toward equality of gifts
since the Mennonite clergy started being
"professionals."
It seems to me this article is directed
to a wrong audience. Among the com-
mercialized and world-conformed
"evangelicals" some ministers (always
male) believe that they must be "in
authority" over their congregations.
Perhaps this thinking is more common
among the Mennonite Brethren, who
often seem to be more conformed to
society at large than many other Men-
nonite groups, but this does not seem to
be a significant problem in the General
Conference. (Actually, I do know of at
least one GC case of this disease.)
Traditional pastoral training, like
theology, counseling, biblical languages
and so on, is not something acquired
casually in one's spare time. Not just
any idiot can be preacher. People who
feel that God has called them to use the
gifts traditionally associated with the
clergy will necessarily have a prominent
place in the Christian community,
ordination or not. People with these gifts
need to be encouraged to make them into
a vocation (in both senses of the word),
not discouraged by the red herring of
"professionalization." John D. Thiesen,
2005 Clover Lane, Newton, KS 67114
Katie responds to John
I am not opposed to professionalization
but to a frequent offshoot of it, clerical-
ism. I accept the priesthood of all
believers, meaning that all members of
the covenant community are priests to
one another. Professionalism need not
lead to clericalism, but it holds the
possibility, especially if ordination
becomes the hedge around the profes-
sionals. I am glad to hear that the
General Conference Mennonite Church
"has come a long way toward equality of
gifts." If the article doesn't apply, I
suggest that readers not allow it to
blister their spiritual heels.
I am naive enough to believe ( and not
just because I am Mennonite Brethren)
that God still uses non-professionals to
bring an occasional prophetic message to
the church. To shut out such people (I
would not call them idiots) is to close our
ears to God's truth. God is not limited by
our standards of a minister. These
prophetic voices find it hard to be heard,
especially if they come from certain
sectors of the church, such as women and
minorities.
188 APRIL 24, 1990
Learn all you can
about writing . . .
Mennonite
writers'
conference
Sept. 21-23, 1990
Cross Wind Conference
Center
Hesston, KS
■ Draw strength from other
writers
■ Improve the quality of writing
available to the publications
and ministries of the Menno-
nite community
■ Whether you write for a news-
letter or a newspaper, for pay
or for pleasure, for church or
community, poetry or prose,
sermons or prayers, you will
find here much that applies to
what you have been doing and
what you want to do
■ Open to all
Send inquiries to:
Mennonite Writers' Conference
Box 347
Newton, KS 67114
I have just attended an inter-Menno-
nite Women in Ministry Conference with
100-120 women in attendance. About 40
of these were General Conference
Mennonites. One of the goals of the
conference was to empower women to tell
the gospel story. Many women admit to
having a calling, yes, even a gift for
spiritual ministry, but cannot find the
opportunity to use these gifts because of
clericalism. Minority women (and men)
need to be heard more often. Simply to
say such people should work to make
their gifts their vocation is not the full
answer, as one graduate of AMBS
recently wrote me, expressing her
disappointment in not finding a ministry
after graduation.
One pastor wrote, "You have affirmed
the thinking and direction we are
attempting to take as a church, even
though there are some within the church
who are more comfortable with 'a king.'
The 'old-timers' among us seem to want a
'holy man,' a 'set-apart man.' They are
reluctant to enter that area and are
uncomfortable when others do so
...especially women."
Thiesen seems concerned that his gifts
might be considered second-rate. That
was not my intention. Paul writes to the
Corinthians that a toe is as important as
a hand or a foot. However, I believe that
everyone should have the experience of
being considered second-class at least
once, even if mistakenly. This experi-
ence can lead to a greater understanding
of those truly considered second-class in
society and church. I ask John Thiesen
and others to encourage the muted laity,
whenever there is one, to move forward
in ministry.
Learn from business world
Re: "Can the Church Survive the Profes-
sionalization of Its Leadership?" [March
27].
All of us have heard and witnessed the
work of non-professionals that has been
excellent. We have also heard and
witnessed the work of those who consid-
ered themselves professionals and were
found wanting.
If we want to be fair we will admit that
there is a place, because of the Spirit's
gifts, for both types of workers who have
the true meaning of the church as their
aim. God used both Peter and Paul in
the building of the kingdom.
Some of us remember when the only
cooling system in stores and restaurants
were the ceiling fans. Then came air-
conditioning, and the fans were thrown
out. What a waste, for now we have
learned that they work well together.
Some of us also remember when in our
cities there was a grocery store on every
sixth corner or so. Then came the super-
markets and the corner grocery store
went by the way. Later it was discovered
that the supermarket could not do the
job well. Now we have the convenience
stores, and they with the supermarkets
are doing well.
Please, as the church, let us gain
wisdom from the mistakes and wisdom of
business and not go to such extremes in
the church. Kenneth I. Smoker, Box 308,
North Newton, KS 67117
An open letter to government
We are appalled by the connection
between federal taxes and the bloodshed
in Central America, where the United
States engages in "low-intensity conflict."
Despite the homeless plight of millions of
Americans, 50 cents of every federal
income-tax dollar goes for military-
related spending, while just seven cents
goes to housing programs.
We have repeatedly written letters of
petition in which we explored with you
possible alternatives to the dilemma of
conscience. Congress and the legislative
arm of the Internal Revenue Service
Code have yet to respond to the urgent
need for democratic reform. We feel both
ignored and violated simply because so
little has been done to change the laws
that could produce a more viable life for
everyone concerned.
In recent weeks congressional repre-
sentatives have lauded and vigorously
applauded the new democratic develop-
ments in Europe, Africa and Central
America. If increased freedom to do
what is right is good for others, where
are the new initiatives in this country
that would not only allow but encourage
citizens to live by the best insights of
their consciences? Why should law-
abiding citizens be penalized because
they want to have the military portion of
their tax dollars allocated to peacemak-
ing? Why not encourage them in their
efforts to make peace by creating options
that redirect taxes for peace?
We urge you, for God's sake and ours,
to eliminate the destructive and unneces-
sary conflict, paving the way instead for
all citizens to conscientiously contribute
to the common good. We do not wish to
sit in judgment of a person's conscience.
But we do wish Congress would not sit in
judgment of our consciences, as it does
every time it forces us (via the Internal
Revenue Service) to break the law. We
respectfully admonish you to enlarge the
scope of what constitutes acceptable tax
payment. Donald D. and Eleanor W.
Kaufman, 609 Central Ave., Newton, KS
67114
□ I'm interested. Send me a
brochure. J
] I know I want to come. Send Z
me a registration form. Z
Name •
Address m
City. State/Province/Code ■
1 1 1 1 • • ■ • i ■ • ■ i • • 1 1 1 1 • • • • i ■ i ■ ■ 1 1 • i ■ i n
THE MENNONITE 189
This Chicago gang reminds me of church
Ulli Klemm
Let's call him Ahab. He gets immedi-
ate respect when he enters the local
park. Ahab has been called from his
local "congregation" to lead his followers.
His faithfulness, loyalty and willingness
to die to preserve his gang's dignity — as
evidenced by the scar running under his
left eye and the healed bullet wounds on
his arms — have earned him the right to
lead. He, with several "elders," calls the
shots (many literal).
Ahab's gang, let's call them the "City
Boys," belongs to the larger "denomina-
tion" called "Folks." "Folks" vies against
their rival "People" for control of the
streets. Each local gang, affiliating with
either the "Folks" or "People" denomina-
tion, seeks to set up and constantly
expand their own "parish" boundaries.
Boundaries determine which gang sells
drugs in a given area. Drug money (not
tithes) sustains the life of each gang.
Each member is expected to contribute
his profit from selling drugs in school
and on the street corners to further the
"gang-kingdom" in the neighborhood.
Loyalty: The words of parents, teachers,
police and clergy are not heeded. The leaders
are their gods.
Lay ownership of reaching
these "kingdom commit-
ments" is high.
"Folks" and "People"
proudly wear their
symbols. Ahab wears a
six-pointed Star of David
medallion around his neck
which simply signifies
that he is a "Folks." A
devil's pitchfork is
tattooed on his right (not
his left) arm. He wears
jewelry on and tilts his
hat toward his right side.
He quickly recognizes
any member of "People"
who walk around with
five-pointed stars and buttons and pins
on their left side. His blue and black
clothing (not unlike the plain garb worn
by the Amish) distinguishes him as one
set apart and boosts his identity.
Ahab's gang is like a model of a
successful, growing church. It is one of
the largest gangs on Chicago's north
side. Specializing in "friendship evangel-
ism," City Boys recruit un-ganged youth
from the neighborhood who easily find a
sense of belonging in the gang. Ahab
once explained, "The guys just hang out
with non-gang members at school and in
the park and eventually become their
friends. When a relationship is built, it's
easy. The non-gang person will want to
be around his friends, and because his
friends are all in the gang, he joins
them."
Once a boy agrees to make the gang
the "lord of his life," he is made to feel a
part of the family and is quickly assimi-
lated into gang life. For members of
elementary school age, a "discipleship
cell group" called "Pee Wees" becomes
the tie to the larger gang. Seventh and
eighth graders, ("Juniors") and those of
high school age and beyond ("Seniors")
meet as small units of the larger whole.
Mutual aid, in the form of protection and
security, is guaranteed. Members freely
share "all of what they have," including
their apartments, drugs, needles,
weapons and women.
In weekly meetings, members greet
one another with a special handshake
with the index and middle fingers
crossing. City Boys recite their denomi-
national creed, "All as one": simple and
to the point. A "treasurer" makes sure
all members contribute their drug profit
shares to support the budget.
Members meet for two reasons:
friendship and to strategize how to
spread the (good?) news of their gang in
'Chill out': When the heat is on from police, gangs hide out, keep
weapons and drugs out of sight.
the neighborhood. Strategizing may
involve planning direct assaults on
competing gangs who are infringing on
their turf. Pee Wees are made to feel
important by being sent out to mark the
gang's boundaries by spray-painting
their gang symbols and signs on alley
garages. Juniors and Seniors are sent
out to communicate with their rival
gangs, using knives and guns. Returning
evil for evil is the rule of intergang
conduct.
Risks of gang involvement are high —
especially when one is sent on a mission
into a hostile gang's neighborhood. But
loyalty is even greater. Members who
survive wounds feel honored to "have
been counted worthy of suffering dis-
grace for the name (of their gang)." They
serve the gang and no one else. Words of
parents, teachers, police and clergy are
not heeded. Their leaders are their
gods — unquestionably obeyed while they
are living, immortalized as saints after
their inevitable violent deaths.
"Chill out': When "persecution" from
the police or community intensifies,
Ahab and his gang (not unlike the
Anabaptists in the 1500s) retreat into
secretive locations and activities. When
the heat is on, they will "chill out," limit
their parading and keep their weapons
and drugs out of sight. They may even,
like Ahab's gang, volunteer to repaint
graffiti-covered garage doors. Such token
gestures, like events that many churches
sponsor annually in their neighborhood,
do little to convince community residents
that the gang is pro-community.
Those arrested for loitering or drug- or
weapon-possession have little to fear.
Being put in gang-controlled prisons
(which they all are) is like being sent on
an all-expense-paid trip to a Mennonite
conference. Ahab describes prison as "a
190 APRIL 24, 1990
REVIEWS
day-care center where (gang) business
goes on as usual." With jails over-
crowded, imprisoned gang members
know that sooner or later they will be
released and back on the streets pro-
claiming "with great boldness" that the
"Folks" denomination is "the way, the
truth, the life."
Inactive gang members and inflated
membership rolls do not exist on the
gang scene. Once in a gang, a boy is in
for life — or more realistically — for as long
as he lives, which usually isn't long. If
he attempts to withdraw, the gang will
find him. In "City Boys" the covenant is
unto death. Ahab realizes this. Although
he sometimes wishes he had never joined
in the first place, he's in too deep to get
out. His days are numbered.
Hate and violence: These parallels are
striking and frightening. Both gangs
and the church thrive on symbol, ritual,
commitment, loyalty, "evangelism." The
church promotes life: both life as new
creatures while on earth and eternal life
God sets before us, and
especially our youth, the
choices of life and death,
blessings and curses.
after death. It is rooted in love for God
and for neighbors and enemies. In
contrast, Ahab's gang, and all others like
it, promote death: death for any and all
who oppose and seek to deface their
gang's name. It is founded on countering
hate and violence with greater hate and
violence.
God sets before each of us, and
especially our youth, the choices of life
and death, blessings and curses. May
we, as the body of Christ, encourage our
children and youth on our street cor-
ners— in our apartment buildings, in our
parks, in our churches — to choose life, so
that we and our children may live, loving
the Lord our God.
Ulli Klemm, pastor of
Albany Park Mennonite
Church, lives at 3841
W. Sunnyside #2,
Chicago, IL 60625. He
interacts with a Chicago
gang, seeing them as
part of the community
to which he ministers in
the name of Christ.
Called to be
Peacemakers
< aaggbooks
Church/society in Japan
Called to be Peacemakers by Suguru
Matsuki and David L. Swain (Friendship
Press, 1989, 157 pages)
Reviewed by Elaine Sommers Rich, 3208-
D Shire Lane, Raleigh, NC 27606
North Americans, particularly Chris-
tians, must get used to thinking globally.
This booklet can
help. It is the
first venture of
Japan Ecumeni-
cal Books, a
"new, independ-
ent editorial and
publishing group
with plans to
publish works on
the interface
between church
j,p>» ecumewical books and society in
Japan." Suguru
Matsuki is a
pastor in the Japan Evangelical Lu-
theran Church; David Swain is a
longtime Methodist missionary and
translator in Japan.
The book consists of eight essays
originally presented orally at Hiroshima
Peace Seminars held each year, 1983-87.
All eight authors are Japanese Chris-
tians. The essays cover a range of
subjects, from the biblical bases for
peacemaking to a history of nuclear arms
strategies since World War II.
Many North Americans do not realize
how committed the Japanese (not
Christians only) are to Article 9 in their
constitution, which states that Japan
will never again use war as an instru-
ment of national policy. Toshiki Mogami
in his thought-provoking concluding
article, "On Not Excluding Others,"
reminds readers that Article 2, Para-
graph 4 of the United Nations Charter
prohibits the use of force in international
relations. In 1971 the Japanese Diet
adopted "Three Non-Nuclear Principles,"
stipulating that Japan would not
produce, possess or introduce nuclear
weapons in(to) Japan. Japanese Chris-
tians are critical of their government for
allowing the U.S. Navy to make port
calls by nuclear-weapons laden vessels.
Are U.S. Christians aware of this?
Mennonite churches interested in
maintaining a shelf of lively, helpful
peace books in their library should stock
this one.
Hymnal suggestions
Introducing a New Hymnal: How to
Improve Congregational Singing by
James Rawlings Sydnor (G.I.A. Publica-
tions, Inc., 1989, 132 pages)
Reviewed by Orlando Schmidt, 5115
Wyandotte, 1-S, Kansas City, MO 64112
During the last 15 years most Christian
denominations in North America have
either published new hymnals or are
preparing new collections. This small
volume by James Sydnor could be very
helpful for Mennonite congregations who
will be purchasing a new hymnal in the
'90s.
The author suggests some specific
ways to enable "a successful transition
from the present to the new hymnal,"
which will result in "the widest possible
use of hymns." These include hymns in
private and family life, the educational
program of the church, hymn practices
and hymn festivals. He gives sugges-
tions for preparing people to welcome the
new book: letting them know the many
familiar elements still intact, providing
rehearsal time, preaching occasional
sermons based on hymns, hymn-of-the-
month programs and many more.
The average-size hymnbook includes
approximately 600 hymns, a challenge
for any committee that is preparing a
hymnal, since about one million hymn
texts have been produced during the
history of the Christian church. The task
for hymnal makers is to arrange a good
balance of the familiar and unfamiliar,
include selections from all the periods of
the church's history, select hymns that
are singable by congregations and
remain sensitive to ecumenical use.
It is important for congregations to
understand the contents and organiza-
tion of a hymnal, including indexes and
all non-musical materials. Sydnor's book
provides many practical suggestions for
introducing new hymns. Most of the
textual and musical examples are in The
Mennonite Hymnal or in the 1992
hymnal being prepared by Mennonites
and Brethren.
The second half of the book deals with
practical ways of improving congrega-
tional singing, including pastoral
approaches, the role of musicians,
instruments, hymn leaders and choirs.
Suggestions include congregational
rehearsals, hymns in the home and an
explanation of Taize music. A most
welcome section proclaims the impor-
tance of acoustics.
THE MENNONITE 191
NEWS
01 0022 031 j
LI BRARY
.ASSOC MENN MIBLICAL SE«
3003 S E N H A H AVF
FLKHART IN 46517
EdlTORIAl
Answers and empires
Should The Mennonite be an answer magazine?
Should it give "the last word"? Should it make offi-
cial pronouncements on our controversies?
Some say yes, we need that authoritative word about
issues where there is a difference of opinion among us.
Others say no, not necessarily; The Mennonite is a place
where General Conference Mennonites can talk to each
other and await consensus.
I lean toward the second opinion and I'll tell you why.
The 65,000 of us in this denomination, like any healthy
family, have differences of opinion. This magazine is
like a dining room table where we can talk about our
differences, knowing that Jesus Christ sits at the head
of the table.
The testimony of Ken Hawkley encourages me to hold
that second opinion — the opinion that I prefer not to edit
an "answer magazine." (Ken is employed by the Com-
mission on Education of our conference as secretary for
adult and young adult education. He came to that
position via Mennonite Biblical Seminary, British
Columbia and Quebec.)
What persuaded him to become a Christian, says Ken,
was meeting a Mennonite pastor, Paul Boschman. Ken
was amazed to hear him admit that he didn't have all
the answers, that he, too, was on a pilgrimage of faith
toward God as revealed in Jesus Christ. But, Paul told
Ken, "You need to give the Bible at least as much
consideration as you give the other things in your life."
One of our ongoing controversies is how much we
should participate in government, and I confess
that I have been unsure. I have felt more comfortable
with the "people of two kingdoms" idea, that the "king-
dom of God" is separate from the "kingdom of the
world," that we are "in the world but not of the world."
It seems the easier way. In letters to my representa-
tives in government I have never been entirely sure
whether I should expect them to support legislation that
is more in line with my interpretation of the Bible. Here
I mean acceptance of refugees, support of affordable
housing, realism about poisonous wastes.
Then there is the matter of the responsibility a repre-
sentative has to the constituency. Is that representative
obligated to speak the will of the majority even if it, in
my opinion, runs counter to enlightened foreign policy or
human rights or a Judeo-Christian ethic?
Now, fresh back from one of the excellent seminars
hosted by Mennonite Central Committee's Washington
office, I am newly instructed. (A news report will be in
the next issue.) One of the articulate people speaking to
us was Barbara Green, who works for the Washington
office of the Presbyterian Church. A specialist on arms
control and East- West relations, she concluded her talk
to us (38 from all over the United States) thus: "People
who work in government
face ethical decisions just
as in any profession.
Staying out of government
won't let you escape these
dilemmas."
Seminar coordinator
Delton Franz said, "Our
theology has to do with
systems and structures.
In this century most Delton Franz, right, speaks with
■ r-n • j participants in the April 1-3
human suffering is caused ■ • „, , • ;
° seminar in Washington.
by governments. We can t
be silent. If government is ordained by God (see Ro-
mans 13:1), that's reason enough to address those
structures. Band-Aids are not enough. We in the
United States want to be a democracy, and sometimes
we do it well. But we often behave like an empire."
(One might add, like someone with all the answers.)
Seminar participant Lome Friesen, pastor at First
Mennonite Church, Mountain Lake, Minn., observed
that "our national empire mentality gives me the
economic advantage and convenience — like readily
accessible fruit, for example, and oil." None of us in
North America is free of implication.
An open stance: So in this business about answers I
stand with Paul the apostle: Though personally under
Christ's law he was willing to be like one with or with-
out the law so that, he concludes, "by all possible means
I might save some. I do this for the sake of the gospel"
(1 Corinthians 9:22). Muriel T. Stackley
THE MENNONiTE
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID. WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
Hope for
105:9 MAY 8, 1990
pitoloquE
CONTENTS
Join me in congratulating our adviser from
British Columbia, Amy Rinner Dueckman,
on the birth of her second son, Noel Wayne,
born Dec. 31, 1989. I
have a feeling that
Noel Wayne was the
reason I didn't see
Amy at this year's
sessions of the
Conference of Menno-
nites in British
Columbia.
And welcome to an
issue of The Menno-
nite focusing on
Rinner family concerns.
Some of what you will read is bleak but
necessary. Read prayerfully.
A bright spot is young Tobi Heinrichs' poem
"My Tick-Tock Oma" (grandmother). Irene
Klassen sent it to me in the newsletter she
edits for First Mennonite Church, Calgary.
A couple of recent queries from readers
invite comment. One was, Why (in "Workers")
do you carry so many photos of volunteers and
so few of pastors? The answer is, Mennonite
Voluntary Service photographs its volunteers
at every orientation. For other announce-
ments we depend on you or our files for
photographs. Please send photos with your
news.
The other comment was, Who borrows from
whom when similar news items are in several
Mennonite periodicals? The answer is, We
editors get simultaneous news releases from
Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonite
World Conference and the denominational
news services. Our goal-in-common is to get
the news to you.
The next issue of The Mennonite will feature
Pentecost and baptism. Consider getting a
Pentecost gift for the overseas missionary in
your life: an airmail subscription to The
Mennonite. For more information contact
Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316)
283-5100. mts
Troubled couples can recover hope / 195
My neighbor, my friend / 197
A mediator's view of the abortion storm / 198
Abortion: a personal response / 199
This child belongs to God / 200
My 'tick-tock' oma / 201
News / 203
MCEC seeks to speed up lagging fund drive / 203
Why do women get abortions? / 208
Record / 210
Letters / 212
How about pleasing our God? / 213
Reviews / 214
Meeting God in family / 214
Mennonites in general / 214
Prayer of fatigue. ..and joy in the U.S. capital / 215
Wisdom in the inmost place / 216
Cover: Design by Esther Kreider Eash, 7201 Newburg Road,
Evansville, IN 47715, photos (clockwise from top) by Melissa River
(NCC), Skjold/Stock Photographs, Jean N. Regier.
Correction: Randall and Rebekah Burch Basinger (April 24 issue, page 176)
are members of Trinity Mennonite Church, Hillsboro, Kan.
(3D
MENNONITE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100. Editor:
Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant: Angela Rempel;
art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the Associated Church Press,
Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a Mennnonite and Brethren in Christ
editors' group). It is an associate member of the Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretaries: Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14, and Rose Retzlaff, 600
Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4. Business manager: Dietrich Rempel. Special
editions editors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North Newton, KS 671 17;
Window to Mission, Lois Deckert, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14; Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, Richard A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1, Carstairs, AB TOM 0N0, (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2T 4S2; (Central District) in
process; (Eastern District) Curtis Bauman, 429 N. Second St., Emmaus, PA 18049;
(Manitoba) in process; (Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada) Margo Fieguth, 99
Veronica Drive, Mississauga, ON L5G 2B1 ; (Northern District) Winifred Wall, Box 67,
Freeman, SD 57029; (Pacific District) Clare Ann Ruth-Heffelbower, 3198 E. Menlo Ave.,
Fresno, CA 93710; (Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger, 125 Rawlinson Bay, Regina, SK S4S
6M8,; (Western District) Leland Harder, Box 363, North Newton. KS 67117.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 14 years of The Mennonite are also
available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College, North Newton, KS 671 1 7, and
from University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106.
Circulation: 10,725
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build the
Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the guidance of
the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly by the General Conference
Mennonite Church, 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. Subscription rates: one
year, $18 U.S., $21 Canada; two years, $32 U.S., $38 Canada; three years, $44 U.S., $52
Canada. Outside North America add $1 6 U.S. per year to U. S. rate for surface mail,
$67.68 U.S. for airmail. Single copies: $2 U.S. Five or more: $1 U.S. each. Second class
postage paid at Newton, Kan., and additional mailing offices. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMAS-
TER: Send Form 3579 to The Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. ©1990
In this
network
of frankness
and support
Troubled
couples
can
recover
hope
Sue Estes
Attend a Recovery of Hope seminar
and you witness courage and the
healing power of God's grace.
Seminars are three-hour meetings
with presenting couples who have put
their shattered marriages back together.
They describe the painful reality of what
that was like. They do so in hopes that
some in the audience will also be moved
to do the same hard work to salvage
their marriages rather than become
another divorce statistic.
Each seminar presents an opportunity
for couples who wish to salvage their
marriages to meet with trained counsel-
ors. The.y design a recovery plan that
will help them work on the problems in
their marriage.
Recovery of Hope, begun in 1982 at
Prairie View, a mental health center in
Newton, Kan., is unique in featuring
THE MENNONITE 195
For troubled marriages there is
presentations by couples who have
survived serious marital crises.
Self-revealing stories of overcoming
the most difficult of marital struggles
(infidelity, drug and alcohol abuse)
generates hope in the listeners. Perhaps
their marital problems, with work, sup-
portive counseling and God's grace, can
be resolved.
John and Naomi Lederach, directors of
the Recovery of Hope program at Phil-
haven in Mt. Gretna, Pa., call it the
"power of the story."
John says, "It helps couples see that
their problems can be resolved. They are
not alone. There are points of connec-
tion." He believes most couples can
identify with parts of each story. That
generates hope that they can make
changes in their own marriages. He says
that couples with a church background
have a better chance of recovery in their
marriages.
Couples who are willing to share their
stories are the backbone of the Recovery
of Hope program. Alan and Lee, from
California, and Les and Sara, from
Pennsylvania, are two such couples.
Alan and Lee have been a presenting
couple for three years for programs at
Kings View in Reedley, Calif., and Fuller
RECOVERY
OF HOPE
Seminary in Pasadena. They began to
work on the problems in their marriage
after attending a Marriage Encounter
weekend. Lee had been married previ-
ously and had two children when she and
Alan married nine years ago. It was
Alan's first marriage. Becoming a new
family with built-in children was not
easy.
Because of their experience as a step-
family and their daughter's struggle with
alcohol and drugs, they felt they had
something to offer other couples who
may face similar issues. When Recovery
of Hope came to California and looked for
presenting couples, they volunteered.
Their experience has provided them
support, nurture and growth. Their
Catholic faith took on new meaning in
their lives. As Alan puts it, "God has
been good to me and this is one way to
serve him."
Sara and Les are a first-time present-
ing couple. Married 16 years, they came
to see the Recovery of Hope program as
their special ministry after an intensive
week that Recovery of Hope offers to
couples making a last-ditch effort to save
their marriage.
Sara admits she was frightened about
telling their story the first time, but it
What about the children?
Marital conflict is difficult for the children. Children's functioning is influenced
by how much they have been drawn into their parents' conflict and whether
they have a good relationship with each parent. They can easily become
entangled in loyalty conflicts and may be expected to align with a parent. A
child may be cast in the overwhelming role of providing support for the dis-
tressed parent.
Pathology in children can be reduced when both parents, regardless of ten-
sions between them, can at least agree on child-rearing practices. Children
wonder, Will Mom leave? Does Dad still love me? They need to be reassured,
preferably by both parents, that they are not to blame, they are still loved and
they will be taken care of. John and Naomi Lederach, directors, Recovery of
Hope, Philhaven Hospital, Mt. Gretna, Pa.
T.M.
was a "positive experience." Les, who
has a learning disability that makes it
difficult for him to read and spell, says it
was an "adventure I never expected. I
felt good about it."
Because of his disability he tape-
recorded his story. Sara transcribed and
read it at the seminar. Les made
introductory and closing remarks. At the
end of Les' presentation, a man in the
audience mouthed the words, "Thank
you." "That made the whole effort
worthwhile," said Les.
During their week-long intensive, Les
and Sara met every day with counselors.
They devoted all their attention to
working on their marriage. They came
to terms with the difficulty they were
having with Les' disability. Les learned
things about his family that helped him
understand himself better. Sara learned
how to acknowledge what she needed
from their marital relationship.
Sara believes she and Les were able to
save their marriage because there was so
much hurt that they were willing to be
honest and take the risk to make it work.
People in their Mennonite congrega-
tion were supportive. Sara says her
prayer group "wanted to see how God
was going to work this out."
The Recovery of Hope program
expanded nationwide in 1987 with
the creation of the ROH Network. It now
uses a regional model of operation
started in 1989. Regional centers are
located at mental health facilities
affiliated with the Mennonite church.
Sites are Prairie View, Philhaven, Kings
View, and Oaklawn in Elkhart, Ind.
Recovery of Hope in Canada is at Eden
Mental Health Service in Winnipeg. It is
hoped that the regional approach will en-
courage the growth of the network so
that more couples will have access to the
Recovery of Hope program.
Recovery of Hope programs also exist
at Catholic Social Services in Milwaukee,
196 MAY 8, 1990
Wis.; the Family Life Resource Center,
Harrisonburg, Va.; and the Pastoral
Institute in Columbus, Ga.
Steve Wilke, Prairie View- Wichita
(Kan.), president of the network, sees
Recovery of Hope as an advocate for
marriage in a society where 50 percent of
all first marriages and 60 percent of all
second marriages now end in divorce.
Wilke believes that by making stories of
recovery available, positive change can
be made. Couples can use these for
insight and support. "As a culture we
are isolated wben it comes to under-
standing marriage," he says.
Wilke believes one of the strengths of
Recovery of Hope is that people in the
program feel called by God to make it
their ministry.
• The symbol for Recovery of Hope is a
rainbow emerging from a cloud, an early
biblical symbol of God's covenant,
testimony that God is in relationship
with us. To Wilke, marriage is a
covenant that men and women make
with each other and with God.
The story in Luke 5:18-24 about the
men cutting a hole in a roof so that they
could bring a paralyzed man to Jesus is a
fitting description of Recovery of Hope.
Sometimes people need help getting help.
Recovery of Hope can give couples the
courage they need to work through the
difficulties in their marriage in a
nurturing framework of Christian love
and support.
Sue Estes is a consul-
tant for Recovery of
Hope, 2939 N. Rock
Road, #100, Wichita,
KS 67226, (316) 636-
9256 or 800-327-2590.
My neighbor, my friend
Elfrieda Neufeld Schroeder
Firm steps approach my door and gladden my heart.
It is my neighbor,
my friend, prsi£
coming my way to share with me r%,
a book, a recipe, some news,
perhaps a stitching sample, ^
a new project,
a tomato plant.
It will send its roots
deep
into *
my
soil.
As joyfully as she gives
she also accepts my gifts,
my reaching out to her.
Although she is older than I am and more experienced,
she listens to me and learns from me as well. ^'
God knew I needed her.
It was his love that sent her my way.
God's love ignites our friendship
into a warm and glowing flame
at which we can warm our hands as well as our hearts.
Thank you, my neighbor, my friend.
Elfrieda Neufeld Schroeder's address is 63 Owen Ave.,
Kitchener, ONN2B2L7.
THE MENNONITE 197
A
mediator's
view
of the
Ron Kraybill
The community of faith is stronger if
all members participate in the
struggle to find answers to moral
dilemmas. One major hazard to this
happening is if dialogue gets too shrill.
The consequence is that ethical and
theological discernment becomes a
spectator sport, too competitive and too
dangerous for the average person to
participate in. I think we are approach-
ing this level with the discussion in the
church on abortion.
The impression one gets is that little
listening goes on in this battle. Impor-
tant, legitimate concerns are raised by
both "sides," yet rarely does one see
either side acknowledging this, let alone
make a thoughtful effort to address the
concerns of the other side. The words of
abortion storm
A shrill debate: Are we listening to each other?
c
AVOW
ARE
PtdU
The current debate
about abortion
raises important
issues about how
to find God's
way through a
complex,
emotional
issue.
a secular lawyer often ring in my ears as
I watch Christians jab, joust and snarl:
"There is no more effective starting point
in conflict than being able to make the
case for your opponent better than he
could make it himself." I believe that
only when exchange begins to happen at
this level of disciplined reflection can we
hope to find God's Spirit lifting us
beyond our impasse.
My second impression is that "worldli-
ness" characterizes the response of
Christians on both sides. By this I mean
the extent to which many Christians
appear to accept the terms of debate as
framed by those active in the legislative
arena. The terms of battle seem to be
cemented in quarreling about solutions.
Each side points out the strengths of its
solution and the flaws of the other side's.
The result is a debate of narrow propor-
tions with little hope of resolution.
If the terms were shifted — from a focus
on simplistic and narrow solutions to
joint reflection on problems needing
solutions — we could find a way forward.
For example, a major problem that
underlies the perspective of one side is to
protect the sanctity of life and to defend
the defenseless. Surely outlawing
abortion is not the only way to address
these important concerns. After all, the
fact that children get conceived who are
not wanted or able to be cared for is only
a symptom of deeper causes that ulti-
mately must be addressed in any case.
On the "pro-choice" side, concerns
include how to ensure that all children
get the love they deserve and how to
avoid locking women into a massive
commitment (raising a child) if they are
not prepared for that commitment.
Surely legalizing abortion is not the only
way to address these problems.
Surely, too, both sides can agree that
the problems the other side is trying to
solve are legitimate concerns. But one
never guesses this from most of the
discussion, including much of that taking
place in the church. Rather, discussion
consists of each side setting forth in
militant terms the solution they favor for
its own concerns and attacking the
solution set forth by the other side for its
concerns. I agree that such debate needs
to take place, but I feel sad and frus-
trated with both sides that they have
boiled down a difficult problem calling
for many levels of response to a choice
between two simplistic solutions.
Instead of enlightenment we get a highly
politicized debate over the merits of
partial answers.
Suppose that all the time and money
being spent on lobbying and demonstrat-
ing were spent instead on improving the
economic and social circumstances of
women, on sex education, on providing
good alternatives for pregnant mothers
of unwanted children, on attacking the
Abortion: a personal response
spiritual poverty and rootlessness that
pervades our society's understandings of
sexuality and male/female roles. Were
this to happen, I am confident that both
sides would find the concerns that
motivate them being addressed far more
effectively than they will ever be ad-
dressed in the current framework of
discussion.
I find it helpful to make an analogy to
prisons or armies. I oppose prisons, and
for the rest of my life I will work for their
abolition. How can one follow Christ and
not do so? At the same time, I recognize
that in its present state there are people
in our world I do not trust to be free.
The same may be said about armies or
police. I believe all Christians should
refuse to kill and should labor for the
abolition of armies, police and weapons.
But even if given the opportunity to
abolish the U.S. Armed Forces, there are
times in our national history when I
doubt that I would have done so — the
middle of World War II, for example. In
the case of both prisons and armies my
faith calls me to labor diligently for
abolition, but because of the state of
lostness gripping the world, the conse-
quences of implementing that goal
immediately and completely may be
unacceptable.
I feel the same about abortion. I
oppose it and will labor for the rest of my
life for the day when human life will
never again be conceived and then
abruptly snuffed out. But having said
this, in light of the lostness of the world,
I am not prepared to say that all abor-
tions should immediately be outlawed.
Evil so firmly grips our society that the
only consequence I can imagine from
such a scenario at present is even greater
loss of life — both unborn and born —
further down the road. Unwanted or
uncared-for children at some point
become adults: bitter, irresponsible and
accountable to no one. They are usually
even more reckless and ruthless than
their elders.
I call for a moratorium in the church
on advocacy of solutions related to
abortion until we have spent greater
time together reflecting on the problems
that concern us. This will enable us to
discover and feel in our hearts the
obvious, that we have more in common
than we once thought. Second, I call for
a commitment to work together on the
problems we agree need to be solved and
on those solutions that we can agree
upon. This may not resolve the issue for
the larger society, but it's more than
enough common agenda to keep the
church busy and united for quite a spell.
Ron Kraybill's address is 12 Cambridge
Road, Observatory 7925, Cape Town,
Republic of South Africa. Reprinted by
permisison from Gospel Herald
Helen Friesen
I winced when I read the headlines on
the 17th anniversary of the U.S.
Supreme Court decision of Roe vs.
Wade, which legalized abortion.
Stories featured both pro-life and pro-
choice individuals.
Few people are neutral on this issue.
Generally personal experiences or
religion (or lack of it) color one's views.
Many women feel they should have
the freedom to choose what can be
done with their body. For the pro-life
activist, part of the decision rests on
whether the unborn child also has
rights. If one is pro life, one should
also go one step further and support
the person who does not want the baby
after the birth.
Sometimes girls who are still
children themselves have babies.
They lack the maturity and ability to
care for such a child and treat it like a
doll. We may sentence that baby to a
sad life of neglect. Tragic news stories
surface of young women who sell their
bodies to earn enough money to
support their drug habit. Their babies
are born addicted to drugs.
When you read some of the case
histories of women who had abortions
and the guilt they struggled with long
afterward, you may wish to give the
abortion option more serious thought.
Some people line up as basically pro
life but with the provision that they
may permit abortion if the mother's life
is in danger or in the case of rape or
incest. If that mother has a number of
little ones already in the home, how
does one decide whether the life of that
mother or the family is more important
than the life of the unborn child?
In the case of rape and incest, do we
then say that the fetus that develops
can never amount to anything — that it
already has two strikes against it?
This is when I let my voice be
heard. Were it not for both rape
and incest, I would not be here. If
there had been easy access to abortion
years ago, who knows whether my life
would have ended in a wastebasket.
I know of no collection of reliable
statistics to show whether babies born
as a result of rape and incest have
lived productive lives. Occasionally
famous examples emerge. The late
Ethel Waters is one. As a young child,
Ethel's mother was raped at knife-
point, and Ethel was born. Many
audiences were touched by the testi-
mony of Ethel's ministry of music.
Unwanted babies can be placed in
adoptive homes. Ask anyone who has
been adopted. It may not be the
perfect answer, but it certainly beats
the alternative. The high majority of
those who are adopted live in homes
where they are truly wanted. Not all
children living with their biological
parents can say the same.
Yet it is lonely to sit in a new
doctor's office with a clipboard and a
pencil trying to fill in the blanks.
They want to know all sorts of medical
trivia about you so that they can deter-
mine what may appear in your
medical history at some future time.
On more than one of those pages I've
simply scribbled across the page, "I
don't know. I'm adopted." Today more
complete medical records often accom-
pany the child who is up for adoption.
That was not the case 50 years ago.
The reasons for seeking an abortion
are many, some rather frivolous and
other decisions made in agony. Do you
want the child if medical opinion says
it will be a defective child? Is the
doctor always right?
I claim no great intelligence on this
matter. Your insights are as valid as
mine. Consider the family where
pregnancy happens to their 12-year-
old daughter. Or what about the 48-
year-old mother saddled with a late
unwanted pregnancy? (Who's to say
that blessings won't develop even from
these late "trailers.")
No wonder emotions run high, since
there are so many facets to consider.
One obvious answer is to consider
options that prevent the pregnancy
rather than terminate it after the fact.
When it comes to abortion, I am sad
that the true victims never get a
chance to be heard. Their voices are
stilled even before they draw their
first breath outside the womb. Who
will listen to their voiceless cries?
We will never know whether one of
those lives aborted might have discov-
ered the cure for cancer, written a
great symphony or become a president
or prime minister of a country.
Helen Friesen, Box 256, Butterfield,
MN 56120, is secretary of the bina-
tional Women in Mission.
THE MENNONITE 199
PERSONAL
This child belongs to God
Anonymous by request
I am a foster mother of a child who may
never reach adulthood, a child who is
going to die young. Before you conjure
up thoughts of pity for me, please stop
and listen to what I have to say. My
child will not die of leukemia or a brain
tumor or some congenital disease but of
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome).
I hope you have the courage to con-
tinue reading. Many will probably stop
reading, and that's OK. I write this
letter to you with mixed emotions of
anger, bitterness, compassion, under-
standing. I am told by many, "I don't
know how you do that." "I really admire
you. I never could do that." Thank you
for the compliments, but I really don't
want them. I want you to understand
what I think and feel.
If you were to observe me over a period
of time, you would think I really had it
all together. The fact is that I don't. I
can't take care of my child in any of my
own strength. It is only God who enables
me to care for my child. I don't know
how many days I may have him, but God
does. All I have been called to do is to be
faithful. Only a few have seen my tears,
have sat by my bed or visited my child in
the hospital. Only a few know the pain
and the hurt that I feel. But those few
have come to know a beautiful child. He
gives constantly to those he meets, and
he says "Hi" to welcome everyone he
meets, wherever he goes. He does not
know that if those same people knew the
disease he had, they would run from him
instead of taking the time to talk, smile
or remark on how cute he is. Those few
have had their lives enriched and their
faith strengthened in a way that only
could be done by loving this child.
I do not live in fear. God daily takes
fear away. This child does not belong to
me and never has. He belongs to God. I
have learned to trust God to love this
child moment by moment. It has made
me give my other children, who do not
have this disease, to God as well. I no
longer plan what all my children will do
when they grow up. I have learned to
love them and appreciate them for each
day. God in his infinite wisdom may not
allow them to live a long life. But I do
not have to fear. I know my God is wise
enough to know what plan and purpose
each child is to have. That's not to say
there aren't davs I want to hold on to
them, to wonder what risks I may have
imposed on their lives by having them
live with a person with AIDS. But I only
see how compassionate they can become,
how understanding they are of God and
how their vision of him is enlarged. I
believe in a big God; many times God
alone has held my sanity together, and I
have hid in his everlasting arms.
I don't want to be put on a pedestal or
smiled at from afar. I want people to
know me and my child. But I live in a
world of unknowns, a world of possible
rejection, because I live with a person
who has a disease that kills. I think
about other people's kids and people
constantly wondering if they will let
their child near mine, if they will say,
"Hi" or, "Do you want to play?" I wonder
if they will walk another way to avoid us
or be so tongue tied that if they see us
they won't know what to say because
they no longer know us as people but
view us as death. We are people. My
child cries, is happy, learns, needs to be
touched, loved, held, to have someone to
play with, just as does your child.
Your child is far more dangerous to my
child than my child is to yours. AIDS is
a weak disease outside the body. It is
not transmitted through normal, every-
day contact. It isn't
absorbed by one person
touching another person. It
is transmitted through
sexual contacts, shared
needles, infected blood.
Even if blood from an
infected person was spilled
on you, you would have only
a remote chance of contract-
ing AIDS, especially if you
had no open cuts on the spot
the blood spilled and'or if
you washed it off right
away. But your child with a
common cold could bring
death to my child. If my
child's immune system is at
a weak point, all it takes is
a cold to devastate the rest
of his immune system.
Again, I do not live in fear.
Not because I don't feel it
from time to time; I do. But
because I choose not to give
in to it. I choose rather to
believe that God is in God takes fear
control of every day and mv children for
every situation I find myself in. I choose
to believe in what medical science knows
so far about AIDS and not to dwell on the
unknowns. It is not a blind faith but a
knowing faith; not in man's knowledge
but in God's.
God knows there is so much I could
write. But I will stop. Emotionally I am
spent. Much of this has been written
after many tears. I hope that in some
way I have helped you understand what
it means to love and care for someone
with AIDS. And perhaps through your
little bit of understanding you will stop
fearing the unknowns and reach out and
become our friend. We need people who
are willing to trust and know God no
matter what. We need people who are
willing to cry and laugh with us. to hold
us when we need to be held, to pray for
us, to come see us in the hospital. We
need people who are willing to simply
care.
This article was sent to The Mennonite
by Cynthia Weaver, foster-care supervisor
and chaplain of Bethanna, a Christian
service to children and their families in
Southampton, Pa. The woman who
wrote the article asked Cynthia where she
could be heard.
Marilyn Nolt
away: I have learned to love and appreciate
each dav.
200 MAY 8. 1990
My tick-lock
Tofti Heinrichs
Tick Tock Oma
...Uhr Oma
...Great Grandma
...A timely, aging woman.
Old she is,
with protruding bones,
hung with wrinkled skin.
Old she is,
in a weakened body,
walking tick, tick tock.
Lonely she looks,
in the corner
alone,
her sunken eyes still
sinking,
her hands still knitting,
her body rocking,
her mind and spirit waiting,
not for me
...or anyone.
But something else that
comes,
is felt,
and goes.
I go and see her, none the less,
knowing it may be the last.
Hesitant for she...
I don't understand;
Three generations,
another language,
a past unknown to me.
It seems so strange,
but still I try
hoping love will bridge
the gap
that separates
her and me.
But love can only go so far,
I still don't understand.
There's more
to her
than meets the eye
...more unknown to me.
But still she sits,
and talks to me
...and mom, who helps
translate.
And I still sit and listen
hoping that a day will come,
when I can proudly say to her,
"Ich versteh,"
I understand.
Tobi Heinrichs
attends First Men-
nonite Church, 2600
Richmond Road,
SW, Calgary, AB
T3E 4M3.
THE MENNONITE 201
People sensitive to the suffering and
injustice in the world sometimes feel over-
whelmed by it all. Douglas Steere, Quaker
writer and teacher, warns that there is "a
pervasive form of contemporary violence
to which the idealist most easily suc-
cumbs; activism and overwork. ...To allow
oneself to be carried away by a multitude
of conflicting concerns. ..to commit oneself
to too many projects, to want to help
everyone in everything is to succumb to
violence. More than that it is cooperation
in violence." The Talmud advises, "You
are not required to complete the task;
neither are you permitted to lay it down."
The Evangelical Mennonite Church of
Colombia is launching the Latin American
Anabaptist Resource Center, co-sponsored
by the Commission on Overseas Mission of
the General Conference Mennonite Church
and 10 regional Latin American Mennonite
conventions. It is an effort to encourage
theological reflection on peace and non-
violence in a social environment where
everyday challenges include drug traffick-
ing, assassinations and random bombings.
"The need for an Anabaptist resource
center was expressed through many
people — Methodists, Lutherans, Baptist,
Pentecostals, even Roman Catholics," said
Robert Suderman, the center's director.
{Latinamerica Press)
NEWS
Pledges due by end of '92
MCEC seeks to speed up lagging fund drive
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
(GCMC/MC)— Glenn Zehr
reported to the 600 delegates
and visitors here at the March
23-25 sessions of the Menno-
nite Conference of Eastern
Canada that so far just over
half the money (of a $6.3
million capital fund drive) has
been pledged by the 90
churches in the 14,000-
member conference. Around
1 8 churches had not submitted
any pledges, while about 15
churches met or exceeded the
per-member "fair share."
The MCEC executive
recommended that all churches
take another look at their
participation in the fund drive,
which was to include $1 .5
million for Conrad Grebel
College, $2.8 million for
Rockway Mennonite Collegiate
(secondary school) and $2
million to help new churches
erect buildings.
"Don't lay a guilt trip on us,"
warned some of the delegates.
Another rejoiced that already
52 percent of the fund was
pledged or in hand. Originally
the fund drive was to be
completed in late 1989 or early
1990, with pledges due by the
end of 1992.
The fund drive stirred less
discussion than another
financial matter: the budget for
MCEC's mission and service
commission.
According to conference
accountant Esther Neufeldt,
each of the commissions had
been asked to keep 1990
budgets to a 4.5 percent cost-
of-living increase.
"It's simply impossible to
consider starting new churches
or to help existing churches
with this policy," said Sue
Clemmer Steiner, former chair
of the commission.
The missions commission
funds nearly 40 different
projects; this past year it was
not able to meet the full request
of some of the projects. The
commission asked for direction
on how to spend its budget.
Should it concentrate on new
projects or offer mainly start-up
money to those that will
become self-supporting?
Delegates offered no clear
direction. The commission has
developed a new policy to
prorate bequests, donations
and designated gifts — except
those designated for specific
projects — over a four year
period.
The leadership commission
presented a draft copy of a new
leadership manual, which
draws on understandings and
procedures from both the
Mennonite Church and the
General Conference Mennonite
Church. MCEC is a merger of
churches from these two
bodies.
Several General Conference
pastors suggested that their
tradition was not well enough
reflected in the manual. Harold
Peters-Fransen said that
ordination should be for life
and not just for the period of
ministry endorsed by the
conference; he also said the
term "elder" should be broad-
ened to include "deacon" and
"lay minister." Victor Kliewer
pointed out that in the manual it
is the conference that ordains
for ministry. In his tradition the
congregation ordains ministers.
David Janzen raised a
related question: "Are we
moving into the realm of
ministers having too much
authority, with not enough in
the congregation?"
The leadership commission
also brought a slate of nomina-
tions for some 60 positions out
of the total of 160 elected
offices. Delegates approved
the slate without further
nominations. Ron Sawatzky,
Toronto, was elected as
assistant moderator. Vernon
Leis, Tavistock, Ont., continues
as moderator.
Dan Nighswander, chair of
the pastoral leadership training
commission, reported that
MCEC is cooperating with eight
other groups — Mennonite
conferences, colleges, semi-
naries— to establish a Menno-
nite Theological Centre in
Toronto by fall 1990. It will
include a part-time director to
relate to graduate students at
the Toronto School of Theol-
ogy, to take part in interchurch
and interfaith dialogue and to
provide support and a Menno-
nite presence.
In other business, delegates:
— approved a recommenda-
tion that MCEC appoint four
part-time assistants on
contract, rather than a half-time
staff person, to work along with
conference minister Herb
Schultz,
— accepted the Lao Christian
Fellowship Church (Mennonite)
as a member of MCEC,
— recognized Helen Reusser
for her 1 6 years of service as
the first Christian education
minister for the conference,
— were introduced to the
plans for new children's
Sunday school material,
— applauded a skit by the
Waterloo-Kitchener United
Mennonite Church calling for
more attention to environmental
concerns,
— heard three sermons by
James Lapp, Mennonite
Church executive secretary, on
the theme "To Each a Ministry,"
— recognized the recently
formed Camps Council. Ron
Rem pel, editor, Mennonite
Reporter, with a report from
Margot Fieguth, MCEC adviser
to The Mennonite
202 MAY 8, 1990
Millions of tourists are making the dark
side of tourism more apparent, according to
the newsletter Windows East and West. In
the north of Thailand, when a baby girl is
born, the family holds a feast because they
know that when she is 13 she can be sold
and sent to the city, thus making money for
the family. It is not known exactly how
many young girls have been sold into
prostitution, but estimates range from
200,000 to 800,000.
The next 10 years will be filled with
landmark anniversaries for Mennonite
Central Committee. 1995 is MCC's 75th
anniversary. Civilian Public Service will
celebrate its 50th anniversary in 1991 .
Refugee work and international visitor
exchange programs each began in 1946,
and while marketing handcrafted goods in
North America also started that year, its
roots go back to 1943, when a service unit
in Puerto Rico started a sewing project.
1992 will mark the 50th anniversary of
MCC's presence in India. Other anniversa-
ries include MCC Voluntary Service (50th),
Mennonite Disaster Service (30th) and
Menno Travel Service (50th).
Mennonite Central Committee has
earmarked $60,000 for relief projects in
Romania. $30,000 will be used to pur-
chase high quality vegetable seeds to
distribute among rural families who own or
have access to small garden plots.
$10,000 will be used to purchase wheat,
sugar, rice, cheese and baby food; $20,000
will be used to buy medical and dental
equipment.
NEWS
Business professionals
give and receive assistance
Phoenix, Ariz. (GCMC)— Thirty-
two Mennonites gathered here
March 8-1 1 for a conference for
entrepreneurs and people in
business sponsored by the
planned giving and stewardship
offices of the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church.
The conference theme was
"All Things Going Well," based
on 3 John 2. It was the second
gathering of its kind. The first
was held in Overland Park,
Kan., in October 1989. The
purpose for the meeting, as
noted in a statement affirmed
by participants last fall, was to
"assist entrepreneurs and
business professionals in
discerning their involvement in
local and international church
programs. ..[and] assist one
another." The group is not
formally organized.
The program included
presentations by professionals,
sharing in small groups,
discussing future plans and
worship. Keynote speaker was
Robert DeJong, Wheaton, III.,
vice president of the Service-
Master Company, which
provides cleaning, manage-
ment and related services
through 5,000 franchises
worldwide. With assets of $2.2
billion and overseeing 197,000
employees, it is the largest
company of its kind.
DeJong shared the prayer of
ServiceMaster's founder to
"build a business to honor God
in the marketplace." DeJong
said, "We view each new
employee and each new
franchise. ..as a direct answer
to that prayer," noting that the
first of four company objectives
is to "honor God in all we do."
In his presentations DeJong
stated that "making a profit is
not a sin and it's too bad that...
when someone becomes
successful they're suspect."
He went on to challenge
those present: "You have a
great opportunity. ..to be used
of God in the marketplace...
and to help your employees
reach the full potential that God
has meant for them to reach."
He encouraged his audience to
use their time and business
talent in the church.
Participants also heard from
speaker and worship leader
James Dunn, pastor at First
Mennonite Church, Newton,
Kan. He told them that "every
gift that is worth giving on earth
has been given to us in some
way" and stated that the
greatest gift is "a relationship
with our maker, our God."
Al Yoder, Middlebury, Ind.,
shared his business pilgrimage.
Yoder is president of Jayco,
which manufactures recrea-
tional vehicles, and owner of
several other businesses. Jake
Redekop, Abbotsford, B.C.,
housing developer and owner
of a construction company in
the Vancouver area, also told
his story.
When asked to evaluate the
meetings, participants gave a
favorable response. Gerhard
Bartel, Calgary, said he hoped
the group would "mobilize our
Gary Franz, left, planned giving director for the General Conference
Mennonite Church, registers Blake and Louise Friesen, Calgary, for
the conference for entrepreneurs and business people.
General Conference." E.
LaVerne Epp, Lawrence Kan.,
said, "One of the values. ..has
been for me to see the commit-
ment of people, most of whom
are older than I, to the confer-
ence. There is a certain therapy
in making me recommit to that."
Yoder said he had appreciated
the chance to "share some
things I probably wouldn't
share in my own community
and home church and to pick
up some ideas, too."
The group encouraged staff
to schedule another meeting in
Phoenix in spring 1991. Dave
Linscheid, communications
director, General Conference
Mennonite Church
Push-Power raises guilders
Stuw-Kracht-10 (Push-Power-1 0) is a Dutch Mennonite
tithers' group, an association of members who remain anony-
mous, except for the treasurer, J. Jorritsma, who founded the
group. At the 1 967 Mennonite World Conference assembly
Jorritsma was moved by an address by Elmer Neufeld on
"Witness and Service in a World of Need." Neufeld said that
"Christian stewardship of our incomes. ..can surely not
normally mean giving less than 10 percent to the Lord's
continued ministry here on earth." Jorritsma appealed
publicly for 100 people to organize a giving group dedicated
to alleviating suffering. Stuw-Kracht-10 provides "push-
power" for the givers to remain faithful.
THE MENNONITE 203
Naaman Center, a Christian-oriented drug
and alcohol rehabilitation center, is
scheduled to open within the next seven to
16 months. Named after the biblical
character who followed God's steps to
wholeness, the center will be located on a
25-acre tract of land near Elizabethtown,
Pa. It is operated by an interdenomina-
tional board responsible to the Lancaster
Mennonite Conference.
The Church of the Brethren General
Board in March outlined plans for about 50
new projects for the coming decade and
adopted a 16-page paper on "creation."
About two dozen of the new projects result
from denominational "Goals for the '90s,"
which emphasize youth and young adult
ministry, family life, Brethren mission and
identity, strengthened links between
congregations and global programs, ethnic
ministry and denominational growth. The
paper "Creation: Called to Care" provides a
theological basis for a Brethren under-
standing of creation and emphasizes
stewardship and respect for the earth and
its creatures.
Between 1942 and 1946, at least 600
young men were assigned to Civilian Public
Service Camp #55 at Belton, Mont. They
provided over a million man hours of
service doing fire prevention and control in
Glacier National Park. At the park's
visitors' center, however, when the history
of the park is recounted, no mention is
made of CPS. Many have wondered
whether government agencies have purged
this four-year portion of park history from its
records.
NEWS
'You can't afford to be quiet,'
Franz tells seminar
Washington — Thirty-five years
ago Delton and Marian
Claassen Franz left Kansas to
come here via a 13-year "lay-
over" in Chicago.
On April 1 , 36 spring seminar
participants came to Washing-
ton. Around 40 percent, like
the Franzes, came from rural
communities. Mennonites
(mostly General Conference)
and one Reformed Church
couple represented congrega-
tions in Kansas, Colorado,
Illinois, California, Ohio,
Arizona, Idaho, Minnesota and
Missouri. They came to learn
in the three-day seminar about
public policy and peace-and-
justice issues, which Franz has
worked on in his 22 years as
director of the Washington
Office of Mennonite Central
Committee Peace Section.
In the first session Delton
Franz told his story. He grew
up in Buhler, Kan., in the
security of a 98 percent
Mennonite community, never
hearing a sermon on economic
or social justice. When he and
Marian went to Chicago in the
1950s to attend Mennonite
Biblical Seminary, they and
their seminary colleagues
became a part of the 1 percent
white minority in the seminary
neighborhood.
As he pastored at Woodlawn
Mennonite Church in Chicago,
Franz learned to know people
whose hopes for economic
advancement were squelched
by a system that pays for
military "strength" and lets the
civilian economy stagnate.
With his background in Bible
and sociology, Franz went to
Washington, where he now
works with Keith Gingerich,
Greg Goering and Hilda Nikkei
as MCC's advocate for poor
and oppressed people around
the world.
The Washington seminars
(usually two per year) are
designed to spread awareness
of current peace/justice issues
to people in congregations
across the nation.
This spring's seminar
featured speakers Barbara
Green on "End of the East/
West Cold War: New Respon-
sibilities"; Ruth Flowers on
"Growing Poverty in Rich
America"; Aubrey McCutcheon
on "South Africa: The Irre-
pressible Movement to Free-
dom"; Joe Aldridge on the
north-south conflict; and Paz
Artazza on "Our Threatened
Environment."
Participants also saw a film
on the environment and a
video, "The Cry of Reason,"
that told the story of a white
South African pastor, Beyers-
Naude, and how he changed.
Three Mennonites who work
on congressional staffs and a
state department aide talked
with the group. On Tuesday
delegations from the various
states visited their congres-
sional representatives.
"Some of you will feel like
Moses," Franz said, calling to
mind the Hebrew leader who
begged God not to send him to
Hilda Nikkei, Steinbach, Man.,
arranged for seminar partici-
pants to meet their representa-
tives in the U.S. Congress.
"Capitol Hill." Others, Franz
suggested, "can articulate like
Aaron." Franz warned, "People
cannot afford to be quiet."
MCC has a 70-year history of
addressing human suffering.
At first MCC concentrated on
relief work — food to starving
Mennonites in Russia or Christ-
mas bundles to Palestinian
refugees. More recently MCC
realized the need to speak to
the government, which caused
starvation and homelessness
by supplying weapons for war
and overthrowing leaders who
instituted land reform.
MCC draws on its resources
of service workers around the
world to tell the stories of and
lobby for the poor and op-
pressed people they have
come to know. Peace Section
coordinates appointments for
national representatives to
speak to government decision
makers. It publishes Washing-
ton Memo and "Action Alerts" to
update constituent church
members on current public
policy issues and to encourage
Mennonites to communicate
their concerns for peace and
justice to elected officials.
"We should not lose hope,"
Franz said. "If the voice of the
Christian community were to be
silenced tomorrow, in due time
this society, and indeed the
world, would be a worse place
to live in. It does make a
difference, even though at
times it seems like things are
painfully bad."
"What can we do?" partici-
pants asked.
"Pressure Congress not to lift
sanctions on South Africa,"
Aubrey McCutcheon said.
Though Nelson Mandela has
been released, 3,000 more
political prisoners remain in
South African prisons, and real
change has not yet happened.
Don't forget about Central
America's countries — espe-
cially if they don't make the
news. "That status quo is
deadly," Joe Eldridge said.
In the concluding session a
panel discussed "Next Steps
on the Home Front." Members
encouraged participants to form
small groups in their congrega-
tions that have a clearly
defined "outward journey" (such
as Central American concerns)
that group members work
together on while keeping their
work balanced with their
"inward journeys."
Washington Office staff
pointed out a business/church
leaders seminar they will offer
in Washington in the fall. They
also offered to come to
congregational and district
conference meetings to lead
workshops on public policy
issues. Susan Miller Balzer
204 MAY 8, 1990
Mennonite Mutual Aid Association
reported a gain of $5.8 million in 1989,
including a net income of $5.5 million in
health plans. This gain offsets the losses
in health plans in 1987 and 1988. In 1989
over $618,000 was distributed to MMA
consitutents and congregations through
special assistance programs. Mennonite
Retirement Trust, a retirement plan for
pastors and church workers, increased to a
record 5,035 members in 1989.
In the 1980s, 465 civilians and 312 soldiers
and police officers died as a result of
violence in Northern Ireland, reports David
Moser, who serves in Belfast, Northern
Ireland, with Mennonite Central Committee
and Mennonite Board of Missions. The
decade will be remembered for its political
stagnation in which paramilitary groups
flourished, says Moser. "But it will also be
remembered for growing Christian re-
sponse to needs in Northern Ireland."
Many small, community-operated organiza-
tions began in recent years to meet
spiritual and social needs, Moser says.
Maplewood Mennonite Church, Fort
Wayne, Ind., celebrated its 30th anniver-
sary with special programs on March 4.
Gordon Neuenschwander, Greentown,
Ind., gave the sermon. He was pastor at
First Mennonite Church, Berne, Ind., when
it implemented plans for beginning a
church in Fort Wayne. Maplewood has had
three pastors: Leonard Wiebe, Marvin Zehr
and Don Heiser, the current pastor.
NEWS
AMBS boards
move to merge
Elkhart, Ind. (AMBS)— To pave
the way for one president to
serve two seminaries the
boards of Associated Menno-
nite Biblical Seminaries,
Elkhart, Ind., have taken action
on governance changes.
The Mennonite Biblical
Seminary Board of Trustees
and Goshen Biblical Seminary
Board of Overseers encour-
aged Marlin E. Miller, who
becomes joint president July 1 ,
to explore a modified consoli-
dation of the two schools as
legal entities.
The schools will explore
consolidation by stages, Miller
said, by "incorporating AMBS
without terminating GBS and
MBS and by gradually transfer-
ring more functions to AMBS."
The boards agreed that
during Miller's term as presi-
dent the chairperson of the
AMBS boards will be appointed
from the General Conference
Mennonite Church. Miller's
background is in the Mennonite
Church and he is a member of
a dual-conference church,
Assembly Mennonite Church in
Goshen, Ind.
The boards acted to reduce
the number of student repre-
sentatives to the joint boards
from four to two by summer
1992. (The current student
body is 2Q4.) They will ask the
GCMC's General Board and
the Mennonite Board of
Education to reduce the
number of members on each
seminary board from 10 to nine
by summer 1992.
In other business the boards
heard that while spending is in
line with budget, the seminaries
are each projecting a deficit for
the year ending June 30. They
acted to reduce the projected
budget for the 1990-91 year by
a net of $1 00,000 through a
combination of approving the
sale of an AMBS-owned house
off-campus, reducing expenses
and granting only a 3 percent
salary increase instead of a
cost-of-living adjustment.
Marlin Miller reported that the
schools' indebtedness in
relation to net worth indicates
an overall healthy financial
picture. The boards are
working on long-range strategic
planning, taking into account
the special stresses of the last
five years in terms of enroll-
ment, finances, and faculty and
administrative transitions. At
the June 4-5 meeting in Elkhart
the boards will look at a three-
year budget projection.
The boards postponed
indefinitely construction of
additional apartment buildings
"until this issue can be looked
at in terms of an overall
campus plan and long-term
financing." John Bender
Freeman Academy has positions
open for 1990-91 for a Bible
instructor and a vocal and
instrumental music instructor.
Freeman Academy is a Christian
junior-senior high school, grades 7-
12, affiliated with the General
Conference Mennonite Church. To
apply, send letter and credentials
to Leroy Saner, Principal, Freeman
Academy, Box 1000, Freeman, SD
57029, (605) 925-4237.
SWISS MENNONITE HERITAGE TOUR
including the Oberammergau Passion Play
June 26 -July 17,1990
Dr. Delbert Gratz, Tour Director
A study tour of places connected with Swiss Mennonite
heritage, as well as of general cultural and historical interest
that are located in Northern Switzerland, Eastern France and
Southern Germany.
For complete details contact Dorothy Weaver at:
Menno Travel Service
210 South Main Street
Goshen, IN 46526
219-534-1521 or 1-800-373^991
fWEBS
prlOR
LVERYDAY
Compiled by Elaine Somrners Rich
"Prayer Is A Connection With God."
This book helps make these
connections — during times of solitude,
in small groups, in corporate worship.
Some are long and eloquent, others
short and crisp. Over 100 prayers, 30
of them for children.
ISBN 0-87303-137-7 • 96 pages •
Paperback $6.95 Canada $8.95
Available at your local bookstore or
Faith and Life Press Faith and Life Press
718 Main, Box 347 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.
Newton, KS 67114-0347 Winnipeg, MB R3P0M4
316/283-5100
204/888-6781
THE MENNONITE 205
By 1993, 20 percent of Hong Kong's
Christians and 25 percent of its clergy and
church workers will have emigrated,
according to estimates by the Hong Kong
Christian Institute. The British colony,
which counts about half a million Christians
among its 5.75 million citizens, reverts to
Chinese control in 1997.
Feminist organizations in Peru have
united in a decision to publicly protest the
level of violence in their country. They are
publicizing incidents of domestic violence,
women's marginal place in society, and
political assassinations and disappear-
ances, especially of women. The risk is
great. On Feb. 13, 1989, a feminist named
Consuelo Garcia was brutally assassi-
nated, and in May 1989 Cecilia Olea
received a death threat from "Rodrigo
Franco," the paramilitary command of the
right, for her work for women's equality and
the building of peace. For more information
and to offer support, write Circulo Talitha
Cumi, Apartado 221 1 , Lima 1 00, Peru.
( Daughters of Sarah)
A Mennonite radio station for East
Paraguay — a decade-old dream of many
Mennonites there-is coming close to
reality, with final approval expected soon.
According to Mennonitische Post [he
purposes of the station, to be known as ZP-
50, will be to help evangelize eastern
Paraguay and to provide local program-
ming for the Mennonite colonies. The
project is a joint effort of Paraguayan
Mennonites and the Evangelical Mennonite
Conference of Canada.
NEWS
About 500
Winnipeggers
celebrate 90
years of mission
Winnipeg (GCMC) — Members
from 15 churches in the
Winnipeg area met at Sargent
Avenue Mennonite Church
here March 24-25 to mark the
General Conference Mennonite
Church's 90th anniversary of
overseas mission.
The theme, "God's Creative
Spirit in the World," gave con-
tent and direction to the cele-
bration. Colorful paper flags of
various countries and several
inflated globes helped create
an international atmosphere.
COM missionary and resource person Jonathan Larson leads mem-
bers of Winnipeg-area churches in an African dance .
About 500 people attended
the events. Jake Harms,
Canadian coordinator for the
Commission on Overseas
Mission of the General Confer-
ence, planned the celebration.
Several skits and musical
numbers were performed.
r
1990 . . . Our
20th Anniversary!
Since 1 970, tour leaders (like Jan
Gleysteen), who know and love
our faith story, have made the
TourMagination difference . . .
joyful, educational, and spiritually
enriching travel.
We invite you to join one of our
Anniversary tours this year!
1210 Loucks Ave.
Scottdale, PA 1 5683
412-887-5440
41 2-887-9436
1 31 Erb Street W.
Waterloo, ON N21 1T7
519-747-0517
51 9-745-7433
P.O. Box 376
Harleysville, PA 1 9438
215-256-3011
215-723-8413
Europe 90A
May 14-23
Arnold Cressman, Henry Landes
Europe 90B
June 11-30
Jan Gleysteen, Neal Weaver
Europe 90C
June 25-July 3
John L. Ruth, Wilmer Martin
Western Canada 90A
July 13-24
Arnold and Rhoda Cressman
Souderton to MWC 1 2
July 19-Aug. 1
Hubert Schwartzentruber,
in Winnipeg
Henry Landes
Western Canada 90B
July 29-Aug. 18
Jan Gleysteen, Alfred Willms
TourMagination
Resource people included
former China Educational
Exchange workers George and
Rena Kroeker and missionary
Jonathan Larson. Larson kept
the participants spellbound with
his dramatic presentations. He
depicted missions as a caravan
seeking passageways into
different cultures. "It's a story
of passion," said Larson.
Speaking about his own work
with African Independent
Churches in Botswana, Larson
said, "We do not plant Menno-
nite churches among these
people. We have been invited
to teach them about the Bible."
Volunteer service
Glencroft-North, a retirement
community, is looking for a couple or an
individual to coordinate a calendar of
resident activities, transportation and act
as backup for the resident manager on
some nights and weekends.
This is a full-year position beginning
Sept. 1. We provide housing and a per-
diem. Please forward a letter of interest
to Glencroft, 8611 N. 67th Ave.,
Glendale, AZ 85302, (602) 939-9475.
Are you lonely? Maybe Cross-
roads can help you, too. Some of
the couples who have met their
mates through us include a nurse
and a minister, a teacher and a
carpenter, and a widow and a
farmer. Other clients are meeting
friends who share their interests.
Some are still waiting to meet the
right one. Perhaps they are
looking for you. How will you find
out if you don't join?
For information write to Cross-
roads. Box 32. North Tonawanda,
NY 14120.
206 MAY 8, 1990
The advisory committee for the Anabap-
tist Biblical Institute met in Kansas City,
Mo., March 15-17. The institute provides
Bible training to Spanish-speaking students
in North America through correspondence
classes. Thirty-one students participated in
its first year of operation. Several Menno-
nite Church congregations as well as
Native people have expressed interest in
the institute curriculum, said Marco Guete,
secretary of Hispanic Ministries for the
Commission on Home Ministries of the
General Conference Mennonite Church.
A conference on domestic violence and
sexual abuse is scheduled for Nov. 2-3 in
Upland, Calif. Upland Brethren in Christ
Church will host the event. "Shedding Light
in Darkness: A Mennonite and Brethren in
Christ Response to Domestic Violence and
Sexual Abuse Among Us" is being planned
by the Mennonite Central Committee
Domestic Violence Task Force, MCC's
Committee on Women's Concerns and
West Coast MCC. Ruth Krall, associate
professor of religion and psychology and
director of peace studies at Goshen (Ind.)
College, will be resource speaker. For
more information contact MCC West Coast,
1 01 0 G St., Reedley, CA 93654, (209) 638-
6911.
The Kituba translation of the Bible has
been printed and is scheduled to be
shipped to Zaire for distribution this month.
This marks the successful conclusion of a
cooperative effort that has involved
Mennonite Brethren Missions/Services, the
American Baptist Foreign Mission Society,
several Catholic groups and the United
Bible Societies. Printed in Asia with an
initial press run of 37,000, the Bibles will
serve about 2 million Kituba speakers in
southwestern Zaire.
NEWS
Mennonites zero in on Detroit
Elkhart, Ind. (MBM)— First
steps to develop a network of
new Mennonite congregations
by the year 2009 in Detroit
have been implemented. The
first church planting, sponsored
by the Indiana-Michigan
Conference (of the Mennonite
Church), is under way in
Detroit's far east side. An
average of 10 people attend a
Wednesday evening Bible
study begun last fall by Sam
Wilson and Rod Williams,
African-American ministers who
live in the Motor City.
Wilson and Williams for the
past year have been connected
to this major inter-Mennonite
initiative projected for the
Detroit area. Mennonite Board
of Missions (of the Mennonite
Church) and the Indiana-
Michigan and Ohio conferences
Master's level clinician with CAC
at Philhaven Hospital. Philhaven
is looking to employ a clinician with
a master's degree and Certified
Addictions Counselor's designation
to work in an outpatient setting
providing clinical services to clients
with mental health and substance
abuse problems. Philhaven is a
96-bed, private psychiatric facility
operating from a Christian
perspective to provide a broad
range of mental health services.
Competitive salary and benefits.
For additional information and
application^ontact:
Jay Garber, personnel director
Philhaven
P.O. Box 550
Mt. Gretna, PA 1 7064
(717) 270-2451
(MC) are sponsors in consulta-
tion with the Commission on
Home Ministries and the
Central District Conference of
the General Conference
Mennonite Church.
Plans are to have a one-
week service project in Detroit
this summer for 25 youth as
part of Mennonite Service
Venture, a joint program of the
CHM and MBM.
A coordinator is still being
sought for the Detroit project.
This person would help
implement, supervise and
promote church plantings and
new ministries concerned with
community development, social
justice and peace. Interested
people should contact Brent
Foster, MBM, Box 370, Elkhart,
IN 46515-0370, (219) 294-
7523.
Camping
leaders mark
30 years
of ministry
Lincoln City, Ore. (GCMC)—
Mennonite Camping Associa-
tion celebrated its 30th
anniversary at its biennial
convention at Drift Camp Creek
here March 24-27. The theme
was "Celebrating God's
Faithfulness: Past, Present,
Future." Camping leaders
gathered to sing, hike and
swap stories informally and in
workshops.
MCC Canada invites applications for:
Director — Kanadier Concerns Program
Primary responsibilities:
• Administer the Mexico Kanadier program.
• Promote and develop new educational materials for Kanadier Menno-
nites in Latin America.
• Develop new Kanadier programs in Latin America, in consultation with
the MCC Latin America desk.
• Serve as a resource to Kanadier communities in Canada.
Key qualifications include:
• A genuine interest in and love for the Kanadier people.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• Administrative and leadership skills.
• Fluency in Low German. Spanish would be an asset.
• Previous experience in Latin America and/or with MCC preferred.
Starting date is negotiable. Deadline for applications is June 30.
Contact: Overseas Coordinator
Mennonite Central Committee Canada
Central 134 Plaza Drive
^r""r Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9
CaSada Telephone (204) 261-6381
^ Mennonite
Ozzie Goering, left, and Caleb
Heppner perform a skit at the
camping convention.
Fresh perspectives
on fellowship
and travel
^Aiemtonite
DIRECTORY VI
Featuring:
2,100 North American hosts (46 states, 8
provinces) • 220 International contacts
(57 countries) • 58 What To See spots
• Centerfold Map of Important Places
• Mennonite World Conference 1990,
Winnipeg (features/maps) • Ross Bender
& Don Jacobs on International travel
' MWY users' stories * Nature travel
activities * Swap and Share • Stauffer
MYW mld-llte perspectives
A HOSPITALITY DIRECTORY
FOR THE YEARS 1990, 1991, 1992
Single copy $11.00'
2 Copies $20.00'
3-11 Copies each $ 8.50"
12 or more / wholesale prices available
• U.S. funds only, price Includes 4th class
postage to one address
copies at $_
Total Due $_
6% Tax - PA residents _
TOTAL ENCLOSED $_
Address
Mail to: Mennonite Your Way
Box 1525, Salunga, PA 17538
THE MENNONITE 207
Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
executive committee affirmed proposed
regional programming guidelines at its
March meetings and passed them to
regional boards for discussion. These
guidelines, proposed by staff, would give
MCC U.S. regional offices in Reedley,
Calif., North Newton, Kan., Kidron, Ohio,
and Akron, Pa., freedom to begin programs
in their regions. Together MCC U.S. and
each region would agree on specific re-
sponsibilities and ownership of program.
Seven young people from Brazil and
Paraguay are the first South American par-
ticipants in a new service exchange
program between Mennonites in the
Federal Republic of Germany and German-
speaking Mennonite communities in Latin
America. The seven are spending a year
working at four German institutions for the
elderly. The program was sparked
indirectly by the creation of the Christliche
Dienst service organization by the German
churches a few years ago, explains
Bruecke, the German Mennonite magazine.
Christliche Dienst provides service opportu-
nities for German young people, including
assignments overseas. But some asked,
Why not a partner exchange?
The Christian Council of Mozambique
has completed distribution in Mozambique
of a large shipment of Zimbabwean white
maize (corn). Mennonite Central Commit-
tee donated 1 1 ,760 metric tons of Cana-
dian wheat that were exchanged for the
7,000 tons of maize in Zimbabwe. CCM
and the Mozambican Department for the
Prevention and Combat of Natural Calami-
ties distributed the maize to people
displaced by continuing conflict between
the Mozambican government and Renamo,
the 13-year-old resistance movement.
NEWS COMMENTARY
Why do women get abortions?
Kathy Shantz
Why do around 70,000
Canadian women choose to
have abortions each year?
Diane Marshall has identified
four reasons.
1. Broken sexual relation-
ships. We are assaulted by a
hedonistic view of human
relationships in the mass
media, especially on TV. In
this view sex is recreation
rather than an act of love for
another human being, with
pregnancy not an opportunity
to create a new life but rather a
"health risk.'' Abortion is seen
as the antidote to this health
risk.
2. Violence in society.
Estimates are that one of every
four females is sexually
assaulted, half before the age
of 17. One million Canadian
women are abused by their
husbands or partners each
year. For some women,
abortion becomes an agonized
solution to the violence they
experience. Rather than bring
a child into a hostile, violent
world, they prefer to empty the
womb so that the child they
bear will not suffer as they have
suffered.
3. Male abdication from
sexual responsibility. Ac-
cording to Marshall, "our
culture's acceptance of male
sexual irresponsibility is
something that Christians must
speak out strongly against."
One of the issues she identifies
is the reluctance of some men
to use condoms to prevent
pregnancy. "Men who won't
put up with a little inconven-
ience to prevent unwanted
pregnancies cannot turn
around and accuse women of
having convenience abortions,"
she says. "It's frightening that
any man who has not been
completely chaste or monoga-
mous dares to oppose all
abortions."
Concern about male respon-
sibility does not end with
conception. Parenting has
been seen as the woman's job,
while the man follows his
career pursuits. A TV commer-
cial points this up forcefully.
The commercial, which
intended to show how a major
U.S. airline could fly a business
person anywhere at any time,
shows a male executive who
drops everything to go where
his company asks. The
commercial shows him
traveling on his anniversary,
missing his daughter's birthday,
all to serve his company better.
The care of children needs to
be seen as "the mutual
responsibility of both parents
as a calling before the Lord."
And when a marriage ends,
the responsibility of men for the
children they have fathered
does not end. In Canada, 75
percent of court-ordered child
maintenance orders are in
arrears. According to one
survey of women who had
abortions, one of the dominat-
ing factors in the decision to
abort was their estrangement
from their partners.
4. Poverty. Over 80 percent
of single-parent households in
Canada are headed by women.
Most live in poverty. When
men refuse to take responsibil-
'It's frightening that
any man who has
not been completely
chaste or monoga-
mous dares to op-
pose all abortions.'
ity for their children, young
pregnant women who give birth
look forward to life in a welfare
ghetto. Many choose abortion
for survival. According to
Marshall, many women have a
lurking fear that "their partners
will abandon the family and that
they will be left in the pro-
foundly lonely position of
raising their children alone."
Where is the church? I think
the call to reconciliation in 2
Corinthians 5 has significance.
We need to first be reconciled
to God and to each other in full
knowledge of our fallenness.
We need to confess our
passive response to the sexual
norms advocated by many in
society today. We need to ask
forgiveness for meekly standing
by while women and children
have been abused. Some of
us need to confess our
participation in that abuse.
Some men need to ask
forgiveness for when they have
failed to be good fathers, while
both men and women need to
confess that we have so often
fallen short of God's ideal for
parenting.
In Christ we are a new
creation. Out of this new
creation can flow concrete
responses to abortion. We can
show our support for life by
helping women in crisis
pregnancy situations, by
supporting provisions for day
care, by encouraging govern-
ments to enforce child support
orders and by advocating for
affordable housing for single-
parent families.
Abortion concerns men and
women. Much debate has
centered around the woman's
right to choose whether or not
to have an abortion. The
church should turn this into a
debate about shared sexual
and parental responsibility.
The church should be a
nurturing extension of the
womb, a sanctuary in the
deepest sense of the word.
Kathy Shantz is director of
MCC Canada's Women's
Concerns Program.
208 MAY 8, 1990
Three teachers appointed by Eastern
Mennonite Board of Missions are at work in
Djibouti, a small country on the Red Sea
coast populated by a half million people.
Marian Hostetler and Mike and Cindy
Brislen began teaching in government
schools in January under the African
nation's Ministry of Education. The
outreach in Djibouti comes after 10 years of
discussing and praying about it with East
Africa Mennonite churches and after more
than a year of negotiating with
the Djibouti government. Most of
the population of Djibouti are
staunch adherents of Islam.
Gene McNary, the new commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization
Service, visited the border area near Bayview, Texas, in February to announce a
crackdown on would-be immigrants from Central America. "Here, crossing the river, are
only poor, unfortunate people fleeing war, hunger and misery caused by the injustice that
the rich countries are causing in the Third World," said Sister Juliana Garcia, who directs
Casa Oscar Romero. "What they need to fix is not here on the border but in Washington
and Central America." Lyn Raymond, a Mennonite Board of Missions Voluntary Service
worker, serves at Casa Romero, a refugee shelter in Brownsville, Texas. While McNary
spoke about "enforcing the law" and preventing "border crashing," he said little about
U.S. immigration regulations, which since 1980 have begun to offer some protection to
asylum seekers, even when they flee countries friendly to the United States.
Twin Firs Greenhouse, Hunting-
don, B.C., a 10,000 square foot
greenhouse operated by MCC BC
Supportive Care Services, invites
applications for greenhouse
manager starting July 1 . In
addition to being a business, the
greenhouse provides a work-
training environment for people
with mental handicaps. As such,
any successful candidate will need
to have previous greenhouse
management/marketing experi-
ence as well as a strong orienta-
tion to training. An understanding
of the overall objectives of MCC
BC is also required.
Please respond by sending letters
of interest and resumes to Peter
Andres, Coordinator of Vocational
Services, MCC BC Supportive
Care Services, Box 2038,
Clearbrook, VC V2T 3T8.
Goshen College seeks applicants
for assistant director ot informa-
tion services with an emphasis
on academic reporting beginning
Aug. 1.
Responsibilities include planning,
writing and editing news and fea-
ture stories, promotional pieces
and advertisements to help
achieve public-information goals.
Qualifications include bachelor's
degree in journalism, English or
other relevant discipline, commit-
ment to Goshen College's
Christian liberal-arts emphasis,
reporting, writing and editing skills.
Salary commensurate with
qualifications.
Send letter of application, resume
and the names of three references
by May 25 to John D. Yoder,
Director of Information Services,
Goshen College, Goshen, IN
46526. An equal opportunity
employer.
H; tX Thoreau
gold \J\ILAQS
Purchase a Village duplex or apartment
home and be a part of a community de-
voted to quality retirement life. Choose
Kidron Bethel Village and choose:
• A vibrant lifestyle—Classes, concerts and
lectures at Bethel College across the street.
Biking and jogging on the walking path.
Swimming and socializing at the Neigh-
borhood Center.
• Health care when you need it—medical
center, short-term and long-term care.
• Pleasant environment— small-town
friendliness, quiet setting. (Sponsored by
General Conference Mennonite churches.)
• Security with independence— 90% Buy
Back feature as a Kidron Bethel
homeowner.
Call or write for more details. Personal
tours are available.
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P.O. Box 308, 2902 A Ivy Drive
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YES, please send me additional information
about Kidron Bethel Village.
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THE MENNONITE 209
Church World Service is engaged in a
large housing program in Bangladesh, a
country marred by Muslim cultural bias
against women. CWS is building or
rehabilitating more than 10,000 homes and
has specified that 95 percent of the jobs
created will go to women and that the new
homes will be put in the names of wives,
not husbands. Said a CWS official, "We
expect it will create conflict, but it will be
worth it."
Organizers of a major interfaith environ-
mental gathering in Moscow believe they
have planted the seeds for a broad-based
approach to some of the world's most
vexing environmental problems and say the
challenge is now for religious, scientific and
political leaders to ensure that those seeds
germinate around the globe. Some 1 ,000
leaders from 83 countries attended the
event, out of which emerged several
documents underscoring the need to view
the world's problems not as isolated
phenomena but as parts of an interlocking
whole. The New York-based Global Forum
of Spiritual and Parliamentary Leaders on
Human Survival organized the event.
Pennsylvania church leaders, dismayed
at the escalation of racially motivated
incidents in their state in the past year,
issued a statement recently calling on
citizens to eradicate racism and build a
society based on equality. The statement
cites recruiting activities of the Ku Klux
Klan and other white supremacist groups,
desecration of Jewish synagogues, racial
unrest on college campuses and a fake
bomb attempt at a state office of the
National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People as recent examples of
how "bigotry continues to infect our
communities."
RECORd
dEAThs
Bergen
Ella Garber Bauman's ashes
will be interred May 12 at West
Swamp Church, Quakertown,
Pa. "Dr. Ella," who died May
17, 1989, had willed her body
to Indiana University Medical
School. She was a member of
First Church, Berne, Ind., and a
career medical missionary to
India with COM.
John C. Reimer, 95, died
March 1 9. He was the founder
and first curator of the Menno-
nite Heritage Village, Stein-
bach, Man.
Alice Claassen Suderman,
77, Bethel College Church,
North Newton, Kan., died April
7 in Newton. She is survived
by her husband, David H.
Suderman, and two daughters,
Ann Dunn and Judy Rios. The
Sudermans served with COM
in Asuncion, Paraguay, from
1978 to 1981.
WORkERS
The General Board established
a new long-range planning
committee to re-envision the
General Conference mission
for the 21 st century. Commit-
AIMM — Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission
CHM — Commission on Home Ministries
COM — Commission on Overseas Mission
MCC — Mennonite Central Committee
NAA — North America Assignment
PDC — Pacific District Conference
'V
P. Boese J. Bohn
Dyck
I. Friesen
tee members are Abe Bergen,
Winnipeg; Janeen Bertsch
Johnson, Wichita, Kan.; Ron
Krehbiel, Freeman, S.D.; Clare
Ann Ruth-Heffelbower, Fresno,
Calif.; Alberto Quintela,
Minneapolis.
Heinz Bergen, Grace
Church, Regina, returned in
February from the Soviet Union
after spending three months
with a Mennonite Disaster
Service construction crew in
Armenia. He fled from the
Soviet Union in the mid-1 940s.
Glen and Phyllis Thomas
Boese, Friedensberg Church,
Avon, S.D., returned from Zaire
on April 20 for a four-month
NAA. The Boeses have been
missionaries with COM/AIMM
since 1984. Since 1988 they
have served at Service de
Development Agricole in
Nyanga, where Glen directed a
church rural development
project.
John and Tina
Warkentin Bohn,
Grace Church,
Pandora, Ohio,
arrived in the
United States in
April for a four-
month NAA.
T. Bohn
Bontrager
R. Friesen
Garber
The Bohns are missionaries
with COM/AIMM in Lesotho,
assisting African Independent
Churches in Bible teaching,
horticulture, sewing, cooking
and bookkeeping.
Herman Bontrager is the new
president of Goodville Mutual
Casualty Company, New
Holland, Pa. He previously
worked with MCC.
Peter J. Dyck, Akron, Pa.,
was the Lenten speaker at
West Swamp Church, Quaker-
town, Pa.
Leonard Enns wrote a
commissioned cantata called
"Psalm Cyklus" performed May
6 at the Canadian Association
of Mennonite Schools' national
music festival in Winnipeg.
Honoring the centennial of his
alma mater, Mennonite
Collegiate Institute, Gretna,
Man., the cantata is dedicated
to Paul J. Schaefer, former MCI
teacher and principal.
Ivan and Rachel Hilty
Friesen, Danforth Morningside
Church, Toronto, plan to return
to Ontario from Gaborone,
Botswana, on May 13 for a
four-month NAA. The Friesens
have three children and serve
with COM/AIMM. Ivan teaches
theology at the University of
Botswana, and Rachel has
been researching African
Independent Churches.
Anne Garber arrived in
Ontario on April 15 from
Kotoura, Burkina Faso, for a
four-month NAA. She is a
COM/AIMM missionary linguist
working with the previously
unwritten Senufo language.
She is a member of First
Church, Urbana, III., and an
associate member of Ottawa
Mennonite Church.
210 MAY 8, 1990
Environment Minister Lucien Bouchard
believes Canadians are ready to pay a
"green tax" to finance environmental
programs. Environmentalists have called
for a carbon tax on fossil fuels such as
coal, gasoline and oil to discourage their
use and finance environmental programs.
They said the money should be used to
finance a national energy conversation
program, reforest millions of acres of land
and complete the national park system.
Bouchard said he wants to hear the
public's opinion of paying more in taxes to
support environmental causes. (The
Canadian Report)
RECOFtd
Reconciliation work will be a key to future
Mennonite Central Committee presence in
Nicaragua, said Elizabeth Soto at the
March 30-31 MCC executive committee
meetings in Akron, Pa. Soto, assistant
secretary for MCC Latin America and
Caribbean programs, was part of MCC
team discussions about the future of MCC
in Nicaragua following the Feb. 25 elec-
tions. "Our role in reconciliation must be at
the grass-roots level," Soto said. "It doesn't
matter to us who was a Sandinista and who
was a contra. We just want to help
neighbors who fought against each other
become friends again." MCC workers in
Nicaragua remain committed to already
established health and literacy work.
Whether they choose salt water or sweet
music, high school students can get a
weeklong taste of college life this summer
at Goshen (Ind.) College. Interested
students have two options: Marine Biology
Week, set for June 1 0-1 6 in the Florida
keys, and Music Week, planned for June
17-22 on the Goshen campus. For more
information contact the Admissions Office,
Goshen College, Goshen, IN 46526-9988,
1-800-348-7422.
Holsopple Hull
Gladys and Leo Harder, First
Church, Mountain Lake, Minn.,
have begun a Mennonite
Voluntary Service term in Fort
Collins, Colo., working with
Neighbor to Neighbor. This is
their response to a message
Hubert Brown, executive
secretary of CHM, gave at
Northern District Conference
last June.
Jerry Holsopple, Harri-
sonburg, Va., will be the
speaker at Fast Break '90, a
joint PDC-Southwest Confer-
ence youth gathering, June 21-
24. Holsopple, a veteran youth
minister, is a video producer
with Mennonite Board of
Missions.
Robert Hull, associate
executive secretary of CHM,
was Easter week speaker at
First Church, Ransom, Kan.
Paul G. Jantzen, First
Church, Hillsboro, Kan., a high
school biology instructor, has
been named an outstanding
teacher by the University of
Kansas.
Richard A. Kauffman,
administrative vice president of
Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, and Dorothy Nickel
Friesen, assistant dean, were
named to the first joint adminis-
trative team to serve both
Mennonite Biblical Seminary
Jantzen McCabe-Juhnke
and Goshen Biblical Seminary.
Others on the team are
president-elect Marlin E. Miller,
dean-elect Gayle Gerber
Koontz, and business manager
Virgil Claassen. The appoint-
ments are effective July 1 .
Jonathan Larson, Faith
Church, Minneapolis, spoke at
a gathering of 40 mediation
trainers sponsored by Menno-
nite Conciliation Service (a
program of MCC U.S.) in
Akron, Pa. He is a COM/AIMM
missionary to Botswana, now
on NAA.
Don Longbottom will
complete his pastorate at Eden
Church, Moundridge, Kan., in
July.
Parker Mavi, a South African
black Anabaptist, will start a
church in Northwest Philadel-
phia under the auspices of
Eastern Board of Missions of
the Mennonite Church.
Karen McCabe-Juhnke,
Shalom Church, Newton, Kan.,
began April 30 as COM
administrative assistant.
Art McPhee, Boston, was
Easter week speaker at
Hereford Church, Bally, Pa.
Mennonite churches in Bally
and Boyerstown participated in
the services.
Shoua Moua will begin
forming a Hmong-speaking
Moua Myers
Nivia Obando
congregation in Fresno, Calif.,
this summer. Mennonite
Community Church, PDC and
Southwest Conference are
giving support to the effort.
Gordon Myers will become
pastor at Bethel Church,
Ashley, Mich., in June.
Ruben Dario Nivia and his
wife, Una Maria Obando,
Bogota, Colombia, serve as
MCC volunteers in Bolivia.
They are speaking in North
American churches April 13-
May 12. Obando's home
church is Iglesia Menonita de
Teusaquillo in Bogota.
Steve and Janet Sinclair
Plenert, missionaries with
COM/AIMM in Kinshasa, Zaire,
returned to Canada on April 12
for a one-year NAA. The
Plenerts provided support
services for other AIMM
missionaries since 1 987. They
have two children and are
members of Olivet Church,
Clearbrook, B.C, and Saanich
J. Plenert S. Plenert
Sauder Schumm
Community Church, Victoria,
B.C., respectively.
Ernie Regehr, adjunct
professor in peace and conflict
studies at Conrad Grebel
College, Waterloo, Ont., has
been named to a special
United Nations study commis-
sion on the international arms
trade. He joins representatives
from 20 other countries.
Renee Sauder, associate
pastor at Bethel College
Church, North Newton, Kan.,
has accepted a one-year
position at Bethel College,
North Newton, beginning Aug.
1. She will do campus ministry
and teach a course in fall and
spring in the Bible and religion
department.
Clare Schumm, secretary for
family life education for the
Commission on Education, will
be the main speaker at the joint
sessions of the PDC and
Southwest Conference.
— compiled by Angela Rem pel
THE MENNONITE 211
Letters
Killing fields revisted
Twenty-seven years ago this spring, as a
young volunteer, I visited Cambodia for
the first time. The rice fields were rich.
Its cities bustled. Its ancient Buddhist
temples awakened the spirit.
This spring marks the anniversaries of
several events that evoke a special
sadness for Cambodians and for many
Americans. Exactly 20 years ago, in
1970, Cambodia's precarious neutrality
was definitely ended by the overthrow of
Prince Sihanouk and the invasion of U.S.
armed forces. Days later, six American
students, four at Kent State University
and two at Jackson State University,
were killed during nationwide protests
against the invasion.
April 17 marked the 15th anniversary
of the day that the fanatical Khmer
Rouge army marched into Phnom Penh
and began herding its frightened
inhabitants into the countryside. Thus
opened one of the most terrifying
chapters in modern history. Cambodia
became one giant "killing field." Before
the Vietnamese drove them out in 1978,
Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge had starved,
tortured, shot or hacked to death at least
a million — and possibly as many as 3
million — of their countrymen.
It was tragic for the Cambodians that
their liberators were the United States'
old enemy, Vietnam. Our government
has refused since then to accept the
Cambodian regime that succeeded the
Vietnamese intervention. For 10 years
we have voted instead to seat the Khmer
Rouge in the United Nations. We have
financed "refugee camps" used by the
Khmer Rouge to wage a guerrilla war
against the central government.
Today our government still sends
military aid to a coalition dominated by
the Khmer Rouge. It has also supported
inclusion of the Khmer Rouge in a
brokered political settlement — in the
country they almost destroyed.
The spite-driven course we are on is
frightening. We must insist that
Congress end all aid that fuels the civil
war in Cambodia and that we support a
settlement which excludes the Khmer
Rouge. Americans must save our govern-
ment from complicity in a second
holocaust. Gene Stoltzfus, 1821 W.
Cullerton, Chicago, IL 60608
Thanks
Each issue of The Mennonite is eagerly
awaited and immediately read, and all
deserve honorable mention, but I'd give a
first prize to the developmental disabili-
ties issue [Feb. 27]. Today the evangel-
ism issue [March 27] came. It's out-
standing, too. Thanks for your good
work getting out the good news. Nancy
Kerr, 575 Quebec St., Prince George, BC
V2L 1W6
Flesh for these dry bones
I would have liked to be at the Central
District Conference meeting. I have
spent almost 50 years, along with my
ministry, practicing what I like to think
of as a renewing and sustainable agricul-
ture. I have had no formal training in
agriculture, only an enthusiastic love for
God's earth.
I have, with God's help and modern
technology, taken hundreds of acres of
semiabandoned, mostly hilly land, for
which I paid $12 to $15 per acre, and
created a rich, productive garden,
growing corn and alfalfa with the no-till
method. We have next to no erosion, but
we do use a minimum of chemicals. I
simply don't know how to pour a million
gallons of liquid manure on our fields
without controlling the weeds and
insects. We do not contribute to under-
ground water pollution. We also planted
50,000 trees in reforesting the hillier
areas.
I applaud the renewed interest of the
church in our total environment. I have
been discouraged by the lack of interest
among our Mennonite farmers. Along
with pessimism, however, I have hope.
It is true that overall we have much too
much erosion, careless use of chemicals,
extravagant cutting of our forests for a
quick buck. But strip mining [here in
Ohio] is much improved. My severest
critic, as I was testifying before Ohio and
Washington legislators for strict recla-
mation laws, is today my good friend,
and making more money than ever. At
the same time, in many instances he is
leaving the land better, more tillable
than before.
In our Judeo-Christian heritage we
have overlooked God's admonition "to
dress and to keep." Our more conserva-
tive brethren have allowed themselves to
be sidetracked through their apocalyptic
and eschatological views. God has
biblically assured us that in his good
time he will, with our Lord's return,
establish his kingdom. In the meantime
we are enjoined to preach and work at
practicing the good news of the gospel of
our crucified and resurrected Lord.
In the valley of dry bones God asked
Ezekiel, "Can these bones live?" The
ultimate answer was an emphatic "yes,"
if we "hear the word of the Lord." Planet
earth is in mortal danger unless we do.
Isaiah tells us that he always "had the
ear of the king." Unfortunately the king
paid little attention to what the prophet
said, but at least Isaiah spoke, and the
king heard. Solomon built his palace
next to the Temple. Apparently God
liked it that way.
The church's voice from the pulpit is
crucial. But if we are to succeed we must
also try to be heard in the halls of
government. Apart from real political
clout and the "eternal word of the Lord,"
we'll not put flesh and muscle and skin
and life on these dry bones. William H.
Stauffer, Stone Creek, OH 43840
Don't confuse
Katie Funk Wiebe [March 27] raises
profound questions about the past
direction of the Mennonite church and its
future regarding church leadership.
Unfortunately she fails to distinguish
between professionalism and salaried
staff. Wiebe assumes that professional-
ism and the pursuit of professionalism
will lead to the disenfranchisement of the
laity. I for one want to challenge that
assumption. In fact, it is exactly the
opposite. Because we have not expected
and demanded professionalism from our
leaders we are experiencing the disen-
franchisement that Wiebe describes.
A professional is an individual commit-
ted to a lifelong process of study, to a
prescribed and articulated code of ethics,
and is continually open to peer review. I
suggest that by adhering to these guide-
lines we will not only have effective
leadership within the church but a
leadership that is free to enable instead
of one that thrives on dependency.
If the issue is salaried vs. non-salaried,
then let's have that discussion in an
unencumbered fashion. Let's examine
the merits and the disadvantages of this
form of leadership. However, let's not
confuse salaried with professionalism.
Ministry in its various forms calls for
forming intense human relationships.
These relationships have the potential
for tremendous growth and an equal op-
portunity for devastating destruction.
Unless we are committed to a leadership
style that forces our leaders to examine
themselves in the midst of these intense
relationships, we have put all who
receive ministry at risk. Only the true
professional can take the step of a
servant minister. Ronald J. Hunsicker,
1170 S. State St., Ephrata, PA 17522
212 MAY 8, 1990
spEAkiNq OUT
How about pleasing our God?
Larry E. Wellings
We need to to start teaching our
young people and other singles
that sex, like hunger, is an appetite and
can be controled. If you stop eating,
you'll starve, but I'm not aware of anyone
having died from saying no to sex
(although I know of many who've died
from saying yes).
The second thing we need to teach is
why having sexual relationships outside
of marriage is wrong and dangerous. In
doing this, people must be taught the
purposes (procreation is not the only
purpose) for sex and why God intended
sex for marriage relationships only.
Teaching people safe sex and alterna-
tive techniques is as much as saying,
"Well, you really shouldn't be having sex
outside of marriage, but since we know
you can't control yourselves, here, do it
like this." Are we really loving people by
teaching them how to destroy their lives
"safely"?
God didn't tell us to abstain from
sexual immorality for his health; he did
it for ours. Researchers are beginning to
Letters
Wants to correspond
I'm incarcerated at the Louisiana State
Penitentiary. I'm confined to a cell for 23
hours a day. I have accepted God's word
into my life, and now a lot of my loneli-
ness is turned to joy. However, I still
have a desperate ache deep inside and
would like to correspond with other
Christians. Floyd Carrere, #120881,
^ Pontius' Puddle
discover the multitude of negative
ramifications-spiritual, emotional and
physical-of sexual relationships outside
of marriage. God knew them all along.
That's why he told us no.
I hope that we Mennonites are not
I shudder to see how liberal
we Anabaptists are
becoming as we buy into
the world's standards.
beginning to be lulled into accepting and
promoting secular values for the sake of
pleasing some people. How about
pleasing our God? It seems like we're
forgetting the Scriptures' guidance in
Proverbs 3:7, "Do not be wise in your own
eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil." I
CCR. U-B-9, Louisiana State Prison,
Angola, LA 70712
Derksens in harvest field
On Jan. 4 we moved to the city of
Fukuoka, about 170 kilometers north-
west of Beppu-Oita, where we have
served until now. "Mugino" [in our new
address] literally means "grainfield," the
o
shudder to see how liberal we Anabap-
tists are becoming as we buy into the
world's standards.
Could you imagine Jesus, who in John
8:11 said to the adulteress, "Go and sin
more," instead saying, "I know you really
can't help yourself, so here, let me teach
you how not to get caught." Or can you
imagine our Lord teaching people how to
use condoms and alternative sexual
methods so that they can commit fornica-
tion, adultery and homosexual acts
"safely "? This is no more ridiculous than
we Mennonites suggesting that religious
leaders, or anyone for that matter,
should be teaching and promoting "safe
sex."
As a father, a Christian Mennonite
and no-longer-married male who has ab-
stained from sex for more years than I
now remember, I cannot compromise
scriptural values on this subject.
Larry E. Wellings, Box 192, Upper Black
Eddy, PA 18972, is a member of Spring-
field Mennonite Church.
name of our particular area within
Hakata Ward. From our sixth floor we
look out over a vast area studded with
apartment buildings, shops and pockets
of houses. Many people are in search of
meaning in life. In one apartment
complex of 400 units near us a man
killed his wife shortly after we moved
here. Just south of us a 17-year old boy
killed a 7-year old boy a few weeks ago.
Pray with us that as we reach out and
touch hurting and searching people with
God's love they will turn to the One who
heals hearts and provides the reason for
living. Please pray that God will lead us
to people who are already searching.
Mary and Peter Derksen, No. 602,
Excellent 36, 23-11, 5 Chome, Mugino,
Hakata Ku, Fukuoka Shi, Japan 816.
Editor's note: All letters are wel-
come. They must be signed, but
names of writers may be withheld
upon request. We reserve the right to
edit for clarity and brevity.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR t
I AM DEEPLY DISTRESSED BY YOUR MAGAZINE.
THERE HASN'T BEEN A PUBLICATION WHOSE
THEOLOGICAL TREATISES I'VE BEEN SO OFFENDED
WHOSE CANDID ACCOUNTS OF BICKERING AMONG
CHURCH GROUPS I'VE BEEN SO EMBARRASSED BY,
WHOSE NAGGING REMINDERS OF THE NEEDS OF THE
AND CHURCH I'VE BEEN MADE TO FEEL SO GUILTY
SINCE ... WELL, SINCE THE NEW TESTAMENT.
KEEP IT UP! 1 1
BY ,
WORLD
BY
THE MENNONITE 213
REVIEWS
* hooks
Meeting God in family
One Small Plot of Heaven: Reflec-
tions on Family Life by a Quaker
Sociologist bv Elise Boulding (Pendle
Hill Publications, 1989, 225 pages)
Reviewed by Phil Osborne, Hesston
College, Hesston, KS 67062
One Small Plot of Heaven is a collection
of essays Boulding wrote over the course
of her life's work as a leader in the Peace
Research Association, a professor of
sociology at Dartmouth College, a wife
and mother, and a member of the
Religious Society of Friends. The
collection includes a spiritual autobiogra-
phy written during a year of solitude,
excerpts from a history project about how
female leaders in the early decades of
Quakerism balanced a strong spiritual
calling and the demands of family life,
and an article about the "marginaliza-
tion" of children in contemporary society.
The sum of all the articles is not a
neatly organized how-to book for parents.
However, one theme runs throughout:
the home is where the witness of peace-
makers begins. The goal of family life is
"to enable each family member to live
close to the Source of all goodness and
love, 'the power that takes away the
occasion of all wars.'"
The book's metaphors for the home
carry this vision of family life: a center
of tranquility and peace; a place of
friendliness, refreshment and peace,
where God becomes more real to all who
dwell there and to those who visit; a
"sanctuary"; a "zone of peace"; a "colony
of heaven"; and "one small plot of
heaven," the book's title, taken from a
poem the author's husband wrote for
their wedding.
Such a vision of family life is far
different from the point of view of
conservative Christians, championed by
James Dobson, which sees the home as a
battleground where children's willful
challenges to parental authority must be
met and won. Instead of an emphasis on
the sinful willfulness of children,
Boulding's view of human nature
includes "the Divine Plus," which is
present in everyone. When interacting
with children, she "listens to God in
them."
I am attracted to the kind of home
Boulding describes — a place where
individuals meet God, meet each other
and meet God in each other.
Mennonite
Society
Calvin Redekop
Mennonites in general
Mennonite Society by Calvin Redekop
(Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989,
397 pages)
Reviewed by Dwight E. Roth, Hesston
College, Hesston, KS 67062
This book presents a historical and
sociological analysis of Mennonite society
especially as seen among Mennonites
with a Germanic
background now
living in North
America. In this
regard the title is
misleading, given
the existence of
other types of
Mennonites. But I
find the book useful
for academic use
and for lay people
interested in the
past, present and
future of at least
one part of the Mennonite world.
Redekop writes in a readable manner
while offering insights into the reality of
being North American-Germanic Men-
nonite. The book is divided into four sub-
parts— an overview, the Mennonite
ethos, Mennonite institutional life,
stresses and changes — and includes
maps, charts and figures that help
illustrate Redekop's ideas.
The overview includes a discussion of
the origins of the Anabaptist movement
with a brief reference to its leaders. Also
included are a Marxist and an orthodox
Mennonite theoretical interpretation of
this history. Redekop then writes about
how Mennonite society has been dis-
persed throughout the world via evangel-
ism, population growth, migration and
divisions. Special attention here is
placed on the movement of Swiss
German and Dutch German migration to
North and South America.
In part two, "The Mennonite Ethos,"
Redekop focuses on socio-psychological,
spiritual aspects within the structure of
the Mennonite community. He defines
Mennonite community in a variety of
ways. The definition I found most
helpful is "a collectivity of persons who
have a special and cohesive system of
inter-relationships, not necessarily
limited to or identified with a geographi-
cal locality, but based on common
experiences and common beliefs and
norms." Redekop succinctly reflects on
the local Mennonite congregation as the
basis of the Mennonite community. One
problem in this part of the book is his
treatment of the Mennonite personality.
Redekop 's character sketch of Menno-
nite personality is too simplified and too
generalized. His treatment of this
subject does not adequately consider the
forces of North American individualism
that increasingly influence much of Men-
nonite society.
Mennonite institutional life — the
family, education, economics, the
political process, and mission and
service — is the focus of part three of
Mennonite Society. The changing
definition of sex roles, especially as
related to equality in the family and in
the life of the congregation, may be the
greatest crisis and cause for change the
Mennonite church has ever faced or will
face.
Mennonites need to examine more
explicitly the tension between their
financial success and the historic
teachings of Anabaptism. One area of
concern here is the relationship between
wealth and political involvement. As
Mennonites have increased their eco-
nomic well-being they have become more
involved in the workings of government.
This economic/political relationship,
argues Redekop, should be of deep
concern, since it may well affect the basic
structure and definition of Mennonite
society.
In the final part of the book, "Stresses
and Changes," Redekop looks at threats
to the more liberal and modern parts of
the Mennonite world (as opposed to the
Hutterites and Old Orders). In summary
these threats are forces toward greater
individualism that work against the
concept of traditional Mennonite,
Christian community.
One such religious force has been the
encroachment of religious fundamental-
ism (with its emphasis on the individ-
ual's right relationship to God) in Men-
nonite circles.
A secular threat to Mennonite tradi-
tional belief and practice is the increased
Mennonite social integration into the
larger, dominant North American
culture. An example of this is the
tendency of Mennonite church structures
to be hierarchical and bureaucratic
rather than egalitarian, communal.
I doubt if Redekop's Mennonite Society
will become a classic, such as we see in
Amish Society by John A. Hostetler. In
general the book tries to cover too much
material in too short of a space. Still, I
appreciate the historical and sociological
insight Redekop offers.
214 MAY 8, 1990
MEdnwrioN — — —
Prayer of fatigue.. .and joy
in the U.S. capital
Lois Harder
I t's Monday, April 2, 1990, 11:30 p.m. Oh God, I feel so
I burdened and so weighed down with this world. Trouble, so
much trouble everywhere. Injustice and violence and hate and
fear and war and hunger and racism and godlessness.
I ache for the people of Central America.
I weep for the people of South Africa.
I remember the people of Eastern Europe.
I reach out to the homeless of North America.
And your beautiful earth, Lord,
I mourn the destruction of your earth.
I'm so, so tired.
Tuesday, April 3, 1990, 6:15 a.m. My mind is racing to keep
up with everything I took in yesterday. I reflect again on
the feelings I had last night. But as Beyers Naude of South
Africa said, "It is a new day, a new life, a new experience of
God and of humanity." We are your children.
Yes, I ache because of the injustices being done to Central
America's people. But they are full of hope and full of love,
which demands that I be also.
Yes, I weep for the racism and the hatred that surrounds the
black people of South Africa. But by their example and their
perseverance you show yourself to us, God.
And I remember hearing of the horrors of the Holocaust and
the wars that burned through Eastern Europe. I cry for the
pain of the oppression there now. Yet, praise God, there have
been miraculous instances of non-violent, peaceful change.
(And regardless of what the U.S. State Department says, I
shall give God the credit. ) Let us take strength from their
solidarity.
And the sins of our own nation in all of this. Almighty God,
how can you remain with us? How do you keep from turning
away?
But you are here. We know it. We feel your presence in the
people in this room, in the rain, in the beautiful flowers all
around this place, even as we look into the eyes of those we
pass on the streets.
Oh God, help us understand that we have not attended this
seminar to become burdened and heavy-laden, but to discover
the "easiness of your yoke," to realize how much we must
follow your gentle leading and listen to your calls. For if we try
to move mountains alone, we only get hernias.
No, Lord, it is not our task to go home and "engage" our
congregations in the laborious work of your peace and justice.
It is our joy to share with them the strength of the Holy Spirit.
There is so much to do and to be concerned about. But as
long as we are about your kingdom business, the members of
government will follow in due time. Amen.
el dialogo por la paz,
una urgencia para nuestro tiempo
Jornada MundU dc la Pax ' —
Kingdom business: This poster (it reads, "The dialogue for peace, an
urgency for our time") hangs in the meeting room of the Methodist
Building, where the seminar was held. It is on the corner of Maryland
Avenue and First Street N.E., beside the Supreme Court Building.
Lois Harder, 5101 S. Mill #115, Tempe, AZ
85282, wrote this at the close of this spring's
Washington Seminar, sponsored by Mennonite
Central Committee Peace Section. See news
story on page 204 in this issue.
THE MENNONITE 215
NEWS
01 0022 031 ^20
L J 3^ ARY
*SS1C MFMM BIBLICAL SEM
3003 BENHAM AVE
ELKHART IM ^b^lf
EdlTORIAl
Wisdom in the inmost place
t has taken me more than half my life to learn that
every family, when you scratch the surface just a bit,
has some agony. I used to think that my parental
family was unique. Little by little I was comforted by
those willing to be open about their pain and have thus
grown in my willingness to be honest and vulnerable
about mine.
My predecessor as editor of this
magazine, Bernie Wiebe, Winnipeg,
was one of my teachers. He demon-
strated in his editorials that when
you speak the truth about the facts of
your life, your community opens its
arms rather than its judgment. He
taught the General Conference Men-
nonite Church that openness invites
more openness. I am grateful.
Some of us need a long time to
learn this and to learn how God can
redeem agony. I like Amos Herr's
phrase, thanking God for "the length-
ening of his days" (Mennonite Hym-
nal, 479), presumably to have more
time to learn.
One thing I am learning is that, E
given a prior and enduring commit- §
ment to God, our family circum- |
stances can be recycled into wisdom. §
And that wisdom in our inmost place I
qualifies us and gives us permission >
to reach out to the next person in a |
similar circumstance.
Who would ask for the painful or
challenging experiences that come to
us? Who would not run from the
future if it were known?
If Jesus of Nazareth was born at the end of December,
we can at this time of year mark the first trimester of
Mary's pregnancy. These are the months of the year in
which the angel would have announced to her that she
was chosen to bear a child who would grow up to suffer.
Had Mary known all that was ahead,
would she have been so willing to carry
this child? "The Annunciation," a late
12th-century German art piece.
w
Had she known about all that was coming, would she
have been so willing to carry this child? If she were
living now and if Joseph had rejected her, would she
have brought the holy child to term? Would there have
been a congregation to support her, to hold her in their
arms?
hen you decide to have a
child," says Michael Dorris in
The Broken Cord, "you are hostage to
an uncertain future. The fine print of
the contract is invisible — it appears,
as if inscribed in lemon juice, only
under the heat of the bright light of
unfolding experience. Control is a
delusion, and the only absolutes are
retrospective."
Dorris' book is about "fetal alcohol
syndrome" and "fetal alcohol effect."
It is a weighty treatise (and useful for
families coping with addictions). The
book is also made irresistable because
it grows out of Dorris' love for his
adopted son. He adds his voice to
those who can say, Whatever it is we
have to go through in our families, it
is worth it because it teaches us more
about love. I believe that. But given
the increasingly revealed cruelty
within families, I have to add a
qualifier to that affirmation: If
family members have made a prior
and enduring commitment to each
other's well-being, it's worth it.
Like a good parent, God orders us
but does not force us to do what is
right. We are free to be disobedient, God does not
prevent us from injuring each other, but God's justice
insures our punishment if we do not repent and change.
"God sets the lonely in families..." (Psalm 68: 6a NIV).
Handle with care, with prayer. Muriel T. Stackley
TH
E MENNONITE
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID. WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST 105:10 MAY 22, 1990
Inside:
Whir does
hajmsw
ooecm to us?
Baptism: four
statements
Render taxes
to whom?
It's time for
new structures
pnoloquE
entecost Sunday is June 3, often a time of
baptism in our congregations. In this
issue is J. Herbert Fretz's account of Jim
McKee's personal Pentecost. Read it with
tears and with joy, remembering the One who
said, "You shall receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be
witnesses" (Acts 1:8).
Like bookends, the articles that hold that
story up move appropriately from personal
conversion (page 219) to discipleship (page
239, by Rudy Froese). Just so we emphasize
that baptism embraces both new faith and
commitment to a faith community, both
conversion and discipleship, both baptism and
becoming a church member.
As Frank Horst quoted in the church news-
letter (of First Mennonite Church, Aberdeen,
Idaho): "I am part of the fellowship of the
unashamed. The decision has been made. I
have stepped over the line. I am Jesus'
disciple. I trust the Holy Spirit to lead me. I
won't let up, back down or be still."
The next issue, dated June 12, will focus on
our schools and the environment, mts
Get ready for Assembly 12
of Mennonite World
Conference: World mem-
bership for Mennonite and
related churches now stands
at 802,900. Mennonite and
Brethren in Christ World Directory, compiled
by Mennonite World Conference, shows
members in 164 organized bodies or groups in
60 countries. This compares with 774,000
members in 145 groups in 57 countries in
1986.
The three-year-old faith and life study
process will be completed at Assembly 12, July
24-29 in Winnipeg. The study book, Witness-
ing to Christ in Today's World by Helmut
Harder, invites response to questions about
congregational concerns and evangelism. The
Faith and Life committee is receiving re-
sponses and will invite more during the
assembly. These will then be made available.
General Conference Mennonites on the 13-
member committee, in addition to Harder, are
Lydia Harder, Toronto, and Elizabeth Yoder,
Elkhart, Ind.
CONTENTS
1990 Winnipeg
How do you know you've passed? / 219
Baptism: four statements / 220
Render taxes to whom? / 222
Jim McKee: my refreshment and rebuke / 224
News / 226
Mennos fourth largest group at SCUPE / 226
Taiwan Mennonites put down roots in Argentina / 227
Record / 232
Resources / 234
It's time for new structures / 236
Letters / 237
Reviews / 238
Moral questions / 238
The price of glory / 238
Walk with the Lord / 239
Are you still a Mennonite? / 240
Cover: Mr. Lau was baptized by missionary Ira Kurtz in Hong Kong in
1 985. The photo is courtesy of the Commission on Overseas Mission.
Correction: The artwork on page 195 of the May 8 issue is by Carlos Dias of the
Evangelical Mennonite Church of Colombia.
(®)
MENNONITE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100. Editor:
Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant: Angela Rempel;
art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the Associated Church Press,
Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a Mennnonite and Brethren in Christ
editors' group). It is an associate member of the Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretaries: Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14, and Rose Retzlaff, 600
Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4. Business manager: Dietrich Rempel. Special
editions editors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North Newton, KS 67117;
Window to Mission. Lois Deckert, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14; Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, Richard A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 4651 7.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1, Carstairs, AB TOM 0N0, (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2T 4S2; (Central District) in
process; (Eastern District) Curtis Bauman, 429 N. Second St., Emmaus, PA 18049;
(Manitoba) in process; (Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada) Margo Fieguth, 99
Veronica Drive, Mississauga, ON L5G 2B1 ; (Northern District) Winifred Wall, Box 67,
Freeman, SD 57029; (Pacific District) Clare Ann Ruth-Heffelbower, 3198 E. Menlo Ave.,
Fresno, CA 93710; (Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger, 125 Rawlinson Bay, Regina, SK S4S
6M8,; (Western District) Leland Harder, Box 363, North Newton, KS 67117.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 1 4 years of The Mennonite are also
available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College, North Newton, KS 671 17, and
from University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106.
Circulation: 10,725
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build the
Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the guidance of
the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly by the General Conference
Mennonite Church, 722 Main St.. Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14. Subscription rates: one
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TER: Send Form 3579 to The Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. ©1990
218 MAY 22, 1990
How do you know you ve passed?
Jim Egli
Mom, I passed! I passed!" Vicki's and my 7-year-old bounded into the house.
It was the last day of first grade. He proudly presented his report card as he
repeated the joyful news.
Was there any doubt? All year long his grades had been far from failing, and we
were proud of his academic work. We discovered that older children had told him
he couldn't know for sure until the last day of school, when he would get his report
card. All year long he carried lingering doubts as to whether he would go on to
second grade.
My son's experience reminds me of many Christians. They go through life with
swirling doubts about their relationship with God and their destiny beyond this
life. They wonder where they stand with God and whether they'll "pass." As with
our first grader, their doubts come from misunderstandings and are unnecessary.
I have observed two reasons that individuals are confused and uncertain about
their relationship to God. The first is that many misunderstand how we "pass,"
how we are acceptable to God. I am thankful that my relationship with God does
not depend on my achievement. If it does, I have already failed. As the apostle
Paul wrote to his friends at Rome, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of
God" (Romans 3:23). In other words, on our own we all have flunked. Through our
own choice to do wrong we have broken our relationship with God. "There is no one
righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10).
But where we failed, God has generously provided the way to be restored to
fellowship with himself. God sent Jesus to shatter all the barriers of rebellion that
stood between us and God. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Our salvation does not
depend on what we do for God (What a relief.) but on what Christ has done for us.
I he second cause of confusion is that people often don't understand how we
receive what Christ has done for us. They don't know how to accept the for-
giveness that God so freely offers. To enter the life God offers us we need to receive
Christ as the Lord of our lives. The apostle John tells us, "To all who received him,
to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God"
(John 1:12). In Greek, the language it was written in, "to believe in his name"
means to "surrender allegiance." Receiving Christ means accepting his complete
forgiveness, cleansing and presence. That transaction begins in coming to God
through prayer. "For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved"
(Romans 10:13). It is sealed when we confess "with our mouth" to others that
Christ is now Lord of our life (Romans 10:9; Matthew 10:32).
God wants our relationship with him to be confident and joyful. The apostle
John wrote his friends: "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the
Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life" (1 John 5:13).
Is your relationship to God confident and sure? Are you relying on your work to
make you acceptable to God? Or have you discovered the freedom that comes from
accepting that Christ died for you? Have you received him personally as the Lord
and Savior of your life?
If you are uncertain about your standing with God, today is a good day to come to
God and receive the forgiveness, assurance, purpose and life that God generously
offers you. You can have a confidence of belonging, based on God's Word. You can
discover a joy that far surpasses what our first grader felt on that last day of
school.
Jim Egli has pastored at Flanagan till.) Mennonite Church since 1984.
He and his wife, Vicki, have three boys. Jim is on the staff of LIFE.
Living in Faithful Evangelism, the successor to the Friendship Evan-
gelism program. He can be reached at Box 217, Flanagan, IL 61740,
(815) 796-2600.
THE MENNONITE 219
The dilemma of infant baptism
Ryan Ahlgrim
When I was in seminary I worked as
an assistant minister at a United
Methodist church. My first dilemma was
when the senior minister asked me to
assist in an infant baptism. Initially I
was hesitant; after all, my spiritual
forebears were burned at the stake for
renouncing infant baptism. But as I
discussed the issue with the senior
minister, and as I observed a few of the
infant baptisms, my attitude became
more open.
Infant baptism among North American
Protestants is quite different from the
infant baptism practiced by the state
church in 16th-century Europe. First of
all, at that time churches baptized
infants because of the widespread belief
that baptism was necessary for salvation,
that an unbaptized infant might die and
be spiritually lost. Virtually all of
Presbyterian, Lutheran and Methodist
denominations reject this idea. They
baptize infants as a first step in their
Christian nurture — not as fire insurance.
Also, in the 16th century the state
church baptized infants because citizenry
in a "Christian kingdom" and member-
ship in a church were not clearly divided.
Since the boundaries of the church and
state were virtually the same, infants
were regarded as citizens of a given
kingdom and as members of that king-
dom's official church. We can thank the
Anabaptists for introducing the radical
idea that the boundaries of the church
and state cannot be the same: people are
born into the state, but they must choose
the church.
This Anabaptist principle is now
adopted by the vast majority of Protes-
tant denominations in North America.
Those that baptize infants recognize that
this ritual does not make the infant an
actual member of the church. Rather the
parents are promising to nurture the
child in a Christian environment until he
or she can make that confession as a
Batmsa):
puK'STaiewems
Timothy Sprunger (center) and newly
baptized member (right) of Living Stones
Grassroots Church in Hong Kong.
teenager or adult. We Mennonites
should celebrate the fact that our radical
proposal has been accepted by so many
Christians.
As a result, I see little theological
difference between a Mennonite infant
dedication and believer's baptism on the
one hand, and a Protestant infant
baptism and believer's confirmation on
the other hand. The difference is when
the water gets used, but the underlying
theology seems to me to be similar.
As a Mennonite pastor I neither
practice nor advocate infant baptism.
The symbolism of water and cleansing
makes more sense to me during be-
liever's confirmation than during infant
dedication. But I am now more open to
accepting the infant baptism/believer's
confirmation of Christians wanting to
join my church from another denomina-
tion. Some have been confirmed believ-
ers a long time, making rebaptism
perfunctory. Although I encourage them
to experience the powerful symbolism of
believer's baptism, I do not force it.
This agrees with one of the recommen-
dations proposed in the new Confession
of Faith [see the proposed statement on
baptism below]. However, one question
remains: Does this openness to not
requiring rebaptism also apply to those
seeking ordination or leadership in the
church? On the one hand, leaders serve
as models for a congregation and should
therefore have a believer's baptism. On
the other hand, requiring a different
"baptism standard" for leaders is foreign
to the New Testament and makes
believer's baptism legalistic rather than
freely chosen.
I believe that a church leader who has
been baptized as an infant, confirmed as
a believer, not rebaptized but who
faithfully teaches and practices believer's
baptism, can also be a good model for the
church and a good witness to our sisters
and brothers in other denominations.
Ryan Ahlgrim, 1000 W. Gift, Peoria, IL
61604, is pastor at Peoria-North Menno-
nite Church.
Baptism and communion
Else Kemp
On the day of my baptism I felt a
great sense of humility and fulfill-
ment. I remembered a child who loved
Bible stories and songs; who accepted it
all in child-like innocence; a child who
grew into a teenager, confused and
seeking a path and accepting Christ as
her Savior and Friend. She believed in
God to guide the path, a path with love
and forgiveness.
My life's experiences have only
strengthened my faith and beliefs. I am
that child, even today in my faith,
forever learning and growing. I needed
to find a "home" to share my faith.
My baptism was a renewal and
stronger confession of faith, witnessed
and shared with new friends of that long-
searched-for "home." This filled my
sense of fulfillment, but the humility is
felt time and time again — and more
pointedly at baptism and communion.
It is there when I reflect on my rela-
tionship with others around me — at
work, at play, my family and friends and
my relationship with myself, coming to
terms with my strengths and weak-
nesses, but above all my relationship
with God. The commitment to God is to
me like marriage vows, the beginning of
a relationship to grow, and the remem-
brance to reinforce is like the anniversa-
ries of those vows, the commitment and
the relationship.
I feel so full of love. Sharing commun-
ion (which was my first experience and
felt strange and formal ) gave me a sense
of gratefulness and humility, sharing
together that renewed commitment with
others beside me. I hope everyone feels
loved.
Else Kemp is a member of Bethel Men-
nonite Church, 870 Carter Ave., Win-
nipeg, MB R3M 2E2. Her statement was
printed in Bethel Bridge, the congrega-
tion's newsletter.
220 MAY 22, 1990
George Milton Jacob baptizes a believer at the
Raipur (M.P.) Mennonite Fellowship in India.
Examine our theology of baptism
George Richert
When I think of baptism I have the
image of a person kneeling and
water being poured over the person's
head by a minister. This pouring is
symbolic of the "pouring" out of the Holy
Spirit. To me the ordinance of baptism is
a public declaration on the part of the
baptized that ( 1 ) there has been a
previous commitment to walk with God
(that an inner cleansing has taken place
and the inward self has died) and (2) the
From the proposed statement ot faith
person is formally joining a community of
believers and agrees to be subject to that
community's will and discipline.
I was appalled at the cover picture on
The Mennonite at Pentecost [May 10,
1988, of Honduran Mennonites], which
had a picture of baptism by immersion
and these words: "Be baptized and wash
your sins away..." [Acts 22:16]. I was
offended by both the picture and the
theology implied by the words.
The cleansing or forgiveness is through
the blood of our Lord, not the water of
baptism; we Mennonites believe that
such cleansing and the commitment to
follow Christ must occur prior to the
ordinance of baptism. Theologians from
our church generally state that the form
of baptism is not really important; our
denomination has chosen "pouring" as its
form. In my opinion, persons or churches
who do not adhere to the prescribed form
are, in fact, saying that form is impor-
tant. All General Conference churches,
in all countries, should utilize pouring.
Frankly, I am alarmed at the number of
churches that are installing tanks so that
immersion can be practiced and that
many of our missionaries practice
immersion. This is an indication that
form is important. (In many countries,
immersion in lakes and rivers can be a
health hazard.)
I believe that we need to seriously
examine our theology of baptism, and I
hope that it will soon be on the agenda of
both the Conference of Mennonites in
Canada's annual conference and the
General Conference triennial.
George Richert, 3504 Gordon Road,
Regina, SK S4S 204, is dean of the
department of social work at the Univer-
sity of Regina, vice chairperson of the
Conference of Mennonites in Canada and
a member of Grace Mennonite Church,
Regina.
Recommendations in areas of differing practice: (1) The mode of baptism
may be by pouring, immersion or sprinkling of water. Each of these
signifies the cleansing of baptism. Immersion emphasizes the believer's
participation in the death and resurrection of Christ (Romans 6:3-4; Colos-
sians 2:12), while pouring and sprinkling emphasize the pouring out of the
Holy Spirit upon the believer (Acts 2:17; Titus 3:5-7). (2) People who have
been baptized as infants and wish to become members of a Mennonite congre-
gation will normally be encouraged to request water baptism as a sign of
accepting the meaning of Christian baptism. If applicants for membership
who were baptized as infants have since publicly confessed or confirmed faith
in Jesus Christ, have long been living a life of faith and Christian witness,
have been actively participating in a Christian congregation and commit
themselves henceforth to teach and practice baptism for those of an age of
accountability who freely request it, churches may consider the transfer of
membership unaccompanied by baptism. Draft for testing, Joint Confession of
Faith, Mennonite Church and General Conference Mennonite Church
THE MENNONITE 221
Our spiritual authority in Jesus Christ, as expressed by apostles and Anabaptist forebear:*!
/ will never forget an 11-year-old boy
named Juanito, whom I met at [the or-
phanage overlooking San Salvador]. A
few years ago he was found beneath the
bullet-ridden bodies of his mother,
grandmother and three older brothers.
Juanito was covered with blood but
unharmed. The other survivors of this
massacre brought Juanito and his sisters
to the orphanage. According to his
sisters, Juanito tries to keep his spirits
up, but he still spends entire days totally
withdrawn, without speaking a word to
anyone.
Sojourners, April 1990
have little doubt but that the shell
casings at the massacre proudly
boasted the origin of their manufac-
ture, "Made in the U.S.A." I also have
little doubt but that the manufacturing,
result of Christ's ascension to the right
hand of God, where we also reside. We
can see examples of this authority in
Jesus as he presented himself before
Pontius Pilate as the King of the Jews.
Peter and the apostles rejected orders
from the Sanhedrin, the moral and
religious authority of the Jewish people,
saying, "We must obey God rather than
men" (Acts 4:19; 5:29). The early Ana-
baptists— Menno Simons, Balthasar
Hubmaier, Jacob Hutter and Peter Ride-
man — all spoke out on the proper
attitude of a Christian toward govern-
ment, on paying taxes used for war and
on the production of weapons of violence.
For Anabaptist Christians the issue to
pay or not to pay war taxes has a signifi-
cant history.
Jacob Hutter wrote, "For how can we
be innocent before our God if we do not
Renden raxes
w whom?
Craig Morton
the issuing and the rifles used to fire
these bullets were financed by you and
me. Our tax dollars at work.
Looking at our Anabaptist heritage
and looking at our Scriptures in light of
contemporary political realities, we do
not have to be pressed to pray for peace
while paying for war. Our spiritual
authority in Jesus Christ, as expressed
by apostles and Anabaptist forebears,
allows and empowers us to make the
difficult decision to withhold war taxes.
Balthasar Hubmaier, writing about taxes
paid to an unjust government, states,
"...to come to the point, God will excuse
us for nothing on the account of unjust
superiors..." (Anabaptism in Outline,
Klassen, p. 246). The U.S. government
has become unjust, and when a govern-
ment is unjust, it has forfeited the right
to expect my taxes.
As Christians and Anabaptists, we
have a rich tradition of conscience. In
some ways we even have a tradition of
anarchy. Anarchy in the eyes of the
world, that is, for we may claim a greater
authority — God. Paul expresses this
authority in the New Testament as a
go to war ourselves but give the money
that others may go in our place? We will
not become partakers of the sin of others
and dishonor and despise God" ("Plots
and Excuses," Klassen p. 252). While
this may refer to the practice of paying
one's way out of military service by
supplying a replacement, it still holds
true that aiding the carrying out of
violence indirectly indicts the taxpayer
as a participant in the violence enacted.
Similarly Peter Rideman asserts that
one has a responsibility not only for what
one produces but also for how those
products are used by others. Rideman
states that Christians cannot build
weapons of violence, even if they do not
use those products themselves. The one
who produces weapons is responsible for
the violence inflicted.
But the issue of our history as Chris-
tians and as Anabaptists concerning the
issue of war tax resistance is made more
difficult because of our reading of the
biblical texts relating to government,
particularly Matthew 22:21 (and other
texts referring to government, e.g.
Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2:14). In any
discussion of war tax resistance among
Christians, the words of Jesus are almost
always quoted, "...render to Caesar the
things that are Caesar's and to God the
things that are God's." However, if we
look closely at the political and historical
context of these biblical texts, we have to
ask ourselves how we can apply Jesus'
response in Matthew 22:21 to ourselves
in our political and historical situation.
Trick question: Ancient Palestine, in
the time of Jesus, was a territory held
captive under Roman rule. Foreign
powers hostile to Judaism had occupied
Palestine, installed a puppet ruler, King
Herod, and sought to form alliances with
certain Jewish factions. The Pharisees,
on the other hand, reflected the thoughts
and feelings of the majority of the poor
and middle-class Jews, feelings of
resentment and anger. The Pharisees,
who had been plotting to do away with
Jesus on any grounds possible, were
seeking to trick Jesus. On the chance
that Jesus might make some incriminat-
ing statements, the Pharisees sent their
disciples to Jesus along with representa-
tives from Herod. That way, if Jesus
said something self-incriminating to the
religious people or to the political regime,
he could be arrested. As it was, neither
truth nor justice were being sought by
this group when they asked Jesus the
question about paying the tax. It was a
trick question, and Jesus responded with
a trick answer. "And Jesus said to them,
'Render to Caesar the things that are
Caesar's and to God the things that are
God's.' And they were greatly amazed at
him" (Mark 12:17).
But what does his answer say to us?
What direction does it give to those who
are not asking trick questions but whose
motives are truth and justice? We must
take seriously that we do not live in a
political situation anything like ancient
Palestine. We live in the 20th century,
the latter half of which has witnessed
amazing revolutions of democratization.
Democracies seek to do away with the di-
chotomy between the government and
the people. In a democracy there is no
Caesar. Since we are not ruled by a
monarch, we have no "caesar" over us. If
there is a caesar over us, so to speak,
then we are caesar.
The U.S. Constitution begins by
naming our caesar, "We the people."
Abraham Lincoln elaborated on that
phrase from the preamble of our
constitution by claiming that our
government essentially is and must
remain, a "government of the people, by
the people and for the people."
In our democracy, we have no divinely
222 MAY 22, 1990
lows and empowers us to make the difficult decision to withhold war taxes.
U.S. tax dollars at work: Salvadoran soldiers on patrol
established authority set over us. What
we do have is public servants set under
us. We, as responsible citizens, are the
political and moral authority of the
United States. If our nation blunders
and falls, if it is unjust and violent, if it
has misplaced priorities, then the blame
is on us and not merely upon those we
have elected to represent our concerns.
Living in a democracy, we actually pay
taxes to ourselves. We are responsible
for setting the budgets. We are respon-
sible for policies. One of our greatest
problems is that we have surrendered
democratic government to bureaucracy,
allowing others to make decisions for us.
We are the caesar to whom we are to
render our taxes, not some authority
outside ourselves. As such, it is up to us
to decide what we will or will not render.
It is this freedom of conscience that
makes democracy both attractive to
those who live without it and a headache
to those who must operate with it. For
this reason, Plato said, democracy is the
best form of a bad government and the
worst form of a good one.
A restraint of evil: Those of us who
withhold a portion of our taxes are trying
to reorient our national spending
priorities by saying we will not pay for
war or violence. The portion we do not
pay we give away to those who will use it
for peace. While we recognize that we
are breaking a law of the people (willing
to take responsibility and to be account-
able for our actions), we are not breaking
a law against caesar. What we are
trying to do is give ourselves what we
need to function as a government, that
is, to function as a restraint of evil and to
be a supporter of good (1 Peter 2:14).
Menno Simons wrote that the task of
government is to "do justice. ..to deliver
the oppressed,.. .without tyranny...
without force, violence and blood"
("Foundation of Christian Doctrine,"
Complete Writings of Menno Simons, p.
193). Government ceases to be legiti-
mate when it ceases to be a force for
order in both foreign and domestic
realms, when it ceases to provide for the
needs of all and when it ceases to be a
body of law for carrying out justice
without violence and bloodshed.
Would we continue to give our tithes
and offerings to a ministry that has been
proven to be unethical, caught in
scandalous dealings and clearly im-
moral? If we held our government up to
the same standards as we do televangel-
ists and their ministries, the government
would not be able to finance its bureau-
cracies. Our government has been
caught in one scandal after another,
involved in or supporting one war after
another. And because we are caesar, we
are responsible for this scandalous
behavior. Even though we have given
away our democratic rights to bureau-
cratic powers, we still will bear God's
judgment. The majority of our federal
budget pays for the operations of the
world's largest military system, which
prepares for war with scarce resources.
It finances low-intensity conflicts
throughout the world by supplying and
sponsoring surrogate armies. It has yet
to finish paying for past wars. Thus we
must come to terms with the reality that
we are producing and indirectly using
weapons of violence. Living in a democ-
racy, we are, as citizens, weapons
producers by providing through our taxes
the capital needed for the production of
Bl-Bs, MX "Peacekeepers," Apache
attack helicopters, bullets, rifles and on
and on.
The Scriptures, which determine the
right function of government, the witness
of our Anabaptist forebears and our
democratic freedoms force us to act in
ways that affect the political process.
For many, tax resistance is a way to
bring about a change in federal spending
priorities. But much more importantly,
it is a way to make one's life have
integrity and to align one's life with
God's gospel of shalom.
Craig Morton, Box 68.
Elbing. KS 67042, is
pastor of Zion Menno-
nite Church, Elbing,
Kan.
THE MENNONITE 223
PERSONAL
Jim McKee: my refreshment and rebuke
J. Herbert Fretz
The freshness and freedom of a
newborn Christian is "a thing of
beauty and a joy forever" (borrowing
from the poet John Keats).
A newborn Christian is God's master-
piece among us. We who have walked
long with the Lord have often lost our
first love. We need the refreshment and
rebuke of one who has just become "dead
to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."
Jim McKee was one of these people in
my life. I shall not forget his enthusiasm
the year he lived among us at the
seminary in Elkhart, Ind. He never
knew this old German hymn, but he
lived it: "My God, I am determined,/ To
follow you always;/ 1 cannot be without
your peace,/ Nor live without your
praise."
The day in January 1985 when Jim
and June Pousley McKee arrived on
campus, I sat across the table from June.
When she hesitantly told me she was
from a place called Perkasie, in Pennsyl-
vania, I pricked up my ears, for only
those who have lived there know how to
say it. I cross-examined her further and
discovered I had been her pastor when
she was a small child at Deep Run
Mennonite (West) Church near Bedmin-
ster, Pa. For this reason I took a shine to
June, but soon it was Jim who caught my
attention. That summer at our home he
told me his story. Here it is.
"I was born near Philadelphia but
moved often. At age six I was run over
by a coal truck while sledding. It took
six months and three operations to get
my leg repaired. During that time the
black man who drove the coal truck
never missed a day to come and spend an
hour with me. He would tell me how his
whole life was changing because of
prayer. He taught me how to play
checkers, and when I would get tired of
playing he would read me stories out of
the" Bible.
"By the time I got out of the hospital,
my mother and father broke apart, and
my mother moved us to Chester, Pa. We
were now on relief, food was scarce and
beer was plentiful. I got tired of being
hungry, so I built a shoeshine box and
went out on the streets to earn money for
food. When my mother met the man who
was to become my stepfather, things got
worse. One night near Christmas I came
home with $20 in tips. My drunken step-
father asked me for the
money. I handed him what
I had and he said, 'Where's
the rest?' I said, 'That's all
there is,' and he hit me so
hard that my feet left the
floor and the back of my
head hit the wall. From
that day on I did not like
my home. The streets and
bars of Chester were nicer
to me. I would stay out as
long as I could at night
shining shoes just to avoid
being home.
Agnostic: "We did a lot of
moving and finally settled
in West Chester. I was now
13. A school buddy invited
me to go to his church, the
Bible Presbyterian Church.
In four weeks I learned
more about the Bible than I
had ever known before. By
the fifth week the teacher
called for a show of hands
to accept Christ. I could
not keep my hand down. I
left that church with more
joy in my heart than I had
ever felt before. But the joy
was short-lived. When I
told my parents what I was
doing, they had a fit. To
please them I went back to the Catholic
church and became a bad Catholic. I
joined the navy at 17. That helped me
get away from my alcoholic parents only
to find myself sliding into the very pit of
alcohol I hated. When I came out of the
navy, I was calling myself an agnostic.
"Years later, when I found my current
wife, June, life began to change. I was
looking for someone who felt at least
some commitment to marriage vows. I
ended up with one who has more than a
commitment to marriage; she also has a
commitment to God that she lives by.
"I had become a tool-and-die maker
and was doing well at Teleflex Corpora-
tion, Limerick, Pa. One fellow in the
shop kept working on me to become a
Christian. His tool chest was covered
with salvation stickers, but his attitudes
went against me. I noticed another
worker who seemed to be the strangest
person in the shop. He would read his
June and Jim McKee
Bible during lunch break and lived it. I
saw the Lord in this man's eyes to the
point that I had to ask him. like Philip in
Acts 8:30, 'Do you understand what you
are reading?' To my surprise, his
answers opened me once again to the
ways of God. With his encouragement I
started reading my Bible again. One
night I lay in bed reading the Gospel of
John. Suddenly my whole life came
pouring down on me like a river of sin. I
knew how many times I had been beaten
unjustly by my stepfather, so I could
identify with the cross and whiplashes
that Christ suffered for my sins. That
night, as soon as I asked forgiveness, the
burden was lifted from my heart. A new
river of joy and peace has taken over my
life ever since.
"But this was just the beginning. I had
a lot of questions and a lot of growing to
do. I wanted and needed the church. It
was Jim Davies, the fellow tool-and-die
224 MAY 22, 1990
PERSONAL
Jim was so excited about
Anabaptism that he sold
his house, jewelry and
other possessions to go to
seminary and prepare to be
a missionary.
maker, who had led me to the Lord. He
was and is a Mennonite at Hereford
Mennonite Church, Bally, Pa., but that
congregation was far away. My wife,
June, had come from Deep Run (West),
but that was even farther. We were
living at Malvern, Pa., so the next
Sunday we went to the nearby Frazer
Mennonite Church. We soon joined there
and have been growing in our faith and
love with those wonderful people. We
now want to serve somewhere as mis-
sionaries for the Mennonite church, but
we need training. Our pastor, Ray
Geigley, encouraged us to come to
seminary. We are happy we did. Last
winter I studied Psalms, Revelation,
mission-peace issues, the Old Testament
prophets and now, this summer I am
taking elementary Greek. This fall I
plan to take mission courses and Ana-
baptist history and theology."
This was Jim's story to me that
summer day in 1985. In the
meantime he and June had become
enthusiastic participants at Hively
Avenue Mennonite Church, Elkhart, Ind.
This same enthusiasm carried over into
Jim's classes that fall. He was still
asking his probing questions when it
happened. During a faculty meeting in
mid-December word came that Jim and
June had been in an auto accident.
Professor Gertrude Roten and I went
immediately to the hospital, where we
met June and our pastor, Marcia Yoder-
Schrock. Jim was in surgery. During
the next days we were able to talk with
Jim, who struggled in intensive care.
Not long after, the doctors decided to
operate again, but his heart stopped. He
was revived, but he never responded
again. Tests showed that he was brain
dead. The Jim we loved had left us, even
though his body remained. They force
fed him and kept him alive for 3 1/2
years with no response.
Death came as a welcome friend last
Aug. 22, and his tired body was laid to
rest back home in Pennsylvania. At the
Hively Avenue Mennonite Church
memorial service Marcia Yoder-Schrock
spoke movingly of Jim's love for the
Psalms and the book of Revelation,
which he was studying at the seminary.
As she read aloud from Psalm 18 and
Revelation 7, it seemed that Jim's voice
mingled with hers, "The cords of death
entangle me. I cried to my God for help.
He reached down from on high and took
hold of me." Marcia added, "Jim is now
with the redeemed before the throne of
God,... where there is no hunger nor
thirst,... where the Lamb, Jesus Christ, is
Gertrude Roten holds Jim McKee
the Shepherd, leading to springs of living
water,. ..where the compassionate and
loving God wipes away all tears from
their eyes."
Jim McKee's life is still mingled with
ours. Jim Davies remembers his keen
mind on Anabaptist issues, their shop
discussions on the Holy Spirit and the
time he roasted deer meat in a steel
heat-treatment oven at lunchtime for all
the tool-and-die shop to enjoy. Emery
King and Horace Hartshaw of the Frazer
congregation remember Jim as an
"everyday Christian in work clothes,"
ready to witness and sacrifice.
This note of sacrifice stands cut in the
memory of Ray Geigley, his former
pastor, now at Steelton (Pa.) Mennonite
Church. "Jim was like the man in
Matthew 13:44 who found treasure in a
field and with joy went and sold all that
he had to buy that field. He was so
excited about Anabaptism that he sold
his house, jewelry and other possessions
to go to seminary and prepare to be a
missionary."
On his seminary application Jim
wrote, "I believe the Lord has called me
out from the world to go into the world
for his glory. I believe. ..the Lord will
find a useful purpose. ..for my wife and
self."
Judgment seat: Did the Lord find a
"useful purpose" for Jim in his few years
as a Christian and his short time at the
seminary? One could speculate if Jim
had lived and become a missionary,
would he have been any more effective
than the many other missionaries who
have left the
seminary and
are serving the
Lord? But
that is not the
issue. We are
accountable
before the
judgment seat
of Christ only
for that which
we have done
while in the
body (2
Corinthians
5:10).
To those of
us on campus
at the semi-
nary Jim was a
delightful
rebuke. The
freshness and
freedom of this
newborn
Christian
sometimes
challenged my bureaucratic inhibitions.
He carried none of my Mennonite
baggage, yet he embraced all Anabap-
tists as brothers and sisters in the Lord.
He was a first-generation Anabaptist
who chose to identify with established
congregations rather than start another
following. We needed Jim. He needed
us.
When we closed the Hively memorial
service by singing his favorite hymn, I
could not escape the first-person singu-
lar. Each of us was making our own
personal testimony as we sang. Jim
would have liked that.
"When he shall come with trumpet
sound, O, may I then in him be found....
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All
other ground is sinking sand."
J. Herbert Fretz is a
retired special fund
raiser for Associated
Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, Elkhart,
Ind. His address is
625 S. Seventh St.,
Goshen, IN 46526.
chart of the book of Revelation.
THE MENNONITE 225
It was the sight of plastic grocery bags blowing
around a Winnipeg landfill that first prompted Rhoda
Rempel to think about what she could do to clean up
the environment. What she did was create a reusable
Ecobag, which consumers can take to the grocery store
with them every time they shop. With the support of
Mennonite Central Committee in Manitoba, Rempel has
sold over 1 ,400 of the rip-stop nylon bags and has
orders for 4,000 more. Rempel, who attends Win-
nipeg's Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship, designed a
bag that will fit in a grocery store check-out counter
rack. The bags are available from MCC Manitoba, 134
Plaza Drive, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9, at $5.95 each, $4
for non-profit groups. The patterns are free.
Rhoda Rempel and her daughter Laura with the Ecobag
NEWS
Asking, How can our cities be redeemed?
Mennos fourth largest group at SCUPE
Chicago (SCUPE)— A seventh
biennial congress sponsored
by the Chicago-based Semi-
nary Consortium for Urban
Pastoral Education, April 2-6,
attracted 950 people, of which
180 registrants were from
outside the U.S. They repre-
sented 90 denominations, 32
countries and 40 states.
Focused on the theme "The
World Comes to the City:
Challenges for the Church,"
congress speakers noted the
opportunities for proclaiming
grace and doing justice.
The music of Christian
recording artist Ken Medema
provided continuity and
celebration throughout the
week. Daily Bible study helped
delegates search for the soul of
their cities and discern the
church's role in healing and
redeeming that soul.
Raymond Fung, secretary of
evangelism for the World
Council of Churches, ad-
dressed the congress on
"Speaking the Truth: the
Prophetic Ministry of Evangel-
ism and Justice in the City." He
used stories from Hong Kong
to illustrate the power that
comes to powerless, wounded
people when they answer
Jesus' call to "take up your own
cross and follow me" in the
company of other believers.
Moss Ntlha, general secre-
tary of Concerned Evangelicals
in South Africa, spoke on the
topic "Partnering for Radical
Transformation of the City."
Alfonso Navarro, director of
the System of Integral and New
Evangelization based in Mexico
City, issued a strong call to city
"We need to pull
together the urban
practitioners to
nurture each other
at events like this."
Brice Balmer
churches to seek unity and
engage in spirit-directed
evangelism.
Susan Johnson, pastor of
New York City's Mariners
Temple Baptist Church, using
the feeding of the 5,000 as her
text, exhorted participants to
use what appears to be limited
resources to feed the multi-
tudes "right where we are. The
city's redemption not only
begins with God but with us."
Ninety seminars and
workshops, 16 neighborhood
visit options, and multicultural
worship sessions offered
resources from urban ministries
around the world. Presenters
came from ministry settings
ranging from the slums of
Nairobi to the state church in
Copenhagen to the streets of
Montreal and Chicago.
This year's congress was
preceded by a consultation for
urban researchers and
resource collectors that
attracted 70 participants. A
Theological Education for
Urban Ministry Symposium,
which drew 95 theological
educators, followed the
Congress.
Mennonite Caucus: Menno-
nites constituted the fourth
largest denominational group at
this congress. Over 60
Anabaptists congregated.
Representatives from the
General Conference Mennonite
Church, the Mennonite Church,
the Mennonite Brethren Church
and the Church of the Brethren
were present.
Eugene Seals presented a
report on a major metropolitan
initiative in Detroit with the
cooperation of several Men-
nonite conferences. The
planning group chaired by
Seals hopes to see 20-30
Mennonite churches planted in
the Detroit area over the next
10 years.
Allan Yoder, area minister for
the Council of Anabaptists in
Los Angeles, told how local
leadership has been develop-
ing over the last 1 0 years in
Los Angeles as the number of
Mennonite churches has
increased from four to 1 8 and
diversified from two ethnic
groups to seven. Yoder named
the following as characteristics
of these emerging urban Ana-
baptist leaders: vision-driven,
totally committed to the task
and to Jesus Christ, account-
able within a team, developed
through on-the-job training,
continually inclusive of new
leaders, interested in network-
ing with the larger Anabaptist
family, and clear in knowing
who they are and what they
believe as Mennonites.
Urban ministers are con-
cerned that more institutional
staff than urban pastors were
present. We "need to pull
together the urban practitioners
to nurture each other at events
like this," said Brice Balmer,
pastor at First Mennonite
Church, Kitchener, Ont. "We
also need to make churches
more aware of urban agenda."
Eastern Mennonite Board of
Missions, the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church
Commission on Overseas
Mission and Commission on
Home Ministries, and the
Mennonite Board of Missions
all served as partner organiza-
tions in planning this 1990
congress. Sally Schreiner,
member of Reba Place Church,
Evanston, III., and congress
administrator
226 MAY 22, 1990
"Mennonite Biblical Seminary not
only trains students in sermon writing
but encourages them in delivery," said
seminary dean Jake Elias at the March
22-24 sessions of Central District
Conference in Bluffton, Ohio, and his
smile hinted at what followed. "Pre-
cisely at sermon time, 9:31 a.m. on
March 4, Marcia Yoder-Schrock [pastor
of his congregation, Hively Avenue
Mennonite Church, Elkhart, Ind.] and
her husband, John [associate pastor at
Eighth Street Mennonite Church,
Goshen, Ind.], welcomed the birth of
their first child, Isaac John."
An American archbishop said on March 13 that priests
and nuns volunteering to test an experimental AIDS
vaccine are part of a "heroic" church tradition of helping
the sick, and he rejected the view that the church was
seeking to appease critics of its policies on AIDS preven-
tion. Roger Mahony, the Catholic archbishop of Los An-
geles, also said he hoped the massive public attention
focused on the new AIDS experiment would offset the
"tremendous ignorance" that surrounds the deadly
disease. Mahony sent letters to roughly 3,800 priests and
nuns in the Los Angeles archdiocese asking for 10
volunteers over the age of 65 to test a new AIDS vaccine
designed by Dr. Jonas Salk, the creator of the polio
vaccine. At least six nuns and one or two priests have
responded so far in the Los Angeles area, he said.
( Washington Post)
Mennonite Voluntary Service
has over 20 service opportunities
available this summer, including
community service workers at
the Welcome Inn Community
Centre, Hamilton, Ont, and staff
for the Pleasant Valley Outdoor
Center, Woodstock, III. MVS is a
program of the Commission on
Home Ministries. For more
information contact David Orr,
Box 347, Newton, KS 67114,
(316) 283-5100.
NEWS
Taiwan Mennonites put
down roots in Argentina
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)—
Members of the Taiwanese
Mennonite church in Buenos
Aires, Argentina, are adapting
to Latin American culture, said
Sheldon Sawatzky in a
telephone interview after his
visit there March 24-April 7.
"They feel that Argentineans
are generally easy to get along
with and are not prejudiced
against them," said Sawatzky,
a missionary in Taiwan with the
Commission on Overseas
Mission of the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church. He is
on North America Assignment
until August.
"People in Buenos Aires
appear to be relaxed and
leisurely. There is more bustle
and stress in a city like Taipei
[Taiwan]," he said, noting that
the shops in Buenos Aires are
closed from 1-5 p.m. every day.
Indeed, many of the Tai-
wanese Mennonites moved to
Argentina because they wanted
a better life for themselves and
their children. "They like the
lack of pollution and all the
fresh fruits and vegetables that
are available," said Sawatzky.
"Some of them see Argentina
as providing a stepping stone
to North America for their
children. Others left Taiwan
because they were afraid of the
possibility of Chinese rule."
One thing this group of
Mennonites, which includes
acupuncturists and restaurant
and grocery store owners,
hadn't counted on was high
inflation. Last year's inflation
rate was 6,000 percent. In
addition Argentina has a
foreign debt of $62 billion.
"With the deterioration of
Argentina's economy, some of
the Taiwanese are choosing to
Argentineans are
generally easy to
get along with and
are not prejudiced.
move to greener pastures,"
said Sawatzky.
Those who choose to stay,
however, are anxious to build
ties with other Mennonite
groups. They already are
members of the Fellowship of
Mennonite Churches in Taiwan.
They also meet in the building
owned by the Spanish-
speaking Floresta Mennonite
Church. Tito Gutierrez, pastor
of the Floresta Church,
preaches twice a month during
their worship services.
Sawatzky assessed the
relationship between the
Taiwanese and Argentinean
Mennonites as "good and
mutually beneficial." He noted
that they are learning from
each other in areas such as
music. The Argentineans
frequently use many instru-
ments, while the Taiwanese
sing primarily with the piano.
Members of the Taiwanese
church are thinking about
whether they should join the
Argentine Mennonite Confer-
ence, especially as their
children are becoming fluent in
Spanish. They are also
wondering what Mennonite
agencies may be able to give
them financial support.
During his visit Sawatzky
provided pastoral counseling to
the members of the Argentina
Taiwan Mennonite Church.
The church has been without a
pastor since its inception three
years ago. The Fellowship of
Mennonite Churches in Taiwan
plans to send a pastor to
Argentina this summer.
Sawatzky believes the 40-
member church has potential
for growth because only 4
percent of the 25,000 Tai-
wanese living in Buenos Aires
are considered Christians. It's
"a tremendous opportunity and
challenge for evangelism," he
said. Carla Reimer, news
service editor
Conference of Mennonites in Canada
invites applications for
Conference Treasurer
Personal Qualifications: • a keen interest in and commitment to
God's work through the CMC; • educational background in account-
ing and business administration; • skills in communicating with individ-
uals and groups.
Responsibilities: • management of finances for the CMC: • devel-
opment and promotion of budget; • management of benefits plans; •
coordination of office systems and computer services; • financial
resource services to CMC boards, committees and churches.
Application deadline: receipt by June 15. Starting date: August 15
preferred.
For further information, phone (204) 837-5385. Please send letters of
application, including resumes, to Neil Heinrichs, Search Committee,
c/o Conference of Mennonites in Canada, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.,
Winnipeg, MB R3P OM4.
Camp Friedenswald is seeking a full-time executive director. Man-
agement level position with responsibilities including, but not limited to,
long-range planning, fund raising, personnel management, fiscal over-
sight. Salary commensurate with experience.
Resumes should be sent prior to June 15 to James Kirkton, 1127
Straford Rd., New Haven, IN 46774, (219)493-4116.
THE MENNONITE 227
The number of journalists murdered last
year — 53 — was double those killed in 1988,
the monitoring group Committee to Protect
Journalists reported in April. Fifty others
were kidnapped and 329 arrested. Not
only are journalists — especially those
working abroad — constantly at risk, from
governments on the right and left, they also
face dangers from drug lords, terorists and
armed gangs, the report said. (National
Catholic Reporter)
A study and service program is being
offered in Colombia June 30-Aug. 20 for
approximately 10 young adults. The
program is sponsored by the Commission
on Overseas Mission of the General Con-
ference Mennonite Church. Participants
will spend the first four weeks in a seminar
designed to raise awareness about Latin
America. The following four weeks will be
spent in a work project for the Colombian
Mennonite Church. Cost for the study and
service program is $588 U.S. plus airfare to
Bogota, Colombia. COM contributes $350
U.S. toward each participant's costs. For
more information contact Bruno or Wanda
Derksen Bergen, COM, Box 347, Newton,
KS 67114, (316) 283-5100.
Mennonite Voluntary Service has over 20
short-term service opportunities available,
including a carpenter with Latino Youth,
Chicago, and a preschool coordinator in
Winnipeg. Short-term assignments
generally require a minimum term of one
month and include room and board.
Mennonite Voluntary Service is a program
of the Commission on Home Ministries of
the General Conference Mennonite
Church. For more information contact
David Orr, MVS, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114, (316) 283-5100.
NEWS
Historians
examine
civil religion
Goshen, Ind. — The seventh
Mennonite Experience in
America conference drew
about 100 people Feb. 15-17 at
Goshen College here to learn
about "American Civil Religion
and Pacifists, 1830-1930" and
to celebrate the publication of
the two most recent volumes in
the MEA series.
The two newest books in the
history project, guided by
members of the Mennonite
Church, General Conference
Mennonite Church and
Mennonite Brethren, are Land,
Piety, Peoplehood: Menno-
nites and Amish in Nineteenth-
Century America by Goshen
professor of history Theron
Schlabach, and Vision,
Doctrine, War: Mennonite
Identity and Organization in
America, 1890-1930 by James
C. Juhnke, professor of history
at Bethel College, North
Newton, Kan.
Speaker Ronald A. Wells,
professor of history at Calvin
College, Grand Rapids, Mich.,
analyzed the development of a
"national religion" in the pre-
Civil War era and the role of
evangelicals in the abolitionist
movement and in the Civil
War.
"What had gone wrong was
the whole notion of a civil
religion," Wells said. "It was
always a wrong theory to have
said that, in the post-Resurrec-
tion era, a mundane and
secular nation-state could
possess the attributes of God's
kingdom."
Wells did not restrict his
remarks only to the role of
evangelicals in American life.
"If Calvinists have much to
repent of, i.e. inventing and
perpetuating the national
religion, the 'Historic Peace
Churches' also must repent of
their isolation from the larger
social questions played out in
the history of this nation," Wells
said.
"The Historic Peace
Churches have, in truth, given
a marvelous and — to them —
costly witness to the power of
God's peace. Yet, as we must
know, peace goes together
with justice....By this definition,
the mere participating in war,
does not consider the problem
of justice."
At the celebration of the MEA
books, Robert S. Kreider, North
Newton, Kan., who chairs the
MEA governing board, spoke
on Schlabach and Juhnke's
experiences in researching and
writing their books.
Juhnke ended the confer-
ence with an inspiring appeal
[see excerpt on this page] to
the participating historians to
re-examine American history
through a pacifist perspective
and to use their new insights to
challenge prevailing textbook
truisms. From a report by Lois
Land is Kurowski
Goshen College seeks applicants
for the position of admissions
counselor, to begin July 1990.
Duties include representing the
college to prospective students
and their parents and helping meet
overall Admissions Office goals.
Qualifications include a commit-
ment to Goshen College's mission,
writing and speaking skills,
willingness to travel, bachelor's
degree and, preferably, related
experience.
Send letter of application, naming
three references, and resume to
Marty Lehman Hooley, Office of
Admissions, Goshen College,
Goshen, IN 46526. Application
deadline June 1, or until position is
filled.
Toward an alternative history
Mennonites have published an impressive body of denomina-
tional, ethnic and local church histories. We are truly a his-
tory-formed people. We have used history to build up the
walls of our special Zion.
But Mennonite historians have given little attention to
interpreting national and world history in Mennonite ways.
Where is the American history book written with a commit-
ment to non-violence, to the Believers' Church and to disci-
pleship? It doesn't exist.
My son's fifth-grade text had the following typical passage:
"The minutemen at Lexington that early morning had no
uniforms and only a little training. But they were brave and
determined. Their captain warned them not to fire first. 'Don't
fire unless fired upon,' he ordered. 'But if they want a war, let
it begin here.'"
In public schools our children read textbooks filled with
military heroes. They learn that the truly great achievements
in American history came by the force of arms. Through
warfare, the texts say, America won independence, freed the
slaves and protected democracy from Naziism and Commu-
nism. If our children learn the truth of non-resistance in
Sunday school, they unlearn it in public schools.
Historians of other persuasions have fashioned their under-
standing of American history. In our libraries we can find
American history books written from the viewpoints of
Marxism, feminism, liberalism and American civil religion.
Mennonites, a humble and separatist people, have let others
write American history for us.
An alternative historiography is possible. We could
celebrate peace heroes. We could highlight those moments
when America avoided war. We could portray war for the
awful failure it truly is. We could acclaim those who had a
vision of shalom.
We have spent much ink on denominational history.
Perhaps now it is time to put our time, imagination and
resources into writing worldly history from an Anabaptist
perspective. James C. Juhnke
228 MAY 22, 1990
MENNONITE
C wiNdow to MissioN
1 EdiTioN
MAY 23, 1990
1 1 IE ODEN wiNdoW
What significance do our actions have? Is there any value in washing the car,
preparing a meal, or shopping for clothes beyond the immediate benefit to self and
family? Do activities like teaching a class, visiting a shut-in, serving on a commit-
tee have more than social meaning? Would a Christian perform any of these, or
hundreds of similar tasks, in a different manner than an unbeliever? Possibly not.
A recent reading of Romans 12:1 in William Barclay's translation brought me
up short. "Brothers (sisters), I call upon you, by the mercies of God, to present
your bodies to him, a living, consecrated sacrifice, well pleasing to God— for that
is the only kind of worship which is truly spiritual." In his commentary Barclay
teaches that when our bodies and every task they perform are consciously offered
to God, worship is taking place. In fact, the verse quoted above says that such an
offering is the only worship which is truly spiritual! But surely, prayer and
meditation seem more spiritual. Does physical activity really have spiritual sig-
nificance?
I confess that I need to experiment more with this concept. What would happen
if I were fully God-conscious as I dispose of the trash, feed the sheep, or play tag
with my grandson— doing those things for God? I expect all one's thought pat-
terns would be affected. Perhaps even a renewal of one's mind could result^with
subsequent proof that God's will "is good and well-pleasing and perfect."
Anette Eisenbeis
COVER
"It is in giving that we receive" (from the Prayer of St. Frances).
CONTENTS
The Preacher Has Breasts 3
Nameless Yet Known 4
Letter to an Unnamed Woman 7
Giving Deeds Living Words
Summary-Program VI 8
Widening the Circle Through Prayer 9
A Cup of Sharing 10
Window on the World 11
Looking In Looking Out 12
COE Prisms 13
The Office Window 14
Contributors, Credits, Forecast 15
Window Shopping 16
Published by Women in Mission of the Gen-
eral Conference Mennonite Church. Box
347, Newton, KS 67114
Editor: Lois Deckert
Coordinator: Sara Regier
Office Secretary: Doris Schmidt
W-2 THE MENNONITE
The meacben has kzeasTS
I anH nravs in linuid
and prays in liquid
voice, breathing
tenderness into the world.
Her words shake
the rocks packed hard
in my guts, melting them
smooth and clear to glaze
the glaring glass stains.
Now her voice slides
contours sand hills
and valleys,
curves,
landscaping scarred terrains.
It molds my will
with worn hands
telling me the story of the world
firming my listless spirit
to stand upright
on its finger-pressed base.
And then, coaxing,
the womanvoice pulls
at the plug which grips
itself at the pit of my being,
loosening, now plucking it
to release the thrashing currents
and still my soul.
Raylene Hinz-Penner
VaNAMELESsA
Known
Renee Sauder
A couple of months ago, I visited with
a woman who is a member of my con-
gregation. Though married to a Men-
nonite she was not from a Mennonite
background and, in fact, had a very
unusual maiden name. My interest in
her name moved our conversation into
a discussion of her family history. Sud-
denly she paused and said: "You know,
this is terrible, but I don't know my
maternal grandmother's maiden
name." And then to my embarrass-
ment, but probably to her consolation,
I realized that at the moment I couldn't
remember my maternal grandmother's
maiden name either.
I wondered then as I wonder now
how many women throughout the pages
of history have remained nameless.
That is not to say that they have not
been remembered. My maternal
grandmother was adored by her chil-
dren and grandchildren. She was the
best-person-on-earth kind of grand-
mother. I could not name a kinder,
more generous person than she.
There are other women whom I re-
member because of the impact they
have had on my life though I have no
names for them.
I remember a dental hygienist I went
to as a nine- or ten-year-old. After
cleaning my teeth, she said: "All the
Renee 's I have ever known, I've read
about in the newspaper because they
have all been famous. So, just in case
you get to be famous too I'd like to have
your autograph. " There in the dentist's
chair I signed my name for her. I don't
remember her name but I'll never for-
get what that did for me and my self-
confidence. I have no aspirations to
achieve fame. I haven't been asked to
sign an autograph since. But I'll always
remember that moment and what it felt
like to be believed in.
I recall a story my pastor once told
me as I sat in Sunday school with my
teenage peers. We must have been hav-
ing a discussion on the topic of stew-
ardship or simple living when he told
the story of his mother-in-law in Penn-
sylvania. Every Christmas, after gifts
had been unwrapped, she would gather
the wrapping paper. Then she would
carefully iron and fold each piece so
that the paper could be used again the
following Christmas. I have no name
for her but the story of her actions so
inspired me that to this day I am still
W-4 THE MENNONITE
thrify about the use and reuse of wrap-
ping paper.
You probably would have your own
stories to tell about nameless women in
your life histories who had a significant
impact on your life.
Nameless women. They have walked
through the pages of history without
the most personal identification that
human beings can have— their own
names.
In the biblical story they are identi-
fied as: "a certain woman," "a woman
with a coin," "a woman who was a
sinner," the wife of this man, the
daughter of that man, the mother-in-
law of another. Is their significance to
us unimportant because they had no
name? Does it blur their faces and im-
personalize their lives?
I think not. The stories of these
nameless women in the Bible are as
personal as the stories of women who
are named— Sarah, Ruth, Esther,
Mary, Martha, Lydia and Phoebe.
They are nameless but their stories still
speak to us if we but listen.
"One of the Pharisees asked him to
eat with him, and he went into the
Pharisee's house, and sat at table. And
behold, a woman of the city, who was a
sinner, when she learned that he was
sitting at the table in the Pharisee's
house, brought an alabaster flask of
ointment, and standing behind him at
his feet, weeping, she began to wet his
feet with her tears, and wiped them
with the hair of her head, and kissed
his feet, and annointed them with the
ointment" (Luke 7:36-38 RSV).
Some speculate that her name was
Mary. No one knows for certain who
this woman was who sat at the feet of
Jesus. The story appears in the oldest
gospel and is probably the oldest tradi-
tion about this remarkable action: the
annointing of Jesus by a woman.
In this annointing there was such an
outpouring of love that Jesus himself
was moved to say: "She is forgiven;
she may go in peace, for she is loved
Nameless women.
They have walked through
the pages of history
without the most personal
identification that
human beings can have—
their own names.
much. Wherever the gospel is preached
in all the world, what she has done will
be told in memory of her" (Mark 14:9,
adapted).
She remains nameless but is she un-
known? No, for are we all not familiar
with the story of the annointing? The
alabaster flask, the woman among a
circle of men, the sayings of Jesus that
her action would never be forgotten?
Unknown? No, for she is bold and una-
shamed, tender and compassionate. It
does not trouble her to break with tra-
dition and any sense of propriety. She
goes against accepted manners to do
something good for Jesus. She annoints
him in the same way as one annoints a
dead body and in so doing shows up the
disciples who are in love with success
and who still cannot see that the way of
Jesus will lead to death.
The unknown woman is a prophet
who annoints the Messiah, consecrates
and equips him for his task. It is she,
not the disciples, who understands that
Jesus' arrest, suffering and death is im-
minent. Annointing him, she then dis-
appears into the darkness of history as
one of the most generous and most ob-
scure feminine figures in the New Tes-
tament.
In memory of her I tell her story
again, this nameless woman. A sinner?
Yes. But one who knew how to love
MAY 23, 1990 W-5
deeply because she knew her own deep
need for forgiveness.
"Whenever Elisha went to Shunem
he ate at the home of a wealthy woman
who lived there. The woman said to her
husband, "Behold now, I perceive that
this is a holy man of God, who is con-
tinually passing our way. Let us make a
small roof chamber with walls, and put
there for him a bed, a table, a chair,
and a lamp, so that whenever he comes
to us, he can go in there" (2 Kings 4:9-
10 RSV).
An outpouring of hospitality by this
nameless woman centuries ago is be-
stowed upon the prophet Elisha. It is
the wife, not the husband who saw
Elisha's need and provided a simple
room within her home.
This wealthy woman, as the text calls
her, knew what a holy man of God
needed— a place to eat and sleep, a
place where he could find rest and
quiet. Oh that we too could always have
ready a room for the passing prophet.
"There came a woman of Samaria to
draw water. Jesus said to her, 'Give me
a drink' . . . The Samaritan woman
said to him, 'How is it that you, a Jew,
ask a drink of me, a woman of Sama-
ria? For Jews have no dealing with Sa-
maritans.' Jesus answered her, 'If you
knew the gift of God, and knew who it
is that is saying to you, Give me a
drink, you would have asked him, and
he would have given you living
water' " (John 4:7,9,10 RSV).
In the heat of the noon-day sun this
woman of Samaria made her way to the
well of Jacob to draw water. She hap-
pens upon Jesus as he rested at the
well. In the conversation which fol-
lowed, about her life, about worship
and about the One who is to come,
Jesus discloses the fact that He is the
Messiah. The only person to whom he
frankly confessed his Messiahship was
not a loving disciple but a strange
woman, a woman of a despised race, a
woman who was a sinner.
This woman, whom we know only as
the woman of Samaria, leaves her wa-
ter jar and runs into the city telling
everyone she met about Jesus. "So they
arose and followed the woman out of
the city." And we are told that many
Samaritans believed in Jesus because of
this woman's testimony.
We are surrounded by a great cloud
of witnesses. We are surrounded by
nameless women, but not forgotten
women. Their stories are still being
told around the world. Their stories
widen the circle of our understanding
of God and of ourselves and of who we
are called to be.
For all the goodness that has been
passed from these women's lives into
ours, we give thanks to God as we re-
member, each of us, women named
and unnamed, who have inspired our
lives.
Thanks be to God.
W-6 THE MENNONITE
Letter to an Unnamed Woman
Dear Name Withheld,
Brew yourself a cup of tea and join
me as I brew one too. I wish we could
sip our tea across the table from each
other instead of across the miles. I wish
I knew your name.
Your letter reflects the loneliness of
struggle but you aren't alone. You
reach out for assurance, and so do I, in
a world that seems to have no supports
any more. The nurturing role we
women were once so sure was ours has
been reduced to a cameo appearance.
We, who found purpose in raising a
family, in caring for others, are con-
fronted with our daughters who find
less meaning in domesticity. We moth-
ers sometimes feel as though we are
worth nothing. Let's remind ourselves
and each other that God views us as
worthy. If that is so, we must act in
ways that demonstrate God's presence
in our lives.
You are concerned about children
who seem to slough off parental values
in the same way a cicada sheds its skin.
It is hard to hold the empty shell which
seems too dry and lifeless. But remem-
ber that the newly-emerged cicada
sings in the tree above you. Raising
children to love God is not a task we do
alone. God's spirit is with us and
God's love sustains us. We cannot pos-
sess our children, we can only hold
them briefly. Their encounter with God
must be theirs, not ours. Our job as
parents is to love them as God loves us.
You express concern about family
worship and family times together. I
spent most of my grade and high
school years in boarding school. Dur-
ing vacations my mother made room
for family times but she didn't treat
them as if they were committee meet-
ings with set days and hours. She was
open to the moment. As mothers we
must open ourselves to those unex-
pected times when our faith can be
shared naturally. Picnics, walks, mak-
ing fudge, planning together for guests
were all times my mother shared her
wisdom and her faith. Bible stories
came alive during our family worship,
not with morals attached but simply
told. The Bible stories speak for them-
selves.
You are concerned about revitalizing
your women's group. I share your con-
cern and wish the answers were easy
ones. Maybe here, too, we must cease
possessing an organization and allow
God's spirit to lead us into ways of
service best suited to our needs and the
needs around us. God's spirit does not
operate on formulas and equations. It is
like a freshening breeze, a new-lit
lamp, a sudden joy.
Before the spirit can speak through
us we need to sit still and listen. How
can we tell what we have not heard?
How can we point to the light if we
keep our eyes closed?
You and your friends are concerned
about many things. I challenge you to
answer your own questions by writing
articles or stories about the problems
you face. Share your struggles with all
of us and do not be afraid to tell us your
names. As sisters in Christ we need to
be ready and willing to listen to each
other.
In Sisterly love,
Lois Dec kert
MAY 23, 1990 W-7
Giving Deeds,
#• Living Words
Summary— Program VI
Women were prominent among Jesus'
followers as mentioned in the New Tes-
tament. We read of two such women,
Dorcas and Lydia, in Acts.
In "Giving Deeds, Living Words,"
Gladys Buller intersperses the stories
of these two early Christian women
with the stories of two modern-day
Christian women in Zaire who are also
learning to live their faith.
Dorcas was a woman in the church of
Joppa who was well-loved and re-
spected. She was active in the church,
selflessly helping the poor, widows and
children by sewing garments for them.
At her sudden death the congregation
was grief-stricken. They sent for Peter.
Peter entered the room where Dorcas'
body lay and prayed over her; he took
her by the hand and called her to arise.
She was restored to life, got up and was
presented to her fellow believers. Thus
Dorcas was able to do much more work
for the needy.
Next we hear of Sengu, a woman
whom the writer knew personally in
Zaire. Sengu 's talent was cooking and
she made use of this by shopping for
and preparing food for people in the
hospital (Zairian hospitals do not pro-
vide meals for patients). Her visits
were times of encouragement to the ill
to whom she ministered.
Back again we turn to the book of
Acts and the account of Lydia, a cloth
dealer near Philippi. She believed in
God but did not know of the Savior
Jesus Christ. While she and a group of
women were praying by the riverside,
they met Paul, who preached of
Christ's saving grace. Lydia's heart
was opened and she became a believer
in Christ. She was excited at the good
news and asked for baptism, along with
all of her household.
A modern parallel is then drawn with
the story of Manango, a teacher in a
Mennonite church in Zaire who minis-
ters among widows, singles and prosti-
tutes. In her own words Manango tells
how she grew up in a non-believing
home and eventually became a Chris-
tian at a youth camp. Today she teaches
at the Campus Crusade for Christ
training center in Kinshasa. Like Lydia
in the Bible, Manango found an en-
counter with Jesus a life-changing ex-
perience. Her greatest desire is to live
for him.
This lesson can be presented by two
or more readers. It includes two op-
tional dramatic monologues to enhance
the characters' stories.
Amy Dueckman
W-8 THE MENNONITE
April Yamasaki
Widening the Circle \
Through Prayer \
Introducing the 1990-1991 Program Year
Irene Bechler
The WM literature committee is
pleased to present April Yamasaki as
the writer of the 1990-1991 program
and devotional guide. April is the au-
thor of Where Two are Gathered: Read-
ings for Shared Devotions. Her writing
has appeared in Rejoice!, The Upper
Room and other Christian periodicals.
She holds a Master of Christian Studies
from Regent College, Vancouver, Brit-
ish Columbia, and has spent the past
year as Writer in Residence at Union
Theological Seminary, Richmond,
Virgina. She is a member of Peace
Mennonite Church, Richmond, British
Columbia.
The theme "Widening the Circle
through Prayer" is developed in studies
based on the prayers and lives of bibli-
cal women. The studies are based on
prayers of specific women. They will
include a suggested form of prayer such
as intercessory prayer, corporate
prayer, guided silent prayer, meditation
and journaling, and sharing and pray-
ing as prayer partners. These studies
address two deep desires of women: to
enrich their own devotional lives and to
find ways to reach out to those who
need Christ.
These devotional programs will be
included in the program packet pre-
pared by WM and Women's Mission
and Service Commission (WMSC) of
the Mennonite Church. They will pro-
vide versatility for use in various kinds
of WM groups. Those who desire will
find enough material for an in-depth
study. A shortened form is included for
those who prefer a meditation. A sum-
mary will also be printed in Window to
Mission .
To assist WM groups in planning,
the themes and scripture passages are
as follows:
Miriam: With Timbrels in Our Hands, Exodus 15:1-21
Deborah: Friends of the Lord, Judges 4:4-10, 5:1-31
Hannah: Our Souls Poured Out, I Samuel 1:1-20
Mary: Rejoicing in God Our Savior, Luke 1:39-56
A Canaanite Woman: The Household of Faith, Matthew 15:21-28
The Persistent Widow: A Life of Prayer, Luke 18:1-8
MAY 23, 1990 W-9
Storytellers sit in almost every shop window around the old city
square of Taos, New Mexico. The seated motherly, or fatherly
clay figures hold from two to six children in their arms. Children
sit or drape themselves in whimsical poses along and over the
outstretched legs. An open O on the clay face leaves no doubt that
mouths are meant to speak the lore of the tribe, thus passing along
history and belief. Figure groupings are as small as two inches
and as large as 18. The rust, ochre and red colors of Hopi pottery
or the sparkly-tan of Taos Pueblo pottery painted in black and
white proclaim origins and possibly decide legends. I wish I
owned a storyteller.
Owning a storyteller may not be financially possible for me but
I can be a storyteller. So can you. Our astonishing story is the
history of God's people from creation until now. The long story of
God's redeeming love has no end.
So, open your arms, sit with legs outstretched to make more lap
room and become God's storyteller.
W-10 THE MENNONITE
Window on
Suanne Sprunger
Children are forced to grow
up quickly in Hong Kong.
Once potty trained, they are
suited up in uniforms and
sent off to kindergarten.
By the time a child hits
primary school, she will
have one to three hours of
homework each night. In
most low income families the mothers
work long hours and grandma isn't ed-
ucated enough to be of any help. Who
is left to answer the small student's
questions and help her out?
Tutoring primary students on a daily
basis seems a good way for our emerg-
ing church to meet a need while ena-
bling us to minister to families in the
neighborhood. A small fee helps pay
the expenses for a room that the new
church meets in. Wendy Choi, a gifted
and experienced person in our midst
inspired this idea. She manages the
Helping Hands Center.
Four years ago Wendy tutored in an-
other center with a friend, Connie
Pang, a member of the Lok Fu Menno-
nite Church. Connie invited Wendy to
church. She started attending regularly.
"I gradually began understanding the
Bible and God's love. Then I commit-
ted my life to Christ at an evangelistic
meeting," Wendy told me. Six months
later she was baptized at Lok Fu.
During these years Wendy learned to
know a fun loving young man named
Jeremiah. He eventually summoned up
the courage to ask Wendy to attend a
movie with him. This was the first of
many dates. They were married in Jan-
the World
COM
uary 1989. Soon after their
wedding, Jeremiah enrolled
in a part-time seminary pro-
gram that will take him six
years to complete. He also
began pastoring the small
but growing, new Hope
Mennonite Church.
Wendy's one hour ride on
a double decker bus brings her to the
Helping Hands Center in Kwai Fong.
This is a low income factory district of
Kowloon. She helps 12-24 students
daily with their homework and supple-
ments this by teaching them additional
English and math. In order for Wendy
to answer their questions she must ob-
tain each of their school books, skim
through the lessons and write out the
answers in the workbooks before the
students arrive.
Wendy's biggest frustration is help-
ing difficult-to-handle students and
those with learning disabilities. Some-
times she is the only one available to
help a child who needs more attention
than she can give. One child, for exam-
ple, comes from a home where both
parents are deaf.
The families notice how Wendy
cheerfully greets their children, makes
sure their lessons are getting done, and
along with the church, plans family
outings and parties for them. These
neighbors feel the church's presence
and know Wendy's influence on their
children. Her role is an essential out-
reach of the Hope Mennonite Church,
Hong Kong.
MAY 23, 1990 W-11
ni
NGOUT
CHM
Violeta Ajquejay
Una Voz Amiga is a five-minute daily
radio program dedicated to the His-
panic family. Coordinated by Marco
Guete, Secretary of Hispanic Minis-
tries, this program is part of the out-
reach of the Commission on Home
Ministries. It began airing in March
1989.
The program is being broadcast in 13
different cities in the United States and
Puerto Rico and on seven different ra-
dio stations in Central and South
America. We are negotiating with four
more radio stations in the United States
and Puerto Rico.
Hundreds of letters from the United
States, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras,
El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica,
Argentina and Peru have been pouring
in to our office in the last few months.
The letters either tell us about a prob-
lem or just tell us of the blessings the
writers have received by listening to
Una Voz Amiga. One listener from
Peru says, "Through your program I
have found some peace and happiness
in my heart because now I know Jesus
Christ is my Savior and through him
God blesses me." A listener from
Mexico says, "We are a family who
delights in your programs, Una Voz
Amiga, and receives many blessings
from it. We do not have a church where
to gather, so you are our church. We
very faithfully listen to your programs
every day." And from El Salvador a
listener says, "I hear your program
Una Voz Amiga that is very uplifting for
Christians and non-Christian homes .
. . The programs have been the source
of many blessings."
Other letters that we receive are the
ones where people trust us with a prob-
lem and seek advice, for instance, re-
garding spouse infidelity, divorce,
drugs, alcoholism, teenage pregnancy
and abortion. When the program
started we did not expect such response
so we are still looking for a volunteer
counselor to help us answer the many
letters we receive.
A person heard our program on a
visit to Lima, the capitol of Peru, wrote
us and said: "On one of my trips to
Lima I listened to your program and I
was impressed by the way that the Gos-
pel was presented through the advice
given while responding to the problems
the Hispanics are facing today. I am
taking the liberty to write you and in-
quire how I can obtain your program
Una Voz Amiga and committing our-
selves to broadcasting it every day in
'Radio Orizonte'."
Each morning I find letters from
many different countries lying on my
desk about the radio program Una Voz
Amiga, I rejoice in those telling us of
the many blessings that people have re-
ceived by listening to our program. I
try to remember in my prayers the peo-
ple who write telling us of a problem.
Some of these problems need particu-
lar attention.
I feel happy to know that our radio
program is making a difference for
someone out there. The letters encour-
age me in my work in the office.
W-12 THE MENNONITE
COE A
Prisms e^xe
Commission on Education nurture
Rosella Wiens Regier
Venture Clubs: The Miracle
"Venture Clubs is a miracle!" the
voice at the other end of the telephone
declared. "In my mind, there's no
doubt about it. With everything that's
happened, I know the program is the
Lord's."
That was Diane Froese from Hof-
fnungsau Mennonite Church, Inman,
Kansas, on the telephone. She named
six miracles: 25 children showed up for
club meetings, kids want to come,
evangelism is happening with two
neighborhood children coming, differ-
ent adults take responsibilities based on
their natural gifts, babysitters for lead-
ers were provided, several children ac-
complished memorization in short or-
der.
Venture Clubs: The Yeast
While she talked, I remembered
Venture Club beginnings in 1984. Ven-
ture Clubs was like yeast then. Yeast
waiting to be mixed and stirred, wait-
ing to rise, to be given shape, to have a
chance to grow, to become the energiz-
ing nourishment for children and adults
in congregations.
Venture Clubs: The Experience
Venture Clubs groups vary. Most are
for children third through eighth
grades. Some include first and second
graders. A few use it for fifth through
eighth graders only. Some churches
combine everyone into one group; oth-
ers go by ages.
Leaders are drawn from all ages and
experiences. Many are mothers and fa-
thers of the participants. Retired peo-
ple offer excellent expertise for single
sessions or as a stabilizing presence
throughout the year. Adults find new
challenges to express their faith as
leaders. They feel a clear sense of call
and mission to lead a Venture Club.
Listen to some of their voices:
"Our Venture Club is going well.
Twenty kids are coming— seven from
our church, two from other churches,
and eleven non-churched kids. Praise
the Lord!"
"After considering goals for our
children, Venture Clubs seemed to be
exactly what our congregation needed.
We'll try it!"
"Venture Clubs came at a good time
in our church. We have many children.
And we have ready leaders who saw a
need and are enthusiastic."
"We are parents of a deaf child and
we're so happy that the Venture Clubs
pledge uses sign language."
Venture Clubs: The Potential
Venture Clubs is a program of learn-
ing, fun and spiritual growth. Twenty-
eight sessions per year focus on seven
important concept areas in children's
lives. Sessions have a Circle Time (de-
votions) and an Activity Time (hands-
on experiences). PEPs (Personal Ex-
ploration Projects) encourage skill
development and friendships with
adults. Venture Clubs is a time for chil-
dren to put faith into practice.
MAY 23, 1990 W-13
The
Office
Window
Sara Regier
At Home With One Another is the
theme for the next WM Learning Tour,
being planned with CHM for February
6-20, 1991 . Brochures and information
are available from district/provincial
WM officers or contact WM Office,
Box 347, Newton, KS 67114 (316)
283-5100.
The WM Advisory Council met during
Council of Commissions, March 1-5,
1990, to hear reports from district/pro-
vincial WM officers, discuss program
plans and make decisions for the fu-
ture. A financial goal of $200,000 was
accepted for 1990. The mission state-
ment adopted a year ago helped deter-
mine priorities.
WM Program 55,000
Staff salaries, travel and office ex-
penses are needed to keep the WM
program going. Brochures, displays
and slide sets are produced to tell
about WM programs.
Publications 26,000
The second program packet, Widen-
ing the Circle through Prayer, is be-
ing produced jointly with Women's
Mission and Service Commission of
the Mennonite Church and will be
sent to each WM group this summer.
Window to Mission is now published
quarterly.
COM 74,000
Local groups are encouraged to
Adopt-a-Missionary from their dis-
trict or province. Adopt-a-
Missionary guidelines are found in
the 1989-90 program packet.
CHM 11,000
WM supports ethnic and language
minority church ministries, church
planting and evangelism seminars.
The Learning Tour will help WM
members become more aware of
cross-cultural ministry.
COE— Family Life Ministries .10,000
WM provides a major part of GC
support for this program. Family life
seminars are being offered to give
support and provide resources for
congregational teams. Clare
Schumm serves as staff person.
AMBS 5,000
Six scholarships are offered to GC
women attending AMBS. The recipi-
ent of the Peace and Justice Assist-
antship is available as a resource for
retreats or workshop settings.
Women's World Outreach 9,000
This fund provides study and travel
grants for women connected with
GC mission programs.
Africa Inter-Mennonite Women's
Auxiliary 7,000
Contributions go for women's semi-
nars and building and operating costs
for a girls school in Zaire. Furnish-
ings are provided for missionary
childrens' hostels and guest houses.
Contingency 3,000
200,000
W-14 THE MENNONITE
contributors
Vada Snider (Cover) is a photojournalist for the Wichita
Business Journal and the Ark Valley News. Her photos
have won state, regional and national newspaper
awards. A resident of North Newton, Vada is also a
flutist and performs with two ensembles that are in-
cluded in the Kansas Arts Commission touring pro-
gram.
Anette Eisenbeis (The Open Window) and husband
Larry are farmers in South Dakota. Anette is chairper-
son of the WM Literature Committee.
Raylene Hinz-Penner (The Preacher Has Breasts)
teaches Literature and Creative Writing at Bethel Col-
lege, North Newton, Kans. She and her husband
Douglas live in Newton and attend Bethel College Men-
nonite Church.
Renee Sauder (Nameless Yet Known) has recently
completed seven years of ministry as Associate Pastor of
the Bethel College Mennonite Church in North Newton,
Kans. Renee and husband Fred Loganbill live in rural
Newton.
Lois Deckert (Letter to an Unnamed Woman, Cup of
Sharing) edits Window to Mission from the WM office
at 722 Main, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114.
Amy Dueckman (Giving Deeds, Living Words: Sum-
mary Program VI) is a member of the WM Literature Q
Committee. Amy, husband Wayne and sons, James and
Noel, live in Abbotsford, B.C.
Irene Bechler (Widening the Circle Through Prayer) is
Vice President of Women's Mission and Service Com-
mission (WMSC) of the Mennonite Church, and lives in
Florida with husband LeRoy.
Suanne Sprunger (Window on the World) has been a
missionary in Hong Kong for nine years along with her
husband Tim. They are involved with church planting
ministries. Suanne is kept primarily busy with her two
active boys.
Violeta Ajquejay (Looking In Looking Out) comes
from Guatemala and is a graduate of Bethel College,
North Newton, Kans. She works as administrative assis-
tant to Marco Guete, secretary for Hispanic Ministries.
RoseUa Wiens Regier (COE Prisms) is Secretary for
Children's Education with the Commission on Educa-
tion. Her husband Harold is the director of Offender-
Victim Ministries (OVM) in Newton, Kans. Rosella's
interests include antiques and family histories.
Sara Regier (The Office Window) coordinates the work
of WM from her office at 722 Main, Box 347, Newton,
KS 67114.
Helen Hildebrand (Window Shopping) lives in Winni-
peg, Man. She is the WM Canadian Vice President.
Anna Neufeld (Window Shopping) lives in Alberta and
is a member of her small but active Ladies Aid.
Art: John Hiebert, pp. 3, 4, 6
Amy
Dueckman
Suanne
Sprunger
Violeta
Ajquejay
Rosella Helen
Wiens Regier Hildebrand
forecast
Starting with the next issue Window to Mission will be published quar-
terly. Widening our circle through prayer, our 1990-91 program theme,
leads us to pray for peace living in times of crisis.
MAY 23, 1990 W-15
Window Shopping
All my life I heard and read about mis-
sionaries. I listened to their reports,
fascinated by their stories. I learned
"Jesus Loves Me" in a foreign lan-
guage. Within the last eight years I
learned to know a missionary family in
more personal ways.
The program committee of our wom-
en's group suggested that we each
adopt a missionary family for a year.
We were to make contact with them and
support them in prayer. Each of us re-
ceived a page torn randomly from the
COM prayer directory. My page fea-
tured Shirley and Dennis Ries and their
children David, Sarah and Rachel.
I began by sending a Christmas card
and letter. I promptly received a
Christmas letter from them. I sent
David, Sarah and Rachel things like
Valentine cards or books. Imagine my
surprise and joy when I received draw-
ings and pictures from them. Although
we had never met, Dennis and Shirley
always added a personal note to their
form letter. When I experienced per-
sonal grief they sent words of comfort.
They returned to South Dakota. I as-
sumed our contacts would end. Not so.
In October 1985, the Ries family mo-
tored to Winnipeg. They included me
in their round of visits. I enjoyed hav-
ing them in my home and seeing the
children's excitement over the first
snowfall they had seen after living in
tropical Zaire.
We still keep in touch. Last year
David, Sarah and Rachel sent me cop-
ies of their school pictures. I have been
richly blessed because I adopted a mis-
sionary family.
Helen Hildebrand
In Tofield, Alberta, the senior Ladies
Aid group hosted the Alberta Women in
Mission Conference in May, 1989.
Anna Neufeld tells about that experi-
ence.
We as a Ladies Aid asked our congre-
gation at our annual meeting whether
they would help us host the Alberta
Women in Mission conference.
The church lunch committee as-
signed everyone to a turn at providing
and serving meals. The church billet-
ing committee looked after lodging.
Glenys Neufeld took photographs and
operated the sound system. Two young
women, Lois Thiessen and Carrie Jan-
zen made the posters. Kathy Peters and
her three daughters provided the spe-
cial music. As president of the local
group, I opened the meeting, was the
emcee and gave the closing. Other
members of our group decorated the
church and ushered.
There are only seven members in our
group. The support we got from the
church members brought us together in
work and thought. We appreciated Pas-
tor Eric Rempel's helpful presence. We
still make quilts, are involved with the
women's shelter in Camrose, Alberta,
and make baby and children's afghans
and quilts for the Ronald McDonald
House in Edmonton.
Anna Neufeld
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminar-
ies, Elkhart, Ind., are matching congrega-
tional conference grants of up to $500 for
students in their supporting constituents
who enroll full time, according to financial
aid officers Henry Poettcker and Ruth Ann
Gardner. The matching funds are given in
addition to all other forms of financial aid
and are available each year of seminary
study. For more information write to
Gardner at AMBS, 3003 Benham Ave.,
Elkhart, IN 46517-1999.
NEWS
The United Mission to Nepal executive
committee met in Kathmandu, Nepal, April
26-27, reviewed the recent political
developments in Nepal and issued a
statement in three parts. First, the commit-
tee rejoiced in the prospects of religious
freedom in Nepal and prayed for the
release of prisoners of conscience.
Second, the committee invited Christians
worldwide to join in their prayers for peace
in Nepal and to support unity among Nepali
Christians without imposing denominational
or foreign organizational divisions on the
church there. Third, UMN declared its
respect for the laws of Nepal and its
commitment to continue working with the
people there in Nepal's development.
Tiskilwa (III.) Bible Church has voted to
withdraw its membership from the Central
District Conference and from the General
Conference Mennonite Church. Active
membership in the church, which began in
1911, has dwindled to about a dozen
people.
Women
gather to
'go and tell'
Fresno, Calif.— "Go and tell!"
were the parting words of the
10th Women in Ministry Confer-
ence held here March 30-April
1 . One hundred twenty-five
women and men traveled from
Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Indiana,
Arizona, Alberta and Manitoba,
as well as many parts of
California, to explore the theme
"Women telling the story."
One participant said she was
humbled and filled with hope as
she saw different groups from
the Believer's Church tradition
having communion together.
Katie Funk Wiebe, Hillsboro,
Kan., drew on three biblical
characters for her presenta-
tions: the prophetess and
judge Deborah, the bent
woman healed by Jesus and
Mary, a follower of Jesus.
Brenda Isaacs, associate
pastor from Calvary Mennonite
Church, Pasadena, Calif., used
the image of the rose to say
that the church and the world
are in God's hands and are
being continually rearranged
and reshaped to fulfill God's
purpose and mission. Rebecca
Slough of El Cerrito, Calif., and
prlOK
LVERYDAY
Compiled by Elaine Sommers Rich
"Prayer Is A Connection With God."
This book helps make these
connections— during times of solitude,
in small groups, in corporate worship.
Some are long and eloquent, others
short and crisp. Over 100 prayers, 30
of them for children.
ISBN 0-87303-137-7 • 96 pages •
Paperback $6.95 Canada $8.95
Available at your local bookstore or
Faith and Life Press Faith and Life Press
718 Main, Box 347 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.
Newton, KS 67114-0347 Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4
316/283-5100
204:888-6781
Roberta Linscheid (left) and Ataloa Woodin prepare to lead worship.
Dale Taylor, Fresno, guided the
worship.
Workshops included church
administration, family life,
biblical study, multicultural
inclusiveness, the dynamics of
ministry, spirituality. Pastors
met in a preconference
session.
Twenty women artists brought
visual arts, quilting, reader's
theater and poetry. Notes from
the artists expressed their
attempts to "tell the story."
The first Women in Ministry
Conference was in Lombard,
III., in 1976. The conferences,
diverse in nature, are planned
by the initiative and invitation of
a local group and create
opportunities for women to
express leadership and
creativity. The Fresno confer-
ence has been the one held
farthest west. The next one will
be March 15-17, 1991, in
Lansdale, Pa. Nancy Brubaker
Bauman, pastor. First Menno-
nite Church, Reedley, Calif.
Music director. 1/4-time. mostly
evenings and Sundays, experience
in church music preferred, ability to
accompany, music education
background desirable. Responsi-
bilities: Development of music
program, coordinate special music,
choir director.
Send resumes to Music Commit-
tee, Maplewood Mennonite
Church, 4129 Maplecrest Road.
Fort Wayne, IN 46815.
THE MENNONITE 229
The first Christian business conference
held in the Soviet Union drew some 165
Baptists, Pentecostals and Mennonites
who are involved in "cooperatives," the
Soviet term for private businesses. They
came to talk about business and Christian-
ity as well as possible assistance from the
two dozen or so visiting businessfolk from
Canada, the United States and West
Germany.
American prison administrators could
learn from Soviet counterparts about
motivating prisoners, says Charles Colson,
Prison Fellowship founder. "Morale was
higher than in the typical U.S. prison,"
Colson, an evangelical Episcopalian, said
after visiting Soviet prisons. "It was
because the inmates have work to
do. ...The Soviets have one of the best work
systems I've seen. Everybody in the prison
has a job," he said, noting that idleness is a
major problem in U.S. prisons. Colson also
acknowledged negative aspects of Soviet
prisons. "Their punishment cells were very
repressive," he said. (Religious News
Service)
Mennonite Voluntary Service urgently
needs volunteers for the following posi-
tions: home-care assistant, Reedley, Calif.;
elementary teachers, Hopi Mission School,'
Kykotsmovi, Ariz.; crisis support worker,
Beatrice, Neb.; social worker aide, Denver;
transitional housing case manager, Arvada,
Colo.; residential receptionist, Winnipeg;
women's shelter staff, St. Catharines, Ont.;
and case worker for Big Brothers, Saska-
toon. For more information contact David
Orr, MVS, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14
(316) 283-5100.
NEWS
Led by a cloud of dust
and pillar of fire, Salvadoran
refugees go home at last
Colomoncagua, Honduras
(MCC)— Like the children of
Israel, the Salvadoran refugees
of Colomoncagua, Honduras,
have returned home to their
"promised land." While the
Israelites followed a pillar of fire
and of cloud, these Salva-
dorans were led by a cloud of
dust by day and by aerial
rocket fire at night.
The difference between the
Salvadorans and the Israelites
is that the Salvadorans were
not put into slavery in Hondu-
ras. Instead they fled brutal
bombings and massacres in
the early 1 980s from their own
military and government death
squads.
Since Nov. 18, 1989, the
8,400 refugees of Colomon-
cagua have been returning to
their place of origin, Mean-
guera, Morazan, El Salvador.
The move was completed in
early March. With accords
between their government and
the United Nations High Com-
missioner on Refugees broken
and later renewed, these
refugees have fulfilled their
wish, which some have held for
at least 10 years — to return to
their war-torn home in peace.
The group has built creative
MCC Canada invites applications for:
Director — Kanadier Concerns Program
Primary Responsibilities:
• Administer the Mexico Kanadier program.
• Promote and develop new educational materials for Kanadier Menno-
nites in Latin America.
• Develop new Kanadier programs in Latin America, in consultation with
the MCC Latin America desk.
• Serve as a resource to Kanadier communities in Canada.
Key Qualifications include:
• A genuine interest in, and love for, the Kanadier people.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• Administrative and leadership skills.
• Fluency in Low German. Spanish would be an asset.
• Previous experience in Latin America and/or with MCC preferred.
Starting date is negotiable. Deadline for applications is June 30.
Contact: Overseas Coordinator
Mennonite Central Committee Canada
134 Plaza Drive
Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9
Telephone (204)261-6381
Mennonite
Central
Committee
Canada
Like Salvadoran refugees, these Guatemalans asked to be able to go
back home after being in camps in Mexico.
provisional housing of bamboo
in their new location. They will
stay in these homes until they
build houses using lumber they
carried with them from the
camps in Honduras.
The people have also built a
mechanic shop, clothing and
shoe factories, arts, crafts and
carpentry shops and more.
The shops are like ones they
had in the camps.
This "promised land" is a
land of donated powdered milk
and natural honey, as well as
canned beef from Mennonite
Central Committee.
But the ugly remains of the
long, low-intensity, U.S.-
sustained war in El Salvador
also exist. Old adobe houses,
many from which the refugees
fled, have their walls and roofs
blown out. M-1 6 shells can be
found all over the ground.
Recently there was even an
early evening attack by U.S.-
supplied A-47 fighter planes
and Huey helicopters. They
bombed within two kilometers
of the resettlements and shot
off rounds of ammunition and
rocket fire from above them,
sending terror into the new
community and international
visitors. This happened the
same day El Salvador's Vice
President Francisco Merino
visited the resettlements,
promising governmental aid for
their development as well as
"freedom and democracy."
One former refugee com-
mented, "These [the rockets
fired] must be the first lights
that our government promised
to install."
With the remnants of war and
threat of the infamous Salva-
doran military, the former
refugees have begun to build
over the scars and demonstrate
a new, non-violent, peaceful
example for El Salvador's
complex situation. Phil
Borkholder, MCC Honduras
230 MAY 22, 1990
The 1990 budget for Mennonite Central
Committee calls for a total income of $34.4
million, a 2.2 percent increase over 1989
income. 1989 saw a 25 percent increase in
applications and a 5 percent increase in
placements, according to Bill Loewen,
director of personnel services for MCC.
According to Hershey Leaman, food aid
coordinator, MCC has more requests for
Canadian Foodgrains Bank food than it can
fill. "In 1990 we will likely need to say no to
some legitimate requests for food," he said.
Mennonites may choose from at least four
evangelism training seminars this summer.
Congregational coordinators for LIFE (Living
in Faithful Evangelism) are among those
invited to attend evangelism academies at
the University of LaVerne (Calif.) July 16-19;
Manchester College, North Manchester,
Ind., July 23-26; Warner Pacific College,
Portland, Ore., July 30-Aug. 2; and Bridge-
water (Va.) College, Aug. 6-9. The acade-
mies are sponsored by the Church of the
Brethren, in cooperation with the General
Conference Mennonite Church and the
Mennonite Church. For more information
contact Ruth Horst, MBM, Box 370, Elkhart,
IN 46515-0370, (219) 294-7523.
Mutual aid in the General Conference
Mennonite Church received a boost
during 1989 from Mennonite Mutual Aid,
Goshen, Ind., through more than 440
grants totaling over $92,000. The grants
were part of a total of over $604,000
distributed nationally in more than 2,300
grants to members of MMA's programs
through the Sharing Fund and other
programs. The grants help meet needs
beyond those covered by MMA's health
and life plans.
NEWS
Mennonite
seminary
starts in
Colombia
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)— The
Mennonite Biblical Seminary,
Bogota, Colombia, held its first
classes Feb. 5. Robert "Jack"
Suderman, fraternal worker
with the Commission on
Overseas Mission of the
General Conference Mennonite
church, is the director and
principal instructor.
"The seminary has met with
good response in terms of
attendance and interest," said
Peter Stucky, executive
secretary of the Evangelical
Mennonite Churches of
Colombia, which approved the
beginning of a new seminary at
its annual assembly in January.
"I am happy to be able to
learn about God and his Word
so that I can prepare to serve
God and my church better,"
said Priscila Perez, one of 43
students enrolled.
The Mennonite Biblical
Seminary, which functions on a
university level, offers a title in
theology with 1 10 credits or a
certificate of theology with 40
credits. All the classes are held
in the evening to accommodate
those who are employed.
Glendon Klaassen, secretary
for Latin America, Commission
on Overseas Mission
Jantzen
named WM
coordinator
Newton, Kan. -Susan Claassen
Jantzen, 35, Newton, Kan., has
been named coordinator of
Women in
Mission,
succeeding
Sara Regier.
She begins
Sept. 1.
Jantzen is a
1976 graduate
of Bethel
College, North
Newton, Kan.,
and managed Faith and Life
Bookstore in Newton from 1980
to 1983. She and her husband.
Jantzen
1990 . . . Our
20th Anniversary!
Since 1970, tour leaders (like Jan
Gleysteen), who know and love
our faith story, have made the
TourMagination difference . . .
joyful, educational, and spiritually
enriching travel.
We invite you to join one of our
Anniversary tours this year!
1 21 O Loucks Ave.
Scottdale, PA 1 5683
41 2-887-5440
412-887-9436
1 31 Erb Street W.
Waterloo, ON N21 1T7
519-747-0517
51 9-745-7433
P.O. Box 376
Harleysville, PA 1 9438
21 5-256-301 1
215-723-8413
Europe 90A
May 1 4-23
Arnold Cressman, Henry Landes
Europe 90B
June 11-30
Jan Gleysteen, Neal Weaver
Europe 90C
June 25-July 3
John L. Ruth, Wilmer Martin
Western Canada 90A
July 13-24
Arnold and Rhoda Cressman
Souderton to MWC 1 2
July 19-Aug. 1
Hubert Schwartzentruber,
in Winnipeg
Henry Landes
Western Canada 90B
July 29-Aug. 18
Jan Gleysteen, Alfred Willms
TourMagination
Jim, worked for Mennonite
Central Committee in Chad
from 1984 to 1987. Their
congregation is New Creation
Fellowship in Newton.
Service opportunities
Home care assistant Provide
assistance with household chores,
yard work, meal preparation and
transportation for elderly and
disabled persons in Reedley, Calif.
Requires basic household skills.
Elementary teachers. Hopi
Mission School has several
teacher vacancies for 1990-91.
The school serves day students
grades K-6. Excellent opportunity
to work in a unique cross-cultural
setting.
Case worker. Work with all
aspects of a Big Brother program
in Saskatoon. Responsible for
application, home visits, counsel-
ing and referral. Related education
or experience desired.
Social worker aide. Denver MVS
has several openings. The social
worker aide will do interviews and
home visits. Will also coordinate
mother's support group and
children's program. Ideal for
individuals considering social work
careers.
Women's shelter staff. St.
Catharines, Ont., needs someone
to do shelter orientation and
provide support and counsel.
BSW helpful. Must be female.
Call or write David Orr or Barb
Unruh for information on these or
other voluntary service opportuni-
ties. Mennonite Voluntary Service,
Box 347, Newton, KS 671 1 4, (31 6)
283-5100.
THE MENNONITE 231
How costly is military conversion?
According to recent study, conversion of 37
percent of U.S. military bases to civilian
production after World War II kicked off a
two-decade economic boom. That's
because, contrary to popular assumptions,
military spending does not create employ-
ment. In fact only 34 cents of each dollar
goes to jobs. In the retail trade, 51 cents of
each dollar goes to job creation. Human-
service industries are the most effective way
of creating jobs — 85 cents of every dollar
generates new positions. (The Other Side)
RECOIld
The gap between poor and rich in the
United States is wider now than any year
since World War II. According to the latest
federal figures, the poorest 20 percent of
U.S. households are garnering only 4.6
percent of national family income, while the
wealthiest 20 percent are taking 44 percent,
the largest share on record. From 1980 to
1 989, incomes of the poorest 20 percent
dropped 3 percent, and their net federal
taxes rose 1 6 percent. Over the same
period the richest 20 percent saw a 32
percent increase in income and 5.5 percent
decrease in their net federal tax rate. For
the top 5 percent of U.S. families — whose
income is $206,100 a year or more — income
was up 46 percent, taxes down 9 percent.
Mennonite Board of Missions workers in
Liberia have decided to leave that West
African country temporarily because of
increasing political tension and unrest.
Peter and Betty Hamm left April 29 for
Winnipeg. Stephen and Dorothy Wiebe-
Johnson and their sons, Julian and
Michael, were scheduled to fly to Accra,
Ghana, on May 3. Their departure is in
response to ongoing fighting between
troops supporting President Samuel Doe
and rebels led by Charles Taylor, a former
top civil servant. The Wiebe-Johnsons are
mission partners with the Commission on
Overseas Mission.
worLers
Bachman
Karen Bachman, First Church,
Newton, Kan., has accepted
the position of secretary for the
administrative section of the
Division of General Services of
the General Conference
Mennonite Church. She
previously worked as adminis-
trative assistant for the Newton
Region Mennonite and
Brethren Marriage Encounter.
Jonathan Beachy and his
wife, Gloria Hegge, are com-
pleting their work for COM in
Japan this summer. Gloria
served as an Overseas Mission
Volunteer in Japan from 1982
to 1984, and since 1986 as a
missionary involved with church
planting in Kobe. Since their
marriage in 1988 Jonathan has
assisted in church planting and
taught English.
John Bender, Dave
Linscheid and Carta Reimer
won a top DeRose/Hinkhouse
Memorial Award of the Reli-
gious Public Relations Council
for the best national public
relations campaign for the
communications work they did
for Normal '89. Bender is
director of information services
at Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries. Linscheid
and Reimer are communica-
CHM — Commission of Home Ministries
COM — Commission on Overseas Mission
MBM — Mennonite Board of Missions
NAA — North America Assignment
Hegge
Landis
tions director and news service
editor, respectively, for the
General Conference.
Evelyn Bertsche, associate
pastor at Mennonite Church of
Normal, is serving as chairper-
son of the Illinois Committee for
Inter-Mennonite Coordination.
Hugo Boschmann, Hesston
(Kan.) College biology profes-
sor, will speak May 26 at the
Freeman Junior College/
Freeman Academy 1990
alumni banquet. He will tell
what has happened to the
Paraguayan Indians since
colonial times, including their
interaction with Mennonites.
Robin Crews, Newton, Kan.,
has resigned as director of the
Kansas Institute for Peace and
Conflict Resolution at Bethel
College, North Newton, Kan.,
effective July 1 . He will be
executive director of the Peace
Studies Association in Boulder,
Colo., and teach in the sociol-
ogy and peace and conflict
studies depart-
ments at the
University of
Colorado.
Bret Ewert,
Markham, III., and
Maria Gascho,
Grand Island, Neb., students at
Hesston (Kan.) College, were
two of the three best student
presenters at this year's
conference of the Kansas
Section of the Mathematical
Association of America.
Reta Halteman Finger, First
Church, Oak Park, III., is on the
awards committee of the
Associated Church Press. The
Mennonite is one of 1 73
denominational publications
that are members of ACP.
Millard Fuller, director of
Habitat for Humanity, spoke at
the 1990 Christian Emphasis
Week at Bluffton (Ohio)
College. Last fall Bluffton
College became the 94th
Habitat chapter.
Marco Guete, Shalom
Church, Newton, Kan.,
produces a Spanish-language
radio program for the Hispanic
Ministries department of CHM
that is ranked in the top 10 pro-
grams broadcast by a secular
radio station, Radio Var-
iedades, in Dallas, Texas.
Paul Hiebert has been
named professor of mission at
Trinity Evangelical Divinity
School, Deerfield, III., beginning
this fall. A widely respected
anthropologist and cross-
culturalist working in the field of
missiology, he has served in
India with the Mennonite
Brethren Church and is
currently a professor at Fuller
Theological Seminary, Pasad-
ena, Calif.
James Huxman, First
Church, Newton, Kan., has
resigned as director of admis-
sions at Bethel College. North
Newton, effective June 30. He
has accepted the position of
director of public support at
Kidron-Bethel Retirement
Services, North Newton.
Neil Klassen and Terry
Widrick produced a joint art
exhibit for the Mennonite
Heritage Center Gallery,
Winnipeg. Their work was on
display through April.
Kathy Landis, Tunkhannock
(Pa.) Fellowship, has been
appointed Mennonite Voluntary
Service associate director for
western United States,
effective May 1 . She replaces
Susan Ortman Goering.
John Paul Lederach, codirec-
tor of Mennonite Conciliation
Service, Akron, Pa., was the
featured speaker at the
Brussels Mennonite Centre in
Belgium on Jan. 30.
Paul M. Lederach from the
Franconia Conference in
Pennsylvania was the speaker
for the pastor-spouse retreat
held jointly by the Northern
District Conference and the
North Central Conference
March 15-18 in the Fargo, N.D.,
area.
Suzanne Lind, director of
232 MAY 22, 1990
Bernie Wiebe, former editor of The
Mennonite and currently professor of
conflict resolution studies at Menno Simons
College on the University of Winnipeg
campus, is in Paraguay May 20-July 12 to
preach evangelistic services. The outreach
ministries commission of the Conference of
Mennonites in Manitoba is encouraging
people to pray for these services, which will
be held in seven different churches under
the theme "Following Christ More Closely in
Your Life." Wiebe served as moderator of
CMM in 1980-82 and 1986-88.
A Mennonite attorney takes his infant
son with him to work in Washington, and
that caught the attention of Washington
Post Magazine. Featured in a recent
issue were Philip Baker-Shenk and his 5-
month-old son Jesse, who has accompa-
nied him to the office several days a
week since the infant was three weeks
old. Baker-Shenk's schedule is more
flexible than that of his wife, Charlotte. "I
can be a lawyer the rest of my life, but I
can only be a dad like this for a little
while," he says. Baker-Shenk works for a
law firm that represents several Native
American tribes.
The amount of sex, violence and
profanity on all three major television
networks dropped 32 percent last fall from
that in the previous spring season, says
Billy Melvin, executive director of the
National Association of Evangelicals. He
attributes it in part to the effect that a group
called Christian Leaders for Responsible
Television, with its threat of national
boycotts against offending programs, is
having on the industry. Melvin chairs the
watchdog group, whose members include
leaders of many denominations.
RECOlid
J. Peterson
N. Peterson
Ruth-Heffelbower E. Regehr
M. Regehr
Schrag
H. Sprunger J. Sprunger
Service Ministries for MBM,
and Barbara Reber, director of
the Inter-Mennonite Council on
Aging, have called together an
advisory group of older adults
to think of ways to provide
service opportunities for people
in that age group. They work in
the offices of the Mennonite
Church, Elkhart, Ind.
Gregg Luginbuhl, Bluffton
(Ohio) College associate
professor of art, has completed
a series of raku ceramic plates
that illustrate the creation story
in the first chapter of Genesis.
Luke Martin, Montreal, and
Wai Tat "Allen" Wong, Saska-
toon, were among the six
people who participated in
Church Planters Career
Discernment Days, March 15-
17, in Elkhart, Ind. Noel
Santiago, MBM, was the
coordinator.
Neville J. and Joan E.
Peterson were installed as
pastor and assistant pastor,
respectively, at Faith Church,
Geneva, Neb., Feb. 1 1 .
Dwight Ft. Piatt, professor of
biology at Bethel College,
North Newton, Kan., is one of
10 U.S. recipients of the 1990
Chevron Conservation Award.
Piatt was recognized at a
banquet in Washington on May
16.
Eldo and Mary Ann Regehr.
Bethel Church, Inman, Kan.,
have been recognized by the
Goodyear Company for their
farming conservation work.
Renate Roeser, member of
the East German Mennonite
Church board, helped plan the
East Berlin 25th annual World
Day of Prayer service attended
by 50 women from Catholic,
Methodist, Moravian, Menno-
nite and Lutheran churches.
Duane Ruth-Heffelbower was
ordained to the ministry at
Peace Community Church,
Clovis, Calif., on April 29.
Kathy E. Schrag, Faith
Church, Newton, Kan., was
awarded an honorable mention
by the Associated Church
Press for her poem "Life to Life
Resuscitation," published in the
November 1 989 issue of With
magazine, edited by Susan E.
Janzen.
Frank Shirk retired from
Goodville Mutual Casualty
Company, New Holland, Pa.,
after 30 years with the com-
pany, the last eight as presi-
dent. He was also a bishop in
the Lancaster Conference of
the Mennonite Church.
Ronald J. Sider, Diamond
Street Church, Philadelphia,
attended the World Council of
Churches convocation on
Justice, Peace and the Integrity
of Creation, held March 5-13 in
Seoul, South Korea. He
proposed an amendment that
"people alone have been
created in the image of God."
The amendment passed after
"alone" was deleted.
Miriam Smith, Hereford
Church, Bally, Pa., was named
"outstanding educator of the
year" by the Boyertown (Pa.)
Junior Chamber of Commerce.
Ed Springer will begin Sept.
1 as pastor at St. Louis
Fellowship. He is currently
pastor at Albany (Ore.) Church.
Hugh and Janet Sprunger,
First Church, Berne, Ind.,
began a six-week NAA on April
26. The Sprungers are COM
missionaries in Hong Kong.
Hugh is program coordinator
for Mennonite ministries, and
both of them are involved in
outreach to factory workers.
John W. Sprunger, Scottdale,
Pa., was the speaker for
"spiritual renewal services" at
Grace Church, Pandora, Ohio,
April 8-12.
Mathew and Becky Jackson
Swora, Faith Church, Minnea-
polis, have terminated their
service with COM/Africa Inter-
Mennonite Mission. They went
to Burkina Faso in 1985 and
were involved in theological
II
Willms
education by extension and
maternal health care.
Erland Waltner, Elkhart. Ind.,
spoke at Menno Church.
Ritzville, Wash., May 5-6 on
"Aging as a Spiritual Journey"
and "Preparing for Retirement."
Helen
Willms,
mpt Coaldale
(Alta.) Church,
missionary to
W -w Taiwan with
COM since
1957, was to
arrive in
Canada on
May 1 5 for
several months of NAA prior to
retiring from COM service.
During most of her career in
Taiwan she has been involved
with nursing ministries at
Mennonite Christian Hospital in
Hualien. She has also worked
as bookkeeper and treasurer
for the New Dawn Develop-
ment Center, a school for
developmentally disabled
children. This fall she will
return to Taiwan as a COM
Mission Partner, substituting for
a German missionary as a
nurse and dorm supervisor at
Yu-shan Theological College, a
college near Hualien for tribal
people.
— compiled by Angela Rempel
THE MENNONITE 233
MCC:
Promoting
healthy
futures
^ Mennonite
Central
Committee
Mennoniie uentrai
Committee and MCC U.S.
21 South 12th Street
PO Box 500
Akron, PA 17501-0500
MCC Canada
134 Plaza Drive
Winnipeg. MB R3T 5K9
An estimated 2,000 volunteers will join
former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and
Rosalynn Carter June 17-23 to build 107
low-income houses in San Diego, Calif.,
and Tijuana, Mexico, in a binational effort
mounted by Habitat for Humanity. Volun-
teers from both sides of the border will
raise 100 houses in the Matamoros Centro
community of Tijuana and will be housed in
a tent city located within 150 yards of the
building site.
Of the 46 duplex units planned for Kidron
Bethel Village, 24 are completed, reported
president Thomas C. Wentz at the annual
meeting of Kidron Bethel Retirement
Services March 20. Applications have
been received for all the units. Of the 36
condominium apartments under construc-
tion, 22 have been sold. These are
scheduled for completion on Oct. 1 . Con-
struction of a wellness center, to be located
at the center of the village and to house a
fitness center, swimming pool, doctor's
clinic, restaurant, chapel and activity room,
was to begin at the end of April, Wentz
said. Capacity of Kidron Bethel Village is
to be 250 people when completed.
"Cost of Commitment: International
Perspectives on Christian Health and
Healing" is the theme of Medical Assis-
tance Program's International Conference
on Missionary Medicine, to be held June 2-
5 on St. Simons Island, Georgia. More
than 700 Christian health professionals are
expected to attend the 12th triennial ICMM.
For information contact MAP International,
Box 50, Brunswick, GA 31521-0050.
RESOURCES
T I T I T HI ms
Getting Your Act Together
($29.95, $35 in Canada) is a
four-part series on videocas-
sette that focuses on different
aspects of spiritual growth from
a young single person's
perspective. Produced by the
Commission on Education of
the General Conference
Mennonite Church and Student
and Young Adult Services of
the Mennonite Church in co-
operation with MBM Media
Ministries, it is available from
SYAS, Box 370, Elkhart, IN
46515-0370, (219) 294-7523,
or the Congregational Re-
sources Board, 600 Shaftes-
bury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P
0M4, (204) 888-6781.
New audiovisuals from
Mennonite Central Committee,
Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-
0500, (71 7) 859-1 151 are The
Healing Community: Menno-
nite Health Services Psychiatric
Division (1 1 minutes), Sharing
Stories, Sharing Strength (20
minutes), Everyone Counts
(20 minutes), Clayton Kratz:
Can We Depend on You? (28
minutes), Environment Under
Fire (28 minutes), The Debt
Crisis: An African Dilemma
(20 minutes), Conserving
Creation — Creating
Employment (12 minutes),
The Unforgettable Pen Pal
(28 minutes), Mary of Mile 18
(12 minutes), AIDS: the New
Epidemic (36 minutes), Family
Farm Under Receivership (24
minutes) and more, all avail-
able for free rental.
Local Heroes, Global
Changes, which was to air on
public television in May, is
designed to show how people
can help shape policies to end
world hunger. Study guides
and a videocassette prepared
by the Interreligious Coalition
for Breakthrough on Hunger
are available — the guide for $3,
the cassette $8, both for $1 0—
from Alternatives/Coalition, Box
429, 5263 Bouldercrest Road,
Ellenwood, GA 30049, (404)
961-0102. A 15-page study
guide for the TV series is
available free from MCC Global
Education Office, Box 500,
Akron, PA 17501-0500, (717)
859-1151.
Two new films from Gospel
Films are Who Do You Listen
To? Sex in the Age of AIDS
and Without Reservation.
A Question of Faithfulness
(MBM Media Ministries, 28
minutes, $24.95, $29.95 in
Canada), the 1 1th edition of the
"All God's People" video series,
shows stories of Christians
serving God and others as well
as how people can maintain
inner strength and a spiritual
base for mission. Call 1-800-
999-3534.
Four for You, Parent Sign
Series and Introduction to
American Deaf Culture are
videos available from Sign
Media, Inc., 4020 Blackburn
Lane, Burtonsville, MD 20866,
(301) 421-0268.
In the video The Authority
of the Laity ($24.95) Verna
Dozier offers a four-session
course to church groups. It is
available from The Alban
Institute, Inc., 4125 Nebraska
Ave., NW, Washington, DC
20016-0999, 1-800-457-2674.
Thru the Cracks (45
minutes, $21 .95), Go for Bad
(60 minutes, $24.95), Grandpa
"Grio" the Bible Storyteller
($19.95) and Crackdown (77
minutes, $29.95) are videos
that focus on the experience of
African-American teens and
children. They are available
from Urban Ministries, Inc.,
1439 W. 103rd St., Chicago, IL
60643, (312) 233-4499.
The Vision Interfaith Satellite
Network (VISN) continues to
televise programming provided
by the Mennonite Church but
with a different name and
schedule. Now called One in
the Spirit, the program airs the
first Monday (7 p.m., EDT),
Tuesday (2 p.m.) and Wednes-
day (8:30 a.m.) of each month.
Material for the program comes
mainly from the "All God's
People" video.
A Passion (9 minutes, $25
rental), a dramatic interpreta-
tion of the passion of Christ,
written and performed by
Mennonite Board of Missions
worker Stephen Shank, is
available on video from MBM
Media Ministries, 1251 Virginia
Ave., Harrisonburg, VA 22801-
2497, 1-800-999-3534.
« S3>ooks
By Way of the Heart: Toward
a Holistic Christian Spirituality
by Wilkie Au (Paulist Press,
1990, $14.95) shows how psy-
chology and spirituality can
work together to serve human
growth and Christian maturity.
— compiled by Gordon Houser
SWISS MENNONITE HERITAGE TOUR
including the Oberammergau Passion Play
June 26 - July 17, 1990
Dr. Delbert Gratz, Tour Director
A study tour of places connected with Swiss Mennonite
heritage, as well as of general cultural and historical interest
that are located in Northern Switzerland, Eastern France and
Southern Germany.
For complete details contact Dorothy Weaver at:
M J$ Menno Travel Service
' — JL__ 210 South Main Street
/ ' Goshen, IN 46526
219-534-1521 or 1-800-373^991
THE MENNONITE 235
spEAkiNq OUT
Because of a health-care crisis, a call to our churches
It's time for new structures
Donald R. Steelberg
A crisis in health care faces the
United States today. Health costs
are skyrocketing. Ethical questions
confront patients and doctors alike
regarding care and the continuation of
life. Employers find health care their
fastest-growing cost. Doctors increas-
ingly find their practices monitored and
curtailed by Health Maintenance
Organizations and insurers. In some
communities as many as a third of the
people are uninsured.
A retired couple in my congregation, on
a yearly income of $10,800, pays almost
one-fifth of their income to Mennonite
Mutual Aid (MMA) for their health care:
$2,008.
Widespread criticism suggests that our
medical care is more reactive to illness
than it is proactive toward health, a
sickness model rather than a wellness
model. MMA and other insurers are
trying to correct this by offering reduc-
tions in their premium costs to those who
pledge to follow a wellness regimen.
I" s there anything the church can do?
J. We could begin by considering two
texts which have been more or less
ignored by the wider church.
"Are any among you ill? Let them call
for the elders of the church, and let them
pray over them, anointing them with oil
in the name of the Lord; and the prayer
of faith will save the sick, and the Lord
will raise them up; and if they have
committed sins, they will be forgiven.
Therefore, confess your sins to one
another and pray for one another, that
you may be healed. The prayer of the
righteous has great power in its effects"
(James 5:14-16).
"...those who eat and drink without
discerning the body, eat and drink judg-
ment upon themselves. That is why
many of you are weak and ill, and some
have died" (1 Corinthians 11:29,30).
Granger Westberg and other pastoral
counselors have suggested that physical
illness has spiritual roots in church life.
In fact, they have gone so far as to say
that if a pastor is spending a lot of time
making hospital calls, the church should
begin looking at the spiritual health of
the church and its acceptance of spiritual
guidance in its life together.
This is a foreign way of thinking for
most of us. Is it possible that we have so
divorced body and mind, body and spirit,
that we are not able to tap a great
resource for health?
Clearly the crisis in health care and
the intimation of Scripture calls us to
action. Just as clearly it is no little task
that we face. Fortunately we have a
model that can help us on our way.
That model is Mennonite Central
Committee.
Mennonite Central Committee has
justly become our most respected
institution. Rising above our various
church boundaries, it serves us in our
relief and development ministry world-
wide. At critical periods in our recent
history it has been able to speak for us in
a united voice to the governments of the
United States and Canada. On occasion,
as with the translation and publication of
the Bible commentaries
into the Russian lan-
guage, it has facilitated a
ministry for the wider
church outside its relief
and development
mandate.
Another area under
MCC care has been the
establishment and
direction of a nationally
recognized mental health
hospital and community
care system, the out-
growth of the alternative
service experience in World War II.
That direction has now grown to include
programs for mental health education,
Developmental Disability Services,
management services to Mennonite
hospitals and homes, as wel as other
programs.
The growth of the programs has been
such that MCC U.S. has recommended
that Mennonite Health Services now
establish its relationship to Mennonite
and Brethren in Christ churches inde-
pendent of MCC in the next four years.
Planning to this end is under way.
My hope is that this new direction will
bring health and wellness concern to a
new prominence in our church life, not
only philosophically but institutionally. I
hope MHS may become an equal partner
with MCC, serving the church propheti-
cally in the area of health concern as
MCC has served us in relief ministry.
In this planning I hope that two other
organizations may become uniting
partners at the beginning: Mennonite
Mutual Aid and Mennonite Health
Association and its professional mem-
bers. In this way all areas of health,
wellness, welfare and ethical reflection
could be approached wholistically.
A new configuration would then exist
in our institutional church life. MHS
would be an incorporated board made up
of representatives of the churches, as is
MCC, and representatives of the various
divisions under its direction: wellness,
MMA, DD, psychiatric hospitals, hospi-
tals and homes, MHA. As a board it
would enjoy the same access to and
support from the churches as does MCC.
It would look like this:
Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches
I
MCC
MHS
I I
MCCC MCC U.S.
provinces regions
wellness DD psychiatric hospitals/ MMA
hospitals homes
The mission of the MHS board would
be to give oversight to the various
programs now under MHS, to help
churches reflect on ethical issues in
health care, to strengthen the participa-
tion of churches and institutions in
mutual aid, particularly to use one
medical insurer, MMA. The combined
wisdom of church representatives and
the representatives of the divisions could
bring good counsel to the churches.
Some reflection on the history of MCC
may be helpful in considering this new
body. MCC was born and in part has
flourished because of crisis. Help was
needed by the family of faith suffering
famine in Russia. Refugees were
resettled. War sufferers received relief
236 MAY 22, 1990
spEAk'iNq OUT
in World War II. Civilian Public Service
gave birth to the mental health program.
We forget how slowly the institutional
aspects of offices and buildings and
warehouses grew. It came naturally
with program, as did the constituting of
boards of representation. In the 1920s
who would have thought of MCC Canada
(MCCC), MCC U.S., provincial and
regional boards, sale committees,
Letters
Self-Help Crafts, Peace Section?
It all grew in response to crisis and to
the needs workers found in the places
where they sought to minister.
Today our crisis is health. Our
growing need is for hard ethical decisions
with regard to that care. This calls us to
form the structures that will best help
churches meet a new need and struggle
with understandings of body and soul.
Donald R. Steelberg is
pastor at Lorraine
Avenue Mennonite
Church. 655 S.
Lorraine Ave., Wichita,
KS 67211. He is a
General Conference
member of MCC and
MCC U.S. vice
chairman.
Driving out of Fort Ord
When I returned from Panama Jan. 31,
the letters on my desk were from all
parts of the United States and a few from
Canada. They were all encouraging. All
offered prayer support. Many testified
that their own pilgrimage in faith had
taken them through similar struggles.
Gne couple even invited us to visit their
church and community. Reaching out
was the theme of the Jan. 23 issue of The
Mennonite, and these many people have,
through their letters, reached out to me.
I am appreciative.
It is my intention to respond person-
ally to each of these letters. And I am
grateful that The Mennonite was used to
introduce me. On May 10 we start our
journey. We are anxious to drive out the
gate of Fort Ord, leaving the military
behind. Brian D. Arbuckle, 99 Luzon
Road, Fort Ord, CA 93941
U.S. exports disease
There is agitation in the Orient now, I
think, because probably most of the
Asian countries (Taiwan, Japan, Korea
and Thailand) are more advanced
economically and perhaps more advanced
educationally and in a better position to
fight than other countries. The fight is
against the U.S. government in its trade
policies.
Over the past two years our mission
has been in correspondence with the U.S.
trade representative. We have been
raising moral and ethical objections to
the U.S. government pushing its trade
partners to accept U.S. cigarettes, and
not only accepting them but with
advertising practices that have never
been here before. When the U.S.
cigarettes came in, Marlboro with a
cowboy on a horse, as well as Kent and
others, was plastered all over Taiwan,
and the incidence of junior and senior
high school boys' smoking had a marked
increase. No recognition is given to the
damage being done by this policy. It is
no better than the opium trade because it
will reap millions of deaths from the
effects of tobacco products.
I'm happy to see the American Cancer
Society beginning to pressure against
this practice, but it's going to take
nationwide pressure from people realiz-
ing the terrible things that the United
States is doing. John Seffrin, chairman,
American Cancer Society, says, "In the
last decade we have become the world's
greatest exporter of death and disease.
The tobacco industry has put it into their
own trade magazines that the Asian
Pacific is the marketplace, in large part
to offset the lost sales in the United
States."
Now the U.S. government is pressur-
ing for U.S. alcoholic beverages to be
admitted [to Taiwan] with only a
nominal tax. This will be followed by
U.S. alcoholic advertising, the kind that
is not permitted in the United States.
Taiwan already has enough problems
with alcohol and its effects. Taiwan has
the highest traffic accident rate in the
world, much of it alcohol related. Tai-
wan has a high incidence of cirrhosis of
the liver and the social problems that
come with alcohol. After all the high-
pressure advertising, the U.S. govern-
ment would still say, "They don't have to
drink. We just want them to have equal
access to American alcohol."
I hope the Mennonite constituency
throughout the United States will join in
the pressure on representatives in gov-
ernment to correct these terrible actions.
The U.S. government's position is that
these are necessary to help balance the
trade imbalance. The trade imbalance
wouldn't be such a problem if Americans
exerted more self-control, or should I say
pocketbook control, buying from foreign
nations to the eventual high cost to those
nations in terms of disease and death.
Roland P. Brown, M.D., Superintendent,
Mennonite Christian Hospital, Meilun,
Hwalien, Taiwan, 97047, R.O.C.
Thanks
The last issue [March 13] was worth
reading, and I appreciate particularly
the articles by Susan Classen and by
James Schrag. William Klassen, Toronto
United Mennonite Church, 1772 Queen
St. E., Toronto, ON M4L 1G7
Use Klaassen's articles
We would like to know if it is possible to
receive copies of Walter Klaassen's
articles on Mennonite history (12 in 1989
and more in 1990). We would like to use
these articles. Donna Toews, Cedar Hills
Mennonite Church, 12246-100 Ave.,
Surrey, BC V3V 2X1
Editor's note: Copies of The Mennonite
are available for $2 each, or $1 each for
five or more copies.
Print more about Russia
Thank you so much for printing the
article "Perestroika Hits Soviet Baptists"
[April 10]. It was nice to see 47 candi-
dates lined up for baptism. I am sorry
you missed the big celebration of the 200
years of Mennonites in Russia in Saporo-
shje and Chortitza in August-Septem-
ber. A delegation from Canada, the
United States and West Germany, in-
cluding Peter and Elfrieda Dyck, was
there. I did not see anything from the
report of Jake Harms about his visit to
the far east of our mission fields. John
Sawatzky, 709 Fifth Ave., Mountain
Lake, MN 56159
Editor's note: We mentioned the
delegation in our March 13 issue (page
114). Readers ofDev Bote have been en-
riched by the German reports of Jake
Harms, COM Canadian coordinator.
THE MENNONITE 237
Learn all you can
about writing. . .
Mennonite
writers'
conference
Sept. 21-23, 1990
Cross Wind Conference
Center
Hesston, KS
■ Draw strength from other
writers
■ Improve the quality of writing
available to the publications
and ministries of the Menno-
nite community
H Whether you write for a news-
letter or a newspaper, for pay
or for pleasure, for church or
community, poetry or prose,
sermons or prayers, you will
find here much that applies to
what you have been doing and
what you want to do
■ Open to all
Send inquiries to:
Mennonite Writers' Conference
Box 347
Newton, KS 67114
□ I'm interested. Send me a
brochure.
□ I know I want to come. Send
me a registration form.
Name
Address
City. State/Ptovmce/Code
i mm i iiiiiiiin
238 MAY 22, 1990
REVIEWS
Moral questions
Christian Faith, Health, and Medical
Practice by Hessel Bouma III, Douglas
Diekema, Edward Langerak, Theodore
Rottman, and Allen Verhey (Eerdmans,
1989, 352 pages)
Reviewed by Anne Hershberger, 64328
Limberlost Drive, Goshen, IN 46526
"There just are no good solutions" has for
too long been the response of concerned
people to the difficult bioethical dilem-
mas brought about in part by advances
in medical technology. The five authors
of this book who served as Fellows of the
Calvin Center for Christian Scholarship
at Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Mich.,
in 1985-86 to jointly explore the topic of
this book, have shown in this report of
their year's study and collaboration that
"Christian convictions can guide and
limit the new medical powers." The
authors' stated purpose for this book is
"to express our faith in God in the
context of the new powers of medicine
and to suggest what faithfulness to God
requires of those who deliver and receive
medical care."
These scholars acknowledge that
although Scripture does not give direct
answers to what we ought or ought not
do in specific ethical dilemmas, it does
speak with authority to questions about
the dispositions, intentions, principles
and convictions that should form our
character and finally shape our conduct.
Initially the authors share their con-
victions about God and about the human
beings who image God. Then they
consider the place of these convictions in
a pluralistic society and the relationship
of such convictions to medicine and
medical technology. The moral questions
that emerge from medicine's ever-
increasing power are presented in careful
detail. These are questions about the
allocation of resources, technologically
assisted reproduction, abortion, genetic
control and counseling, and appropriate
care for the dying. A helpful element in
these discussions is the authors' willing-
ness to state their carefully considered
position on these difficult issues — not in
absolute terms but in a manner that
recognizes the need for varied responses
in given circumstances.
The last chapter becomes a test case
for the concepts presented in the previ-
ous 10 chapters as acquired immuno-
deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is examined.
The reader is reminded in considering
AIDS that despite medicine's extraordi-
nary new powers, it is not as powerful as
supposed. After describing the disease,
the appropriate human and Christian
responses to it are discussed by restating
some of the affirmations and conclusions
of the previous chapters.
This book provides a unique and a
valuable addition to the growing litera-
ture on bioethics with its carefully
reasoned and well-articulated Christian
response to difficult dilemmas. It is
valuable for scholars as well as lay
people.
I I I I I lilMS
The price of glory
Henry V, adapted and directed by
Kenneth Branagh, produced by Bruce
Sharman
Reviewed by Gordon Houser, assistant
editor
Few plays of Shakespeare get made
anymore, and fewer still are done as well
as this one. Kenneth Branagh, the
brilliant, brash young actor/director pulls
off a stunning performance in the play
Laurence Olivier also directed and
starred in 45 years earlier.
This version of Henry V is fast-paced,
filled with superb acting. The director
likes to use closeups to show the feelings
as well as the telling glances of each
character. In the long, climactic scene of
the battle at Agincourt the camera slows
the action and focuses on the crowded,
hand-to-hand fighting.
While Shakespeare's play lauds the
English army with patriotic fervor, these
battle scenes show the price of that glory
with scene after scene of war's horror,
the indiscriminate slaughter on the
muddy battlefield.
One experiences a sense of dislocation
in viewing Henry V, not only from the
eloquence of these rough men s language,
which is the Bard's magic, but also from
the many religious references. As the
men call on God and pray before going
into battle to face almost impossible
odds, one feels conflicting emotions:
disgust at imploring God's help for such
an ungodly deed, and respect and awe at
their faith and courage.
The final scene, in which King Henry
woos Katherine, when neither knows the
other's language, is hillarious, as the
themes of love and death are played out
in this magnificent adaptation.
MEdnwrioN
Walk with the Lord
Rudy Froese
Do you like to walk? Are you conscious of walking, of
going in a given direction by moving your feet? Just
putting one foot in front of the other in a forward
locomotion?
Have you ever watched others walk? Just stand aside and
watch them walk as they go by. Some people walk fast, as if
someone is following them. Others walk slowly, as if moving
fast would strip a gear. Some walk with a limp. My dad does.
We used to imitate his walk. It was fun. He thought it was
fun, too. Some walk with short steps and use many of them.
Some take long strides so that just a few go a long way.
Have you ever watched a man who is tall and a woman who
is short walk together? He walks, she runs.
Some people walk as if their shoes pinch. Some shuffle along
as if their shoes will fall off. Some kick back with every step;
others walk stifflegged.
Why all this talk about walking? Why am I walking and
talking? It's fun to walk alone or with a friend. Those who
have pain or a short leg or stiff joints from rheumatism are
always aware of walking. It hurts to walk. Those who use
wheelchairs would like to walk.
The Bible talks of walking, walking consciously, carefully,
aware of direction, alert to obstacles, with a goal in mind. The
Bible tells the story of many walkers, people who had to walk
through life. Some walked happily; some ran madly down the
road. Some walked with pain. Some in blindness felt their
way. Others walked on lame, sore legs. Some walked with God.
How we walk is important. God said to Abraham, "Walk
before me and be perfect." That's hard to do. The writer of
Proverbs says, "In all your ways (in all your walking) acknowl-
edge God, trust in God." Jesus said, "I am the way." It is not
at the end of the way that we find Christ. He is the Way. He is
the road under our feet. The road begins where we happen to
be.
If we are in a hole of struggle or depression, the way to walk
with God begins right there. When we set our feet in God's
direction, we walk with God.
We all have our own way of walking. The way we walk is
how we move through life. Whatever way we walk through our
day, through our whole life, is important to us, to our friends,
to our family, to people we meet, and it is important to God.
Can we walk through life with purpose, seeing those who
walk with you, helping those who at times stumble, allowing
someone to help you, stopping to talk to the walker beside you?
We are called to walk with God, in God's way, for God's
purpose, with joy and with love.
Rudy Froese is pastor at Rosthern Mennonite
Church, Box 519, Rosthern, SK SOK 3R0.
Jesus Christ of
Nazareth has not
suffered for us or
made satisfaction
for us in any way
unless we stand in
his footsteps, walk
the way he blazed
before us and fol-
low the command
of the Father as
the Son, everyone
in his measure.
Jacob Kautz, 1527
THE MENNONITE 239
NEWS 01 00 2? 031 3 21
LIBRARY
ASSOC MFMN BIBLICAL S EM
30 03 BENHAM AV E
ELKHA y T I N 46517
EdlTORIAl — —
Are you still a Mennonite?
e Mennonites are the folks who exemplify "the
most nearly faithful form of Christian witness,"
says United Methodist theologian Stanley Hauerwas.
We are the group that holds with the idea (radical and
illegal in 16th-century Europe) that the current Chris-
tian community is the apostolic (or past) community and
is the eschatalogical (or future) community. In other
words, what Jesus said in the first century applies to us
now. This, says Southern Baptist seminary professor
James William McClendon, is the key Anabaptist idea.
Hauerwas and McClendon are quoted in the March 5
issue of Christianity Today. The article is "The Refor-
mation Radicals Ride Again," and its author is Seventh-
Day Adventist pastor Charles Scriven.
Many of us — like immature and insecure people since
the beginning of time — have a tendency to feel OK about
ourselves only when someone we respect says we're OK.
We tend to look to others for approval. Until we feel
approved of we tend to be quiet, even invisible, often
adapting to the crowd. In extreme cases we are
ashamed of our theological ancestors and try, in one way
or another, to change our names. If we find ourselves
in this frame of mind, the name "Mennonite" embar-
rasses us. We wait for someone to tell us who we are.
My sense is that currently we are on a downward
slide. I feel this when congregations (and at least one
denomination) drop the word "Mennonite" from their
names or signs. I feel this when I hear people say they
don't want to receive the denomination's magazine or
support the denomination's schools or use our denomi-
nation's church school curriculum. This self-hatred
attitude says, "If it's ours it can't possibly be good."
When my colleague Daniel Hertzler (editor of Gospel
Herald) reported on the beginnings of the now-annual
meetings of Mennonites and Presbyterians to talk about
peace, he concluded like this: It remains to be seen if
Mennonites can keep from falling off the peace band-
wagon while other Christians hop on. Similarly, it
remains to be seen if the spiritual sons and daughters of
Menno will stay in the family of radical Christianity
while others ask to be adopted in.
Here's a checklist of who we are, according to Hauer-
was, McClendon and Scriven. Check yourself. Are you
still a Mennonite? If not, do you want to be?
•We are the spiritual descendants of a tiny group of
Swiss people who disagreed (in Zurich, Switzerland)
with Reformer Ulrich Zwingli on the subject of the
Lord's Supper. They decided to sort things out by
meeting for home Bible study. This was against the law.
•They said that Scripture must be central, but they
guarded against worshiping the Bible.
•These same dissidents (by then called rebaptizers or
Anabaptists) considered their loyalty to Jesus Christ
more important than loyalty to any other cause or
practice or institution or person.
•They understood Jesus' resurrection to "certify"
compassion and non-violence. They decided that they,
too, should act with compassion and non-violence.
•They figured that their life together was Jesus'
presence in the world, and they should act accordingly.
•They offended their society by breaking from it.
They said that people were not Christian by birth.
Rather, one should decide whether or not to be a Chris-
tian. (For that insight they were executed by burning
and drowning. After all, they were eroding the state
church's tax base.)
•They said the church and the state were not inte-
grally linked (a piece of wisdom that much of the world
now takes for granted).
•They said that the church must challenge worldly
assumptions and strive to change the surrounding
society.
Is this a heritage we want to live up to? With or
without the approval of the "outside," it is the taproot
of this magazine and those called Mennonite.
Would you like to join — or renew your commitment
to — this group? Beware, we're earthy, faulty. We've
been ripped by divisions. Baptism, for example, as
spoken of in this issue (page 220), is one of them. Par-
ticularly in Canada the form of baptism (immersion
versus pouring) among different branches of Mennonites
resulted over the years in deep rifts in families and
congregations. Some pain lingers, even after confession
and forgiveness and increasing maturity.
Nevertheless, let us aspire to live up to our heritage.
Muriel T. Stackley
THE MENIMONfTE
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
of
fif
105:11 JUNE 12, 1990
Lord, save us
from cynicism
How much land
is enough?
This seed grew
in Katie's Woods
Ray Epp stands at the base of one
of Fort Riley's 40-foot cannons
on the Kansas prairie.
See his indictment of the
military and agribusiness on
page 246.
pnoloquE
Among the many gifts from our schools is
help in sorting out current events in the
light of the gospel. The "current event"
on people's lips just now is the environment.
Listen to Tom Lehman (page 248), Sally
Weaver Sommer (page 255) and Bob Regier
(page 263). I invite you to join the conver-
sation. The Mennonite is a place to converse.
Periodically I must give you an accounting
of the several special funds that this magazine
has. "Prisoners' subscriptions" now stands at
$59. (We had another request from a prisoner
in May.) "India subscriptions" has $23 in it.
Four subscriptions begun a year ago are up for
renewal. Pastors in Bharatiya General Con-
ference Mennonite Church receive The
Mennonite with funds from the Commission
on Overseas Mission, but these four people are
not pastors. The cost is $34 per year, an
astronomical amount compared to Indian
salaries. The third account is "gift subscrip-
tions," used when people in Canada or the
United States say they want The Mennonite
but can't afford it. That fund now has a
smashing $.95 in it. If any of these catches
your imagination, send earmarked dollars to
Doris Yoder, circulation secretary, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114.
Get ready for Assembly 12
of Mennonite World Con-
ference. "Our youth group
still has its normal Bible
studies and continuous fun,
but our first priority is
Winnipeg," write Fanaida Chavez and Carlos
Gonzalez in the Houston Mennonite Church
Newsletter. They recycled glass, aluminum,
and newspapers and "are trying to get a school
bus to fix up for cheaper transportation."
The results of stories like this will be evi-
denced July 24-29. Let us pray much for one
another, for those traveling, for those who
would like to come but can't.
At least two specific "love-of-creation" events
are included in Assembly 12, which celebrates
"Witnessing to Christ in Today's World."
These are an afternoon service, July 25, on
"Justice, Peace and the Integrity of Creation"
and a Christian Peacemakers Teams worship
on private land near an intercontinental
ballistic missile site in North Dakota, this on
the afternoon of July 27. One of the largest
gatherings of peace churches in history is
taking place only a three-hour drive from one
of the greatest concentrations of military
might in history. May God help us as we
discern the spirits. Muriel T. Stackley
1990 Winnipe
CONTENTS
MCI hits the century mark / 243
Lord, save us from cynicism / 244
No thought imposes / 245
How much land is enough? / 246
How will we make electricity? / 248
Anna Jansz of Briel, 1510-1539 / 249
News / 250
Ethiopian Mennonites emerge alive and well / 250
Eastern District report / 251
Farm unions: a dilemma for churches / 255
Record / 256
Resources / 259
Letters / 261
Reviews / 262
Propping up men / 262
A leader's journey / 262
This seed grew in Katie's Woods / 263
Name calling / 263
'Mennonite Christian' is redundant / 264
Cover: Photo by Brooks Anderson
Correction: James William McClendon (quoted in the May 22 editorial)
teaches at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, an Episcopal seminary.
MENNONITE
Editorial offices: 722 Mam St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100. Editor:
Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant: Angela Rempel;
art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the Associated Church Press,
Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a Mennnonite and Brethren in Christ
editors' group). It is an associate member of the Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretaries: Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, and Rose Retzlaff, 600
Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4. Business manager: Dietrich Rempel. Special
editions editors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North Newton, KS 671 17;
Window to Mission, Lois Decked, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14; Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, Richard A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1, Carstairs. AB TOM 0N0, (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2S 1V7; (Central District) in
process; (Eastern District) Curtis Bauman, 429 N. Second St., Emmaus, PA 18049;
(Manitoba) in process; (Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada) Margo Fieguth, 99
Veronica Drive, Mississauga, ON L5G 2B1 ; (Northern District) Winifred Wall, Box 67,
Freeman, SD 57029; (Pacific District) Clare Ann Ruth-Heffelbower, 3198 E. Menlo Ave.,
Fresno, CA 93710; (Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger, 125 Rawlinson Bay, Regina, SK S4S
6M8,; (Western District) Leland Harder, Box 363, North Newton. KS 67117.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 14 years of The Mennonite are also
available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College, North Newton, KS 671 1 7, and
from University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106.
Circulation: 10,228
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build the
Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the guidance of
the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly by the General Conference
Mennonite Church, 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14. Subscription rates: one
year, $18 U.S., $21 Canada; two years, $32 U.S., $38 Canada; three years, $44 U.S., $52
Canada. Outside North America add $1 6 U.S. per year to U. S. rate for surface mail,
$67.68 U.S. for airmail. Single copies: $2 U.S. Five or more: $1 U.S. each. Second class
postage paid at Newton, Kan., and additional mailing offices. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMAS-
TER: Send Form 3579 to The Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. ©1990
242 JUNE 12, 1990
The academic building of Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Gretna, Man.
MCI hits the century mark
Laurie Schellenberg
ew people make it to this ripe old
age. However, George K. Reimer,
an MCI graduate of 1916 and
respected retired teacher from the
Steinbach area, is only a few years
younger. Speaking to the students, he
said, "I wouldn't say life is unfair. I
think life is an ongoing series of interest-
ing, challenging experiences."
This attitude has kept the Mennonite
Collegiate Institute young in spirit. This
residential school for grades 9-12
celebrated its 100th birthday during the
1989-90 school year. Although its name
was changed twice during the first 17
years of its existence, the "Gretna school"
was the first post-elementary Mennonite
school established in Canada, the second
oldest in North America — second only to
Bethel College in North Newton, Kan.
When the school opened its doors in
1889, its primary purpose was to educate
teachers for Manitoba Mennonite com-
munity schools. From 1891 until the
early 1960s, MCI provided hundreds of
teachers and community leaders with a
thorough academic education taught
from a Mennonite perspective. When
high school graduation ceased to be the
minimum requirement for teacher
training in Manitoba, the school's focus
shifted to preparing young people for
Christian service in a variety of profes-
sions.
MCI has changed considerably since
the student days of George K. Reimer. It
introduced intervarsity athletics,
developed a flourishing music program
and broadened academic programs to
include French, computer science and
career preparation. But even MCFs
founders would feel at home in the Bible
and church history courses, daily chapels
or at a choir practice.
Events during the past year commemo-
rated MCI. The Centennial Speaker
Series, with a theme of "Christian
Perspectives on Peacemaking," featured
five guest speakers from across Canada
and the world, including Father Elias
Chacour, a Palestinian Arab Christian
working toward a peaceful resolution to
the Middle East conflict.
The Centennial Concert Series
showcased the generous musical talents
of many MCI alumni and current
students. Concerts took place through-
out Manitoba. Three commissioned
works were written by alumni for this
special year: the musical "CrossRoad" by
Tim Wiebe and Esther Wiebe, the drama
"Elizabeth" by Erica Ens and the cantata
"Psalm Cyklus" by Leonard Ens.
All three of these commissioned works
will be performed at MCFs climactic
Centennial Homecoming July 20-22,
when an estimated 1,500 friends and
alumni (with their families) will return
to Gretna. A new history of MCI by
Gerhard J. Ens, Die Schule Muss Seiii
[The School Must Be], is expected to be
available by the homecoming weekend.
Also during this centennial year, MCI
is embarking on a fund drive to raise
$2.3 million for a new residence and
cafeteria. Alumni and current students
enthusiastically agree that the residence
is a vital part of their MCI experience.
The new facilities are essential to
MCFs continued role in providing the
Mennonite community with young people
of spiritual and personal strength
committed to Christian discipleship.
Gifts to the campaign now total well over
$1 million.
We at Mennonite Collegiate Institute
look back over its rich beginnings and
thank God for grace and guidance. MCI
looks toward a promising second century
of service to the church and community.
Laurie Schellenberg, Box 250, Gretna,
MB R0G 0V0, is on the staff of Men nonite
Collegiate Institute and has coordinated
the considerable publicity surrounding its
centennial.
THE MENNONITE 243
Lord, save
We must help students tie their old idealism to their newfound realism.
Rumor has it that a graduate of
one of our Mennonite colleges
threatened to file a lawsuit
against his school. The charge?
He claimed that the campus where he
had spent the previous four years of his
life — exposed to academia's rigors and
the world's realities — had given him a
negative outlook on life.
A silly proposition? Maybe so. But
this student's claim needs to be taken se-
riously. Are there structures (implicit or
explicit) on our campuses that foster
negativism among students, that sow the
seeds for a cynical mindset?
Of course, it is natural for the college
years to be full of grappling with life's
incongruities and injustices. The recon-
struction of idealism is a healthy pruning
process in each person's journey towards
a deeper understanding of the world.
Students and professors need intellectual
freedom to search for truth — be it ugly or
even sacrilegious.
I would like to see more energy given
to helping students tie their old idealism
with newfound realism. I fear that we
throw crucial issues and questions at
students and then (in the name of
"intellectual freedom" or perhaps fear of
indoctrination) leave them to wallow in
the abyss of this foundation-shaking
uncertainty. They try to find meaning to
it all on the basis of a Sunday-school-
answers-faith.
How can we as faculty best assist
students in this process of reshaping
their faith in relation to new thought?
244 JUNE 12, 1990
BEYOND BELIEF
It's a winding, narrow road. No two
journeys are the same. But isn't it what
can make the Christian college experi-
ence dynamic, agonizing and inspiring?
What I think we teachers need to do is
be more willing to take part in those
journeys. We pose challenges, yes, but
we should also share answers we have
found on our own journeys. These
answers offer options, directions, possible
roads. If we have no sense of journey, no
sense of faith to share, then we should
seriously question whether we're teach-
ing in the right place. Perhaps our
journeys aren't smooth ones, perhaps we
feel as if we are still searching for an-
swers. That's OK. In fact, such vulnera-
bility makes it that much easier to relate
to students.
I remember, from my student days,
listening to the naked honesty of my
psychology professor during a chapel
address. "I have doubts, many doubts,
and my faith isn't strong right now. But
I do stand on it," he said. "And that's my
message for you today." He was flooded
with notes and letters: "Thanks for your
openness," students wrote him. "You
lent me encouragement."
My concern about negativism focuses
on our college campuses because they are
the seedbed for thought in our church
now and in the future. Negativism leads
to cynicism. Allowed to infiltrate one's
thinking and living, it is like a crippling
disease. Indeed, it is the antithesis of
the hope we have in Christ.
I find it hard to empathize with those
who call themselves cynics. Cynicism
stems from arrogance. Who are we, who
enjoy freedoms and middle-class life-
styles, to complain about our lot in life?
Isn't it ironic that the most needy people
in the world (I have seen it in the eyes of
a Central American refugee) are often
the most grateful for what they have and
strong in their faith? Yes, we have much
to learn from such people about cynicism,
gratefulness and faith.
Let us examine our own understand-
ings of "reality" and how they affect our
ideals. Let us hold fast to our faith as we
deliberately live it out, both on our
campuses of higher learning and in our
church as a whole.
Ann Minter teaches
English at Hesston
iKan.) College. This
summer she is working
at Camp Friedenswald,
Cassopolis, Mich.
No
thought
imposes
Anita Speer Smith
It seems a silent speaking back and forth,
and not a blending. I, yet not I, invisible
but upward seeing, am addressed:
"Are you there?"
Shaken as if the cloud-curtained distances
with a first kiss conferred their sudden knowing,
I take the wordless vow no thought imposes:
"Yes, I am here."
There storms in me then the truth of all I lack
of steadfastness and grace and clarity
as these are shown to me here in the dark
there in the light.
Anita Speer Smith is a member of First Mennonite
Church, Indianapolis.
THE MENNONITE 245
To the military and agribusiness:
How much
Ray Epp
WD i
is enou
Nothing focuses the mind like con-
templating death. You give little
effort to the non-essentials so that
you can address important matters with
utmost care. Overlooking Fort Riley, a
military base in northeast Kansas, I con-
templated death one night — not my own
but the death of over 300 farm families'
relationship to their land, their churches,
their community and their history.
Peace is costly. It's nice when someone
else picks up the tab. After reading
through the Western District Conference
( 1989) Resolution on Fort Riley, I was
concerned that the costly way of peace
was being hidden from our eyes. I firmly
oppose the expansion of Fort Riley;
wherever evil seeks to divide and
destroy, it must be resisted. My concern
is that the increased technological
capability of new equipment was not
mentioned in the resolution. Under-
standing the impact of technological
changes on people, land and communities
will offer us fresh opportunities for
peacemaking in the future.
The Western District resolution ac-
knowledges that "a dramatic and tragic
increase in the displacement of farm
families from their land and homes," has
taken place in "recent years." "Displace-
ment has led to the decline of a once
healthy rural economy and to the demise
of many rural communities." Protecting
natural resources is also acknowledged
as vital to "local, regional and national
interests." Fort Riley is being "grossly
irresponsible" in its use of natural re-
sources and is polluting streams.
So what is the solution: The resolution
says, in so many words, Fort Riley, clean
up your act. Congress, block the land
purchase. Environmental Protection
Agency, launch an environmental impact
study.
To me this is not enough. A "spirit" is
at work among us to divide us from the
earth. We need only look at agriculture,
as it is being practiced by most North
American farmers to see another mani-
festation of its destructive nature.
Agriculture has done more to destroy
people and rural communities than the
expansion of Fort Riley ever will.
Agricultural technology and policy has
displaced 20 million people and 4.8
million farms from rural America in the
last 50 years. That works out to 1,800
farms per week for the last 50 years.
Where was the uproar over this loss?
The economy of rural America, it could
be argued, has never been healthy. From
its beginning agriculture has exploited
the abundant fertility of the prairie soils,
which took 25,000 years to accumulate.
The plow initiated the oxidation of
organic matter in our soils, making large
stores of fertility available to plant
growth. We have convinced ourselves
that spending this ecological inheritance
for the sake of a present high standard of
living is just. If it is not thought of as
just, it is probably not thought of at all.
We need only to remind ourselves of an
earlier ecological disaster on the prairies,
the Dust Bowl. Speculation was one of
the driving forces in the development of
the Great Plains from 1900 to 1929,
when 49 million acres of prairie soils
were broken by the plow in the eight
principle plains states. Much of this
should never have been broken. The
Dust Bowl was a manmade disaster — the
failure resulting from ignoring the limits
of the land.
When the natural fertility goes and the
local economy and community fails, it is
so easy to find a scapegoat. Then it was
the weather; today we blame Fort Riley.
We too must take responsibility for
destroying our land. Right behavior can
come only when we acknowledge our own
failures.
It can be argued that agriculture has
done more to undermine the security of
this nation than the expansion of Fort
Riley ever will. Soil loss during the Dust
Bowl years was 3 billion tons a year in
the United States. By the 1980s soil loss
had increased to over 4 billion tons
annually. That is the equivalent of
nearly 20 tons of soil for every man,
woman and child in this nation every
year. How long can such a tragedy
continue? We are creating a land that
may become uninhabitable. Prudence
calls us to look after the welfare of our
Richard Crowson, courtesy of The Wichita Eagle
246 JUNE 12, 1990
children's children and not hope that
Christ's return will save them from our
lack of foresight and care.
Ho w do we respond to this ecological
damage? Do we tell farmers to just clean
up their act? Do we tell the U.S. Con-
gress to block farm program payments
until ecological damage is eliminated?
Do we ask the Environmental Protection
Agency to launch an investigation?
Agribusiness (treating farming as a
business, not as a way of life) is just as
guilty of displacing people, destroying
rural communities, failing to protect the
soil and polluting the land as Fort Riley.
Jesus wept over Fort Riley with me
that night as he had over Jerusalem.
"Would that even today you knew the
things that make for peace. But now
they are hid from your eyes" (Luke
19:41). Recognizing our participation in
the destruction of the world seems to be
what is hidden from our eyes. We have
been undoing the integrities of nature
while destroying our land and our home.
We cannot continue to focus on growth
and progress without facing the eventual
destruction of our land and, conse-
quently, ourselves.
Bigger machines: What is called for in
these times is the moral strength to
name the spirit at work in the technology
we use. The technologies that we use are
a reflection of our relationship to the
land. We can ask, "Is my action serving
to enhance the life and security of the
land, the community and myself? Or is it
destructive?"
As in agriculture, Fort Riley has been
preoccupied with progress. In 1989 they
have received 165 Bradley Fighting
Vehicles to complement the 250 M-l
Abrams tanks they received a few years
earlier. Eighteen Black Hawk helicop-
ters have been delivered as well as an
unknown number of Apache Attack
helicopters. Now Fort Riley officials are
requesting more land because of the
equipment's ability to drive faster and
shoot farther. The need of machines is
the underlying reason for base expan-
sion. This must be resisted as evil.
"Technology, though the product of
man, tends to develop by its own laws
and principles," says E.F. Schumacher in
Small Is Beautiful. "These are different
from. ..nature. Nature always. ..knows
where and when to stop. Greater even
than the mystery of natural growth is
the mystery of the cessation of growth.
There is measure in all natural things —
in their size, speed or violence. Technol-
ogy recognizes no self-limiting principle."
Bigger machines need more land. Be it
the need of large-scale agricultural
One of the proposed areas of expansion for Fort Riley includes parts of three
Kansas counties — Chase, Marion and Morris. The following data is from
Jerry D. Will, superintendent of school district #397:
Number of acres: 30, 720
Appraised value (for tax purposes)*: $5,039,680
Market value (what it's worth)*: $10,253,480
Assessed value*: $1,271,040
Homesites*: 49
School-age children: 26
* information received from county appraiser on April 2
The Kansas Farm Bureau Marketing Division in Manhattan measured the
agricultural economic impact of Fort Riley expansion into the different
possible areas:
Mitchell, Ottawa and Cloud counties: $15.53 million
Clay and Dickinson counties: $31.5 million
Morris, Marion and Chase counties: $13.94 million
Lincoln and Ottawa counties: $11.44 million
For more information write to the following addresses:
Preserve the Heartland, Box 127, Burdick, KS 66838
Preserve the Flint Hills, Keith Asher, Box 607, Junction City, KS 66441
Preserve Rural America, Diane Dodds, Box 344, Riley, KS 66531
Tom Meek, Route 5, Clay Center, KS 67432
machines or the military, people are
beginning to see what violence is being
done by technologies. Healthy communi-
ties and a healthy nation depend on a
large majority of people loving and
caring for the land.
The land itself is also groaning with
the burdens of pollution. Nitrates and
pesticides are showing up in ground-
water all around the country. Fort Riley
has 6,000 acres of land that will cost $12
billion to clear of shrapnel and undeto-
nated bombs. Be it from agriculture or
the military, land abuse cannot go on.
Nature's justice will be carried out.
Security comes in belonging to a place
and to a people. I hope we can recover
our biblical roots and pronounce, "Woe to
him who adds field to field." And,
"Blessed are the meek, for they shall
inherit the earth."
The prophetic voice is to ensure that
the land is not polluted or destroyed; to
do so is to dishonor the gift as well as the
Giver. The prophetic voice ensures that
the land is a place of belonging and
security for all people; not just the
possessors of power. In short, the land is
holy and ought to be treated as such.
My hope is that in our experience we
begin to see that the way of peace
involves more than opposing military
service and expansion. Peace involves
building just relationships between
people, land and God. This may mean
getting involved in ways we are unaccus-
tomed to in addition to building strong
communities at home.
We have within us the ability to choose
our future. To disregard this broader
understanding of peace is to condemn the
land, ourselves and the Christian
community to destruction.
Ray Epp, 211 Home St., Winnipeg, MB R3G
1X2, grew up on a
farm near Henderson,
Neb. He studied at the
Land Institute in
Salina, Kan., before re-
turning to Winnipeg,
having graduated
earlier from the
University of Winnipeg
and Mennonite
Brethren Bible College.
THE MENNONITE 247
SpEAkiNq OUT
How will we make electricity?
How much will we make?
Fear of catastrophe: Three-Mile Island nuclear plant and a nearby farm in Pennsylvania
Thomas Lehman
The demand for electricity in the
United States has been met in part
by nuclear generation since 1955. Today
it supplies about 18 percent of the
electricity produced in the United States.
In Canada the figure is 11.5 percent.
Civilian uses of nuclear energy grew out
of techniques developed for the produc-
tion of terrible weapons. As a result, we
respond more keenly to real or assumed
nuclear problems than to those that arise
when the steam that makes electricity is
produced in other ways.
The mining and burning of coal cause
problems. Deaths due to mine accidents
are a tragic reminder that some give
their lives to meet our energy demands.
Extraction of oil also takes lives, as in
refinery fires and on drilling platforms at
sea.
Nuclear generation of electricity makes
no direct contribution to the greenhouse
effect, and the mining of uranium has
caused a miniscule number of deaths.
These and other factors in favor of
nuclear energy are argued by Petr
Beckmann in The Health Hazards of Not
Going Nuclear. He points out that the
construction of a weapon from stolen
nuclear materials is sufficiently difficult
that anyone bent on terrorizing a large
population would find other methods far
easier to implement . The nuclear
industry is also dogged by the mispercep-
tion that an explosive nuclear blast can
occur within a nuclear plant in case of
severe malfunction. The explosion at
Chernobyl was chemical, not nuclear.
The escape of radioactivity was a conse-
quence of the rupture of the plant
structure.
Why then is the use of nuclear energy
to make electricity perennially controver-
sial? One reason is its ties, both histori-
cal and operational, to military activity.
People are wary because they don't
expect to hear all the news when disclo-
sure might somehow be tied to weapons
production. Second, any enterprise
based on enormously expensive equip-
ment will do its best to minimize the
impact of bad news in order to protect
the investment. Third, many people
believe that nuclear plants present a tiny
risk of an enormous and sudden catastro-
phe. Our burning of vast amounts of
carbon-containing fuels (oil, coal, natural
gas) is probably a far greater threat
because of the greenhouse effect . Fourth
is the fear that stored radioactive wastes
will not stay where they are buried. This
issue may now be more political than
technological. Fifth, we don't know the
total cost of nuclear plant operation
because we have not yet had to lay to
rest those that are no longer usable.
Sixth, the nature of radioactive materials
is inherently frightening because
harmful amounts can easily go unde-
tected. The same is true of the most
dangerous toxic substances in the
environment.
Ours has been called "a civilization
addicted to abundance." The research
commitment to nuclear energy has far
surpassed our commitment to alternative
sources. It's as if we're discarding geo-
thermal options. But no technology, nor
all of them together, can meet indefi-
nitely sustained growth in demand for
electrical energy. It follows that reduc-
tion of demand is ultimately more
important than increase in production.
Surely Christians can combat the "more
is better" syndrome by proclaiming a
gospel of spiritual, not material gains.
Thomas Lehman,
graduate of Bluffton
(Ohio) College, is
chemistry professor at
Bethel College and a
member of Bethel
College Mennonite
Church, both in North
Newton, Kan.
248 JUNE 12, 1990
Anna Jansz of Briel, 1510-1539
Anabaptist
saints
with
feet
of clay
Third
in a
series
of six
Walter Klaassen
Anna Jansz was led to her execution by
drowning in Rotterdam on Jan. 24, 1539.
On the way she handed her baby son to
an unknown man who promised to look
after him.
Anna was baptized early in 1534 at a
time when virtually all Anabaptists in
the Netherlands expected Christ to
return soon, and everything they did was
related to that expectation. The most
dramatic event of 1534 and 1535 was
that Anabaptists gained control of the
city of Munster, which was to be a refuge
for God's endtime church. When they
had to undertake the defense of the city
because it was besieged by the army of
the bishop of Munster, they developed
the view that they were God's elect,
marked with the sign of tau (Ezekiel 9:4,
Revelation 9:4) and chosen to carry out
God's vengeance on all unbelievers.
During this time Anna composed a
song entitled "I Can Hear the Trumpet
Sounding." The trumpet heard by Anna
was the seventh trumpet of Revelation
11:15, which announced rewards for
God's suffering servants and the destruc-
tion of his enemies. Stanza 11 reads
thus:
The Lord is preparing a feast
From the flesh of kings and princes....
Come all you birds, come quickly,
I will feed you the flesh of princes.
As they have done, shall be done to
them.
You servants of the Lord, be of good
cheer.
Wash your feet in the blood of the
godless;
This shall be the reward for those who
robbed us.
Anna had become a follower of David
Joris, an important Anabaptist leader of
the time. After the Anabaptist kingdom
of Munster was destroyed in 1535, Joris
and his followers, like Menno Simons
and his followers, were fiercely perse-
cuted. Joris went into hiding and for a
time lived with two women, one of whom
was Anna. Joris and Anna fell in love
with each other, although they avoided a
sexual relationship. But Anna was
already married, and there was some
excitement when her husband, who had
fled to England, returned to claim his
wife. Anna refused to talk to him, and
he, understandably, accused her of
unfaithfulness. A reconciliation was
effected, and Anna joined her husband in
England. In November 1538 she re-
turned without her husband but with a
15-month old son named Isaiah, in order
to consult with Joris, whom she hailed as
a prophet and as the "most godly" of the
Anabaptist leaders. On her way to Delft
she and a female companion were
arrested.
The testament Anna wrote for her son
is preserved in the Martyrs Mirror (pp.
453-54). Some echoes of the "Trumpet
Song" can still be heard, but by 1538 the
vision of naked vengeance had disap-
peared among the followers of Joris.
Instead there is an emphasis on patient
suffering, the lot of all true followers of
the Lamb.
It was likely this tone of her testament
plus the typical Anabaptist admonitions
to be faithful to Christ alone that led to
the inclusion of Anna among the mar-
tyrs. For the editor of Martyrs Mirror,
had he known Anna's whole story, would
never have included anyone who advo-
cated vengeance as Anna did, nor anyone
who was known to be a follower of David
Joris.
Walter Klaassen, Site
12A, C. 23, Route 7,
Vernon, BC V1T 7Z3,
continues his search for
feet of clay among our
Anabaptist forebears.
THE MENNONITE 249
Mennonite Urban Ministries staff remembered with
gratitude Joyce Holsopple Guatsche (1959-1990) in
the Arvada (Colo.) Mennonite Church's newsletter.
She was on staff only two years before she died,
having contracted AIDS during a Mennonite Central
Committee assignment in Jamaica. Among other
tasks on staff she conducted a study of all food banks
in Colorado and documented the increased requests
for food and the increased needs of food banks in the
state. The staff remembered her patience, compas-
sion and understanding. "In her death," the newsletter
reads, "she taught all of us about courage, accep-
tance, serenity and strength."
Since 1970, attempts have been made to
develop an ongoing spiritual community for
Mennonites coming from traditional settings
to New York. These efforts culminated on
Easter Sunday when 12 people became
charter members of Manhattan (N.Y.)
Mennonite Fellowship, reports pastor John
Rempel. The congregation hopes to be a
faithful witness for Christ while taking
seriously the metropolitan world where it is
located. MMF meets at 5 p.m. on Sundays
and at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays.
NEWS
After eight years underground
Ethiopian Mennonites emerge alive and well
Kassa Agafari talks with Irvin
Richert at the recent Eastern
District Conference sessions.
Salunga, Pa. (EMBMC)— "Our
bank accounts, our church
buildings and our freedoms
were taken away, but in
exchange God gave us life,"
said Kassa Agafari, Ethiopian
pastor who visited in Pennsyl-
vania in May. He described
God's blessing on Meserete
Kristos Church (the Ethiopian
Mennonite Church) during the
past eight years of government
restrictions. Relaxed tensions
in the country have now
allowed the church to come
above ground, and MKC
leaders have finally allowed the
church's story to appear in
print.
"We were dispossessed, as a
tornado dispossesses you,"
said Kassa. "But God provides
relief. We need to be shaken
by God's power."
Kassa said he thought there
was no more religious persecu-
tion in Ethiopia. He agreed that
new religious freedom in
Ethiopia was linked to similar
changes in the Soviet Union
and Eastern Europe.
In a dramatic change,
government officials recently
encouraged Meserete Kristos
Church leaders to build church
buildings and to hold public
meetings. MKC representa-
tives met with the national
minister of religion earlier this'
year and received permission
to build churches, Kassa said.
Ten congregations have
voiced their desire to build.
The previous church buildings
had been taken by the govern-
ment and are being used for
other purposes.
Even with the new freedom,
the 1 7,000 members of the
church continue to meet in
house fellowships. Five to
seven people form a "cell
group," and two to four of these
(a maximum of 20 people) form
a "house fellowship." Each
congregation is a collection of
these house fellowships. Cell
groups meet weekly. House
fellowships meet monthly to
celebrate the Lord's Supper.
Kassa said that even with
restrictions removed, the house
fellowships will continue
because it is in the small
groups that people know and
Your life is so easy.
How can the church
be the church
where you have no
opposition? Yakuta
Abdo, wife of recently
deceased Kelifa Ali,
who was executive
secretary of MKC
disciple each other. He said
persecution was good for the
growth of the church. "When
we had freedom of worship, we
were at ease. When cessation
of freedom came, this was
God's leading in church life," he
said. He believes God used
persecution to bring many
people to the church and
caused them to grow in faith.
The number of congrega-
tions rose from 12 to 31 during
eight years of restrictions. The
church now has 32 evangelistic
centers (or "church-planting"
efforts), places where the
general population has
gathered for employment and
where there are a few Menno-
nites. The church counts 56
evangelists, 180 elders and
1 ,500 lay leaders.
Total membership is esti-
mated to be 17,000. Another
2,000 people are being in-
structed for membership. MKC
projects a 40 percent increase
in the 1 990s. With reports by
Muriel T. Stackley and Paul
Schrag
'Ready to pay the price'
We do baptisms in bathrooms or in rivers in the dark, with no
flashlights, said Kassa Agafari at the May sessions of the
Eastern District Conference. The secret to the tenfold
growth of the Ethiopian Mennonite Church (Meserete Kristos
Church) in the last decade, he added, is that "we are always
ready to pay the price." Leadership training, he said, is
"mobile training. This is the hour of the church to go out and
minister."
250 JUNE 12, 1990
Meadows (III.) Mennonite Church
celebrated its centennial June 8-10. John
Kroeker is the current pastor. Steve Estes,
pastor at Boynton Mennonite Church,
Hopedale, III., has written a history of the
congregation. Pastors who are former
members of the congregation are James
Gundy, Burrton, Kan., Janeen Bertsche
Johnson, Wichita, Kan., Mark Miller,
Denver, Mary Ann Augspurger Moman,
Indianapolis, and Larry Wilson, Kidron,
Ohio.
Sponsors and hosts are needed for more
than 100 young people coming to spend a
year in North America through Mennonite
Central Committee's International Visitor
Exchange Program. IVEP is a cultural
exchange for young people from Africa,
Asia, Latin America and Europe. They
usually spend six months each at two
placements arranged by MCC in either
Canada or the United States. Sponsors
provide the visitor opportunity to work
about 40 hours a week and provide for
room, board and spending money for the
trainee. For more information contact
MCC, Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-0500,
(717) 859-1151.
Another tornado hit south central Kansas
on May 1 6. It seriously damaged the farm
of K. John and Valerie (Loganbill) Klaas-
sen, rural Whitewater. They are members
of Grace Hill Mennonite Church, White-
water. The twister, which damaged six
farms on the Harvey-Butler County border,
hit about 8 p.m. Whitewater is about 1 5
miles southeast of Newton.
NEWS
EDC worships in song,
hears pain of AIDS
Lansdale, Pa— Under the
theme "O Come, Let Us Sing
Unto the Lord," delegates to
the 192nd annual meeting of
the Eastern District Conference
met here May 3-5, took part in
joyous singing and heard a
painful account from a mother
whose son had died after
suffering from AIDS.
Amid the many reports to the
conference from various
organizations participants sang
from the Hymnal Sampler. The
newly renovated building of
Grace Mennonite Church,
which hosted the event,
provided excellent acoustics,
one of the elements of good
congregational singing,
according to guest speaker
Orlando Schmidt.
Schmidt, who retired last
year after 27 years as profes-
sor of church music and
worship at Associated Menno-
nite Biblical Seminaries,
Elkhart, Ind., gave three talks:
"The Priority of Congregational
Worship and Singing," "The
Intimacy of Small Groups
and Choirs" and "Personal
Worship."
He summarized a history of
congregational singing and
noted changes. For example,
"amen" originally meant, "It is
true!" but now means, "We're
done now."
A member of the Hymnal
Council, which has been
choosing hymns to be included
in the new hymnal due out in
1992, Schmidt discussed some
of the issues the council has
had to face. It considered
2,364 hymns in terms of music
and text, he said. And while
many old favorites will be in the
new hymnal, so will newer
songs. "We are in a golden
age of hymnwriting," he said.
He emphasized the need to
have a regular time of private
prayer. This requires (1 )
commitment to it, (2) a course
of action and (3) a way to deal
with failure. He also encour-
aged silence. "We Mennonites
have always been a down-to-
earth people and don't know
how to deal with things that are
mystical," he said.
During the reporting time of
the peace and social concerns
committee, Shirley Detweiller, a
member of Deep Run Menno-
nite Church West, Bedminster,
Pa., told the story of her
struggle as the mother of a
man with AIDS. She said she
felt abandoned by friends and
by the church. The absence of
cards and phone calls was
particularly sharp compared
with 10 years earlier, when her
husband had died of cancer.
Craig Maven, who became
her pastor shortly before her
son died, then admitted he had
made mistakes, that he had
had fears. But when he visited
Kevin, his fears vanished. He
said that AIDS is like any other
terminal disease.
In response John Bleam,
EDC president, called for a
prayer for forgiveness and
direction. He said that Shirley's
story was especially moving to
Staff members Darlene Mumbauer and Ruth Hunsberger host a
game of Jeopardy for the Crossroads Community Center report.
him because his brother-in-law
had died from AIDS three years
earlier.
The district's ministerial
committee submitted proce-
dures for licensing, ordination
and commissioning, and a
disagreement arose. Bob
Gerhart. pastor at Hereford
Mennonite Church, Bally, Pa.,
objected to the proposed
procedures. "There ;s nothing
[in these procedures] about
divorce or homosexual
orientation or a person's
doctrine of Scripture," he said.
Chairman Paul Wikerd
pointed out that according to
the EDC constitution each
congregation is autonomous in
how it handles those issues in
choosing a minister.
Committee member Robert
Landis said that the committee
did not want to infringe on con-
gregations' own procedures re-
garding things like divorce or
doctrine of Scripture. David
Bartow, pastor at Upper Milford
Mennonite Church, Zionsville,
Pa., said that EDC already
dealt with this issue a few years
back when the constitution was
revised. "I thought we laid this
issue to rest back then."
Eventually delegates
accepted the procedures by a
vote of 165-38.
In other business EDC
delegates
• accepted Comunidad de
Amor (Community of Love)
Mennonite Church, Philadel-
phia, as a member of EDC;
• passed a budget of
$21 1,450, a 5.5 percent
increase over last year's
budget;
• okayed $150,000 for a new
septic system for Camp Men-0-
Lan;
• voted to allow Men-0-Lan to
work toward incorporation.
Don Fry, pastor at Emmanuel
Mennonite Church, Reinholds,
Pa., is the new EDC president,
and Bob Gerhart is the new
vice president. Gordon Houser
THE MENNONITE 251
A federal judge on May 1 1 scolded U.S.
attorneys for prosecuting 1 1 people who
entered an Air Force base to oppose U.S.
policy on El Salvador, then added that
those convicted "probably are prophets."
"I don't think these people belong in the
criminal justice system," U.S. District Judge
Jim Carrigan lectured a prosecutor. The 1 1
included two nuns, a former minister, lay
church worker and other antiwar activists.
(Religious News Service)
For the first time, East German peace
supporters joined members of the Rhein-
Hunsruck Peace Initiative in the West
German group's annual Easter peace
march. The April 14 march was the 10th
held and went from the Wuscheim Air
Station, a U.S. Air Force base that houses
nuclear weapons, to the town of Kastel-
laun. Theme for the weekend was "Down
with Walls, Away with Weapons." More
than 200 East Germans came, said
Mennonite Central Committee worker
Andre Gingerich Stoner.
Christian Leaders for Responsible
Television (CLeaR-TV) has ended a nine-
month boycot of Clorox after the corpora-
tion took steps to have its policies for spon-
sorship of TV programs enforced more
stringently. Last July CLeaR-TV an-
nounced a boycott of both Clorox and
Mennen to protest what they called the
amount of sex, violence, profanity and anti-
Christian stereotyping on programs
sponsored by the firms. (Religious News
Service)
NEWS
July sessions of CMC
bound for Edmonton
Winnipeg (CMC)— "Faithful-
ness in the '90s" is the theme
for the 88th annual sessions of
the Conference of Mennonites
in Canada, to be held July 6-1 1
in Edmonton. Main speakers
are Harry Huebner, Winnipeg;
Marlin Miller, Elkhart, Ind.;
Margaret Loewen Reimer,
Waterloo, Ont. Youth will
consider the theme under four
main topics: poverty, recycling,
refugees and consumerism.
The Conference of Menno-
nites in Canada is in the midst
of a process of re-examining
goals, priorities and structures,
relating more closely to the
provincial/regional conferences
and participating in the
Mennonite Church/General
Conference Mennonite Church
integration talks. CMC is
experiencing major changes in
staff, both on the administrative
level of the conference and in
the faculty of Canadian
Mennonite Bible College
(CMBC), at a time when
questions of leadership and
authority continue to be raised.
It has just completed two
phases of a major building
program and is moving forward
with planning and fund-raising
for the final two stages, at a
time when many voices are
requesting funds and when
some areas of the country are
struggling economically.
At the July sessions on the
University of Alberta campus
delegates will respond to a
recommendation that CMC
apply for associate member-
ship in both the Evangelical
Fellowship of Canada and the
Canadian Council of Churches.
Other recommendations will
speak to increased involvement
of associate member churches
and to CMC's nomination and
election procedures. A feature
during the conference will be a
forum on postsecondary
education.
The Conference of Menno-
nites in Canada, with head-
quarters in Winnipeg, is
comprised of 157 congrega-
tions with 29,000 members and
62 associate congregations
with 8,550 members. Margaret
Franz, editor. Conference of
Mennonites in Canada
The Conference of Mennonites
in Manitoba invites applications or
nominations for the position of
executive secretary. This is the
chief administrative position of the
conference and includes responsi-
bility for the development and
coordination of the overall
conference program.
The executive secretary is
accountable to the General Board.
Further information regarding the
position description, salary and
benefits is available upon request.
Applications will be received until
July 1.
Please submit inquiries or
applications to Jack Loepp,
Personnel Chair, Route 2, Box 25,
Morris, MB R0G 1K0, telephone
(204) 746-8161 (evenings).
Mennonite Central Committee agriculturalists Tim Eisenbeis (left)
and Betty Szilassy (right) talk with Jose Antonio Filho and his son.
Filho has increased productivity in his fields by planting across
hillsides rather than up and down, and by leaving crop trash to hold
soil after harvest. The two MCC workers promote sustainable,
productive farming techniques to peasant farmers like Filho in the
semiarid Tacaimbo area of Brazil. Eisenbeis is a member of Salem-
Zion Mennonite Church in Freeman, S.D.
The Mennonite Collegiate Institute invites applications for 1990-
91 in the following areas:
Music director —
Developing choral skills is the primary responsibility. Other duties
may include conducting the band, directing the musical and
providing private vocal or instrumental instruction. Musical
excellence and enthusiasm for working with teenagers are
expected.
Resident life coordinator (one female and one male) —
Christian commitment, enthusiasm for working with teenagers,
leadership abilities, experience and/or training in counseling, and
interest in music or sports are desirable qualifications.
Please send your resume to Allan Dueck, principal, Box 250,
Gretna, MB R0G 0V0, (204) 327-5891.
252 JUNE 12, 1990
"Bread and Roses" was the name for the
fourth faith and resistance retreat in
Wichita, Kan., May 4-5. At a prayer
service at the west gate of McConnell Air
Force Base 44 people illegally crossed a
line onto base property as an act of non-
violent civil disobedience. Air Force
personnel detained, questioned, searched,
fingerprinted and gave them "bar and ban"
letters that prohibit them from base
property for two years. Five of those
detained violated a previous bar-and-ban
letter and will be tried in federal court,
beginning June 14. Among the Menno-
nites present was Gene Stoltzfus, coordi-
nator of Christian Peacemaker Teams.
Participants at "Bread and Roses" prayer
service include Mennonite Ann Minter,
Hesston, Kan., who is playing guitar.
As of April 30, A Call to Kingdom Commit-
ments had received $5,243,500, or 95
percent of the $5,543,329 committed to the
General Conference Mennonite Church
development plan, reported Ted Stuckey,
conference treasurer. Contributions to A
Call to Kingdom Commitments will end
June 30.
NEWS
China Educational Exchange
continues after setback
Winnipeg (CEE) — A year after
the Chinese government
suppressed the pro-democracy
movement there on June 4,
1989, 18 new China Educa-
tional Exchange volunteers are
teaching English at Chinese
colleges and universities for the
summer.
They will join seven other
CEE teachers who are continu-
ing their assignments in China.
Because fewer people applied
in the winter of 1989 and seven
candidates withdrew after last
June 4, the CEE team dropped
from a high of 33 last year to
14 currently.
CEE and Mennonite colleges
in the United States and
Canada will also host six
Chinese scholars during the
1990-91 year. Two will teach
Chinese history and culture at
Eastern Mennonite (Harri-
sonburg, Va.) and Goshen
(Ind.) colleges and Rockway
Collegiate (Kitchener, Ont.).
Three will study English and
other subjects at Bethel (North
Newton, Kan.), Fresno (Calif.)
Pacific and Bluffton (Ohio)
colleges, while one will study
nursing at Hesston (Kan.)
College.
During a month-long visit in
China in April, CEE director
Myrrl Byler heard repeated
expressions of appreciation for
CEE teachers from Chinese
officials. He noted that while
the government stresses
"stability" as a reason to visit
China, "CEE and its Chinese
partners stress friendship and
learning from each other. The
trust, goodwill and sense of
history we encountered at the
individual and institutional
levels was tangible and
moving."
Last fall Goshen College and
China's Sichuan Normal
University celebrated 10 years
of exchanges; in 1991 CEE
and the Sichuan Education
Commission will mark their
10th anniversary.
June 4 and its aftermath
caused many organizations to
reconsider their involvements
with China. While China called
off government exchanges,
most church or school-
sponsored exchange programs
were sharply curtailed or
canceled from the North
American side. After discus-
sions with CEE teachers and
alumni, other exchange
programs, and Chinese friends
and partner institutions, CEE
decided to continue the
program.
Byler said, "By continuing our
exchange we are acknowledg-
ing the benefits both sides
have received. We agree with
our Chinese partners that when
governmental relations are
strained, that is the time to
emphasize people-to-people
ties."
Sixteen of the North Ameri-
can CEE teachers will be at six
schools in Sichuan, five will
teach at two schools in
Shenyang, and four will be
seconded to the Chinese Amity
Foundation, which places
Christian language teachers
from Europe, Japan and North
America at schools in the
eastern part of China.
Five of the 18 North Ameri-
can teachers going to China
this fall have already completed
one or two CEE terms, and four
were in China last June 4.
Herta Funk, most recently of
Winnipeg, taught in China from
1983 to 1987. Everett and
Margaret Metzler of Kokomo,
Ind., taught there from 1985 to
1989. George and Rena
Kroeker of Winnipeg taught in
China from 1987 to 1989.
In addition to the teachers,
longtime Mennonite Publishing
House employees Ben Cutrell
and Stan Yoder will spend
September to May 1991 at the
Amity Foundation's printing
press outside Nanjing. Cutrell
will help set up an accounting
system for the press, while
Half-time position in youth
ministry. First Mennonite Church,
Bluffton, Ohio, is seeking a person
to fill a half-time position in youth
ministry.
Responsibilities: planning and
supervision for junior and senior
high fellowship groups in their
regular and special activities, and
facilitating activities for young
adults in the 18-25 age group.
Requirements: experience,
commitment, organizational skills,
personal interaction skills;
seminary training preferred but not
required.
Send resume to Search Commit-
tee, First Mennonite Church,
Bluffton, OH 45817.
Yoder will offer technical
advice. Dorothy Cutrell and
Roxie Yoder will teach and
assist Amity staff in other ways.
The press, a joint venture
between Amity and the United
Bible Society, prints 90,000
Chinese Bibles per month, as
well as hymnals and other
religious literature. Mennonite
congregations, individuals and
mission and service agencies
have contributed $34,000 U.S.
($40,000 Canadian) to the
printing of Bibles and hymnals
since March 1989.
In addition to these long-term
assignments, short-term
exchanges between CEE and
its Chinese partner schools in
veterinary medicine, agricul-
ture, mental health and
medicine will take place during
the summer and fall of 1 990.
Ann Martin, China Educational
Exchange
The full-time position of editor of
With and YouthGuide is available
as of Sept. 4. Desired qualifica-
tions include editorial skills and
experience, awareness of issues
pertinent to teens, experience in
working with youth, active
congregational membership in
either Mennonite Church or
General Conference Mennonite
Church. Job description is
available. Office for this position is
located in the Commission on
Education. Newton, Kan.
Applications accepted until June
30. Send resume, samples of
work and letter stating interest in
the position to Norma Johnson,
Executive Secretary, COE, Box
347, Newton, KS 67114. (316)
283-5100.
THE MENNONITE 253
A total of 107 people from San Antonio,
Austin, Houston, Premont, Fort Worth and
Dallas Mennonite churches met April 27-29
at Greene Family Camp in Bruceville,
Texas. In four sessions Jan Gleysteen
presented stories and slides about the
Mennonite heritage.
Columbia Bible College, Clearbrook,
B.C., held its 52nd graduation exercises on
April 21 at Central Heights Mennonite
Brethren Church, Abbotsford, B.C. Forty-
four students graduated with two-year
diplomas in Christian studies and 22 from
the Bachelor of Religious Education
program. Larry Hooge was honored as
outstanding alumnus for 1990. Henry
Schmidt, associate professor of world
mission at Mennonite Brethren Biblical
Seminary, Fresno, Calif., addressed the
graduates on "You Can Make a Differ-
ence." CBC is jointly owned and operated
by the Conference of Mennonites in B.C.
and the B.C. Mennonite Brethren.
CBC president Walter Unger congratulates
Martin Bartel at graduation ceremonies.
NEWS
Colombian Mennonite churches MVS seeks to attract
approve purpose statement greater variety of people
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)— The
Evangelical Mennonite
Churches of Colombia at their
annual assembly in January
approved a purpose statement
which calls them to "be the
people of God."
The statement, which was
developed over a number of
years, highlights the following
as the characteristics of a
"people of God" (summarized
here): (1) loving and worship-
ing God, honoring Jesus Christ
and walking in the Holy Spirit;
Freeman Academy has positions
open for 1990-91 for a Bible
instructor and a guidance
counselor.
Freeman Academy is a Christian
junior-senior high school, grades 7-
12, affiliated with the General
Conference Mennonite Church. To
apply send letter and credentials to
Leroy Saner, Principal, Freeman
Academy, Box 1000, Freeman, SD
57029, (605) 925-4237.
Rosthern Junior College invites
applications in the following areas:
art. drama, chemistry and biology,
beginning September 1990.
Rosthern Junior College is a
Mennonite secondary school
offering an academic and
residential program for grades
10-12.
Contact Erwin Tiessen, RJC,
Rosthern. SK S0K 3R0, (306) 232-
4222 or (306) 232-5422.
(2) sharing the gospel with
others; (3) supporting all who
choose Jesus Christ; (4)
providing opportunities for
discipleship through use of
spiritual gifts and abilities; (5)
practicing a simple lifestyle,
with an emphasis on the
biblical values of love, justice,
reconciliation, peace, freedom,
mutual aid and service; and (6)
forming fraternal communities
of faith.
Plans call for printing this
statement on desktop cards as
well as posters. According to
Peter Stucky, executive
secretary for the Evangelical
Mennonite Churches of
Colombia, the executive
committee is asking "each
congregation and institution to
take steps to make the
statement a reality so that it
acquires life." The statement
will also provide orientation and
motivation to new members.
Glendon Klaassen, secretary
for Latin America for the
Commission on Overseas
Mission of the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church
1-W reunion planned for all former
1-Ws who served at the General
Rose Hospital, Denver, Colo.
Date: Aug. 16-18, 1991 . Place:
Denver.
For more information and
reservations contact by July 1,
1990: Wallis Goertzen, Box 117,
Henderson, NE 68371.
Chicago (GCMC)— Making
voluntary service programs
more racially, ethnically and
economically inclusive was the
theme of a consultation held
here in April. Five members of
the Commission on Home
Ministries staff attended the
event, which was sponsored by
the Commission on Voluntary
Service and Action of New York
City.
Many volunteer programs
have found it difficult to attract
participants representing a
broad cross section of the
population. Often volunteers
are white and relatively affluent.
Racial and ethnic groups and
poor people have been
underrepresented.
Hubert Brown, executive
secretary of the Commission on
Home Ministries of the General
Conference Mennonite Church,
delivered the keynote address,
"Volunteer Service — Moving
From Exclusiveness to Inclu-
siveness." He challenged
representatives of more than
20 volunteer programs to over-
come barriers of racism and
cultural insensitivity. He
stressed the importance of
adding commitment, will and
cross-cultural competence to
good intentions in achieving
this goal.
The consultation concluded
with a section focused on
developing specific strategies
in recruitment, placement,
training and administration of
programs for inclusiveness.
David Orr, Mennonite
Voluntary Service personnel
director and one of the confer-
ence planners, said, "This
event has given us a lot of
good ideas and specific steps
that we can take. I look
forward to working to make
MVS a more inclusive program
that will truly reflect the many
peoples concerns and
commitments of the General
Conference."
In addition to Brown and Orr,
Chuck Neufeld, MVS director,
Barbara Unruh, MVS associate
personnel director, and
Charlotte Siemens, associate
director/Canada, attended the
event.
AIMM
moves into
new building
Elkhart, Ind. (AIMM)— Africa
Inter-Mennonite Mission has
moved into the building for
which it broke ground a year
ago. Staff, board members,
missionaries, former missionar-
ies and friends gathered for the
April 21 dedication at 59466
CR 113, here. They expressed
gratefulness to God and to
contributors that the building is
debt free. Executive secretary
Earl Roth used the same litany
that was used in 1959 at the
dedication of a former office
building. The Youth Discovery
Team of Zairian and American
young people sang "Je Lourai
I'Eternal."
254 JUNE 12, 1990
"Ethics in Action: In the Home, the
Workplace and the Environment" is the
theme of the North America Interfaith
Conference, to be held July 1-3 at the
University of Washington in Seattle. More
than 250 representatives of over a dozen
religious faiths are expected to attend. The
conference, sponsored by the North
America Interfaith Network, will explore
traditions and values of various faiths
as well as religious differences and
similarities.
Day One Ministries, 1213 Chew St.,
Allentown, PA 18102, celebrated its fifth
anniversary in March. Affiliated with
Exodus International, it is committed to
"bringing God's healing to gay and lesbian
persons and to educate the church to its
responsibility to care for persons who are
struggling with homosexuality." Kenneth
Larter, director of HOPE Ministries in
Philadelphia, spoke on "Sexual Broken-
ness: the Mystery of Iniquity and the
Mystery of Godliness."
Cedar Valley Mennonite Church in
Mission, B.C., will celebrate its 50th
anniversary June 29-July 1 . All former
members and friends of the congregation
are invited to participate in activities.
NEWS COMMENTARY
Farm unions: a dilemma for churches
Sally Weaver Sommer
Mennonites traditionally have
been concerned with meeting
the needs of the poor and are
well known for international
relief aid through Mennonite
Central Committee and other
organizations.
In Northwest Ohio the
Mennonites and other church
groups also are concerned
about the low wages and poor
working conditions and housing
of migratory farm workers.
The churches expressed this
concern by distributing clothes
and food and teaching Bible
school at migrant camps for
many years. In 1967, however,
a farm workers union was
formed that, if successful,
would eliminate the need for
traditional relief aid to farm
workers.
The Farm Labor Organizing
Committee (FLOC) formed with
the goal of negotiating con-
tracts with the growers and
canners and sought the
support of the churches.
How was a Mennonite
church to respond to this
request? By this time it was
generally accepted, at least in
the context of Mennonite
development programs abroad,
that relief aid was not the
answer to the problems of the
poor.
FLOC's situation was
different for three reasons.
First, the poverty to be dealt
with was right at home. Some
members of Mennonite
congregations were the
employers who were being
accused of paying low wages
and providing poor working
conditions.
Finally, the church was being
asked to support a union when
many Mennonites had been
taught that being a part of a
union was unchristian.
As a result the issue was
never really discussed in
congregations. Mennonite
Central Committee considered
creating a voluntary service
position in Northern Ohio to
assist farm workers, but the
project was never pursued.
Meanwhile the union continued
to negotiate.
FLOC, the Campbell Soup
Company and the Campbell
Tomato Growers Association
signed a three-year contract in
1986, so the union achieved its
goal without the help of the
churches.
I would suggest that congre-
gations interested in struggling
with the issue of migratory farm
workers and the farm workers'
unions work through the
following queries as individuals
and as church institutions:
1 . What should our ministry
be to poor people in our
geographical area?
2. What is our attitude toward
labor unions? Is it legitimate?
3. Are Hispanic Mennonites
as much a part of our Mennon-
ite institutions as white Men-
nonites are?
4. Are we willing to receive
and give guidance in matters
that deal with our economic
relations with others?
Additional suggestions for
congregations to deal with this
issue include learning more
about the farm labor situation,
lobbying for appropriate farm
labor legislation and encourag-
ing farmers to join the negotiat-
ing process already under way.
Sally Weaver Sommer is asso-
ciate professor of economics at
Bluffton (Ohio) College.
What is our attitude toward labor unions? Workers in a California
orchard
THE MENNONITE 255
The Mennonite Church General Board,
after years of study and discussion,
brought the military tax question to a vote,
then tabled it. Last August a majority of
General Assembly delegates voted to
"support" the efforts of church board
employees who do not wish their taxes
deducted so that they may deal with the
government in regard to military taxes. At
the General Board meetings April 5-7 in
Kalona, Iowa, members tabled a motion to
honor requests of employees who ask that
their income tax not be withheld.
RECOltd
Cars are the biggest source of green-
house gasses and the largest single cause
of ozone smog, according to Greenpeace
magazine. In addition, nearly twice as
many Americans have died on highways as
in all U.S. wars since 1776; in Mexico City,
seven of 10 infants have blood lead levels
from car emissions in excess of World
Health Organization standards; cars cause
acid rain by emitting 34 percent of the
nitrogen oxide in the United States; do-it-
yourself mechanics dump an Exxon
Valdez-worth of used motor oil every 2 1/2
weeks; oil consumption topped 225 billion
gallons last year; Americans spent $50
billion last year to protect oil tankers in the
Persian Gulf.
General Conference Mennonite pastor
Waldo Miller of Hopefield Mennonite
Church, Moundridge, Kan., is the world's
oldest living recipient of a kidney transplant.
Now 70, Miller received his transplant 19
years ago when the surgery was still
considered experimental. "I never dreamed
I'd live this long," he says. He fully
expected to die within six or seven years,
leaving a wife and eight children. The
surgery, costing $30,000 at the time, was
performed at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
Miller's brother Wilmer donated the kidney.
"I wouldn't be here but for the grace of God
and my brother," he says.
caLencJar
June 14-17 — Northern District
Conference, Salem-Zion,
Freeman, S.D.
June 21-24— Pacific District
Conference, First Church,
Reedley, Calif.
July 6-1 0 — Conference of
Mennonites in Canada,
Edmonton
July 24-29 — Mennonite
World Conference, Winnipeg
Oct. 26-28— Western District
Conference, Goessel, Kan.
She and her husband, Henry A.
Toews, who preceded her in
death, were overseas mission-
aries with the General Confer-
ence in Zaire (then called
Belgian Congo) 1936-1940 and
1945-1951.
Kathryn Stoneback, San Luis
Obispo, Calif., died April 1 .
She was preceded in death by
her husband, George S.
Stoneback, former pastor at
Lorraine Avenue Church,
Wichita, Kan.
WORliERS
dEAThs
Kelefa AH, 41 , executive
secretary of the Meserete
Kristos Church in Ethiopia, died
April 16 in Harrisonburg, Va.
He was a student at Eastern
Mennonite Seminary. He came
to Lancaster, Pa., in 1989 to
seek treatment for cancer. He
is survived by his wife, Yakuta
Abdo, and four daughters. The
Meserete Kristos Church grew
out of the work of Eastern
Mennonite Board of Missions,
Salunga, Pa. (See page 250.)
Mary Jane Wiens Toews, 86,
Inman, Kan., died April 24.
AIMM — Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission
AMBS — Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries
CHM — Commission on Home Ministries
CMBC — Canadian Mennonite Bible College
COE — Commission on Education
COM — Commission on Overseas Mission
MCC — Mennonite Central Committee
MVS — Mennonite Voluntary Service
Ethel and Norman Abrahams,
Bethel College Church, North
Newton, Kan., received the
Bethel College outstanding
alumni awards. Norman is an
optometrist, and Ethel an artist.
Fred Amstutz, First Church,
Bluffton, Ohio, received the
honorary alumnus award from
the Bluffton College National
Alumni Association.
Rudy Baergen, Charleswood
Church, Winnipeg, will begin as
co-pastor at First Church,
Kitchener, Ont., on Sept. 1.
Rudy and his wife, Helen, will
return in July from their term of
mission-
ary
service
with
COM.
They
taught at
a Baptist
seminary
in
Coch-
in. Baergen
R. Baergen
Birkey
Todd Lehman
abomba, Bolivia. The Baer-
gens have two sons, Rene and
Joel.
Marlin Birkey, Hesston, Kan.,
and Todd Lehman, formerly of
Aberdeen, Idaho, seniors at
Bethel College, North Newton,
Kan., won the Mennonite
Contributions contest. Birkey's
first prize was for his paper
' Grace and the Human
Condition in Protestantism and
Anabaptism," and Lehman's
second prize was for "Two
Reformations: An Analytical
Comparison of Liberation
Theology and Anabaptist
Theology Through the Writings
of Gustavo Gutierrez and John
Howard Yoder."
Howard Brenneman,
Hesston, Kan., was the final
guest speaker in the centennial
series at Mennonite Collegiate
Institute, Gretna, Man. Brenne-
man is a member of Mennonite
Economic Development
Associates and has been
involved with manufacturing
farm equipment.
Abe Buhler has resigned as
pastor at Carrot River (Sask.)
Church, effective June 30.
Martin Buhr, executive
director of House of Friendship,
Kitchener, Ont., reported at the
April 29 meeting that the
agency employs 36 full-time
and 45 part-time employees
and has 100 volunteers on
staff.
Diane M. Crutcher, Normal,
III., has been named the
manager of human resource
development for BroMenn
Healthcare, Bloomington, III.
Henry Engbrecht, Winnipeg,
conducted a 500-voice choir in
Centennial Concert Hall,
Winnipeg, and William Janzen,
Waterloo, Ont., conducted a
175-piece band for Mennonite
Music Festival '90. This event,
held on May 5-6, was spon-
sored by the Canadian
Association of Mennonite
Schools to celebrate 100 years
of Christian education.
Delbertar\6 Susan Dickw\\\
be commissioned at Silverwood
Church, Goshen, Ind., on June
17. They will work in Zaire with
COM/AIMM after a year of
French language study in
Quebec.
Edna and George Dyck,
Shalom Church, Newton, Kan.,
will go to China on a medical
exchange and also work with
MCC on the West Bank from
256 JUNE 12, 1990
The Church of the Brethren General
Board has endorsed a boycott of Salva-
doran coffee, calling on all its members and
institutions to boycott all brands of coffee
that include Salvadoran beans. According
to Church of the Brethren officials, the
United States purchases 60 percent of
Salvadoran exports, yet that is only 5
percent of total U.S. coffee imports. The
Salvadoran people get little of the revenue
from coffee sales. The largest federation of
Salvadoran workers has endorsed the
boycott.
Gary Jewell, a student at Associated
Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart,
Ind., handed out about $150 in $1 bills April
16 to passers-by in front of the downtown
post office in Elkhart to express his
opposition to U.S. military spending. He
gave away about half of what he and his
wife, Jan Yoder, owe in federal income
taxes. The couple plans to give the rest to
a charity like Mennonite Central Commit-
tee. Stapled to each $1 bill was a state-
ment by Jewell that read in part, "Today I
choose to give my money away (call it a
'peace dividend') rather than to pay the
remaining 60 percent of my federal income
tax that goes toward present and past
military expense." (The Elkhart Truth)
The farmer's share of the food dollar has
been declining since 1979, reports the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. Farm prices
have increased little, while retail prices
have risen substantially. In 1988 farmers
received an average of 25 cents on each
dollar. The remainder, known as the
marketing bill, was consumed by process-
ing, packaging, transportation, advertising,
labor and other costs.
RECOlid
September to December before
returning to Newton in January
1991. They spent the 1990
spring semester at AMBS.
Henry Enns, First Church,
Winnipeg, has been appointed
director of development for
Bethania Mennonite Personal
Care Home.
Dick Epp, Nutana Park
Church, Saskatoon, created a
20-minute slide set to celebrate
that congregation's 25th
anniversary.
Ed and Norilynn Epp, Bethel
Church, Winnipeg, have moved
the MCC Lebanon office to
Cyprus, where they work part
time with the Middle East
Council of Churches.
Ray Epp, Grain of Wheat
Community Church, Winnipeg,
has been appointed director of
the MCC Manitoba-supported
Ecumenical Ministry of Agricul-
ture, an organization that pro-
motes sustainable agriculture.
(See his article, page 246.)
Frieda Esau-Klippenstein,
Winnipeg, will do research on
treaty land entitlements with
aboriginal people for MCC
Canada's Native Concerns.
John G. Fast has been
appointed chaplain at Conrad
Grebel College, Waterloo, Ont.
effective July 1 . He is currently
the director of the Boston
Theological Institute.
Loretta Fast, Newton, Kan.,
along with Jake F. Pauls and
J.K. Klassen, both of Winnipeg,
were in a delegation visiting
Mennonite congregations in
Orenburg, Karaganda and
Alma Ata, Soviet Union, for 10
days, beginning April 22. One
purpose was to arrange for
representatives to attend
Assembly 12 of Mennonite
World Conference in Winnipeg.
D.W. Friesen and Sons Ltd.,
Altona, Man., are now listed in
the Financial Post as one of the
best 100 companies to work for
in Canada.
John Friesen, history
professor at CMBC, Winnipeg,
is the author of the story line for
a permanent display depicting
the Dutch-Germanic Mennonite
experience from the 1500s to
1990s at the Mennonite
Heritage Village, Steinbach,
Man.
Joyce Stradinger Gerhart,
Hereford Church, Bally, Pa.,
will become the new president
of the Eastern District Confer-
ence Women in Mission in
1991.
Keith Harder, pastor at First
Church, Hillsboro, Kan., was
ordained to ministry on May 4.
William Hawk has been
appointed dean of academic
affairs at Bluffton (Ohio)
College. He succeeds Burton
Yost, who served as interim
dean for a year. Yost has been
granted a sabbatical before he
resumes teaching as professor
of religion.
Beth Hege, Bethel College
Church, North Newton, Kan.,
has been appointed news
service editor for the General
Conference, effective July 9.
She will replace Carta Reimer.
Hege is currently the director of
public information and news
service for Bethel College.
Debbie Heinrichs, Nutana
Park Church, Saskatoon, won
the local YWCA woman of the
year award for her innovative
children's summer lunch
program.
Hege
Liechty
P. Lehman
Tim Lehman
Paul Hiebert, Fuller Theologi-
cal Seminary, Pasadena, Calif.,
is teaching a course at Colum-
bia Bible College, Clearbrook,
B.C., June 11-15, on "Re-
sponding to popular new
religious movements."
Alice Huxman, First Church.
Newton, Kan., has resigned
from her position as secretary
for MVS, effective June 20.
She has held this position since
November 1983.
Vernon Jantzi, professor of
sociology, Eastern Mennonite
College, Harrisonburg, Va., is
researching the national peace
education programs in Costa
Rica and New Zealand, the
only two nations in the world
attempting such programs on a
national level.
Clarice and Lawrence Kratz,
Maple Avenue Church,
Waukesha, Wis., will lead a
retreat on the single-parent
family at Laurelville Mennonite
Church Center, Mt. Pleasant,
Pa., July 29-Aug. 3.
Richard Kriegbaum, presi-
dent of Fresno (Calif.) Pacific
College, led a strategic
planning retreat at Columbia
Bible College, Clearbrook, B.C.
Tim Lehman, Eden Church,
Moundridge, Kan., will be
director of the Wilderness Wind
Camp, Ely, Minn., from May 27
to Aug. 28. His wife, Paula
Diller Lehman, will accompany
him, continuing her work as
Youth Venture coordinator, a
program of CHM.
Don Lemons, associate
professor of physics at Bethel
College, North Newton, Kan.,
was awarded the Sears-
Roebuck Foundation Teaching
Excellence and Campus
Leadership Award. He is one
of 700 young professors in the
United States to be honored.
Sandra Liechty, Lima, Ohio,
has been appointed Women in
Mission representative to CHM,
succeeding Anette Eisenbeis.
Liechty is WM president for the
Central District Conference.
Don Longbottom, Moun-
dridge, Kan., has accepted a
Clinical Pastoral Education
trainee position with Prairie
View Psychiatric Hospital,
Newton, Kan.
Elmer Neufeld was reap-
pointed to a three-year term as
president of Bluffton (Ohio)
College. He has served as
president since 1978.
Amelia and Newton Old
Crow, Seiling, Okla., were
formally recognized on April 29
by the Western District
ministerial committee as
pastors at Indian Mennonite
continued on next page
THE MENNONITE 257
Gordon Houser, assistant editor of The
Mennonite, received a third place award from
the Evangelical Press Association at its 1990
meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., May 7-9.
The award came in the category "critical
review" for his article "The Art of Being" in
the Jan. 10, 1989, issue of The Mennonite.
Arthur Boers, a Mennonite pastor and
frequent reviewer for The Mennonite, won
second place for his interview "Henri
Nouwen" in The Other Side. Jon Warren, a
member of Seattle Mennonite Church, won
first and fifth places for photo features in
Moody Monthly and Childlife, respectively.
A task force of U.S. House Democrats
concluded April 30 that the Salvadoran
government's investigation into the killing
of six Jesuits and two women last
November was at a "virtual standstill"
because authorities there were making
little effort to determine the involvement
of senior Salvadoran military officials.
The Salvadoran government has
arrested an army colonel, two lieutenants
and five lower-ranking military men on
murder charges. But the congressional
panel, led by Rep. Joe Mokely (D-Mass.),
said questions remain about who
ordered the killings, echoing concerns
earlier voiced by church leaders in El
Salvador. {National Catholic Reporter)
Sandra Birdsell was presented with the
W.H. Smith/Books in Canada First Novel
Award of $5,000 in Toronto on March 30
for The Missing Child. Birdsell is known for
her short stories, peopled with Metis and
Mennonites, set in Agassiz, Man. The
central image in the novel is the rising
flood, coming out of her memories of the
Red River floods. In the novel, says
Birdsell, the rising water represents "the
danger we live with, the great changes that
are occurring in our society, especially for
children, and the violence that seems to be
rising to inundate us."
RECOlid
Neufeld
Pankratz
Schroeder Suderman
Poettcker H. Regier
continued from previous page
Church, Seiling, and Zion
Church, Canton,
David Ortman, Seattle
Church, received the young
alumnus award from Bethel
College, North Newton, Kan.
He works with Friends of the
Earth.
Elizabeth Raid Pankratz is
COE's in-house editor for the
Children's Curriculum Project.
She is a member of Bethel
Church, Mountain Lake, Minn.,
and with her husband, Steve,
and three children, attends
Bethel College Church, North
Newton, Kan.
Henry Poettcker, retiring
president of Mennonite Biblical
Seminary, was the commence-
ment convocation speaker at
AMBS on June 1.
Richard Ratzlaff, Pretty
Prairie, Kan., is interim pastor
at Hoffnungsau Church, Inman,
Kan.
Harold Regier, Faith Church,
Newton, Kan., has been
granted a two-month sabbatical
from his position as director of
Offender/Victim Ministries. He
and his wife, Rosella Wiens
Regier, COE secretary for
children's education, will travel
and study in Europe.
Miles Reimer, Braeside
Evangelical Mennonite Church,
Winnipeg, has been appointed
Mennonite Voluntary Service
associate director for Canada,
effective May 1 . He succeeds
Charlotte Siemens. MVS is a
program of CHM.
Earl Roth, Silverwood
Church, Goshen, Ind. , execu-
tive secretary of AIMM, was in
Africa April 27-May 31.
Martin Sawatzky will leave
his position as pastor at
Sargent Avenue Church,
Winnipeg, this summer.
Mary Schertz, assistant
professor of New Testament at
AMBS, was one of 10 interna-
tional theologians invited to a
historic meeting in March with
Palestinian Christians at the
Ecumenical Institute for
Theological Research at
Tantur, near Bethlehem.
Jane Janzen Schmidt, Faith
Church, Newton, Kan.,
resigned from her position as
administrative assistant for
MVS, effective May 31 . She
has held this position since
1 980. Previously she worked
as secretary for COE for six
years.
Linda Schmidt. Akron (Pa.)
Church, is supply pastor for
spring and summer at United
Church of Christ. Linglestown,
Pa.
Leona Schrag, First Church,
Pretty Prairie, Kan., began
June 1 as office secretary at
AIMM. She has spent 22 years
as a COM/AIMM missionary to
Zaire, working in Christian
education, literature, teaching
language, and missionary
counseling.
Robert M. Schrag. First
Church, Newton, Kan.,
received a Bethel College
alumni distinguished achieve-
ment award. He is editor of
Menno-nite Weekly Review, an
inter-Mennonite paper with a
circulation of 10.500.
David Schroeder, professor
of New Testament and Bible at
CMBC, Winnipeg, was the
commencement speaker at
Bethel College, North Newton,
Kan. He is a 1951 Bethel
graduate.
Dale Schumm. Elkhart, Ind.,
and staff from Mennonite
mission and service agencies,
will lead a re-entry retreat Aug.
10-12 at Laurelville Mennonite
Church Center, Mt. Pleasant,
Pa.
Kent Seymour, Normal, III.,
has been named administrative
director of laboratory services
for BroMenn Healthcare,
Bloomington, III.
Tim and Mary Lou
Schmucker, Tavistock (Ont.)
Church, are ending their
service in Colombia with COM.
They served with COM since
August 1988 and arrived in
Canada on May 12.
Jan Steckley has begun as
associate pastor at Breslau
(Ont.) Church. She and her
husband, Jeff, had been
associate pastors at Steinmann
(Ont.) Church.
Mark Stein metz. First
Church, Bluffton, Ohio, was
recognized by the Bluffton
College National Alumni
Association as outstanding
young alumnus. He graduated
from Bluffton College in 1970
and practices family medicine.
Ed R. StuckywiW be interim
pastor at Eden Church,
Moundridge, Kan., beginning
July 29.
Mark Suderman, originally
from Bethel Church, Mountain
Lake, Minn., will join the music
faculty at Tabor College,
Hillsboro, Kan.
— compiled by Angela Rempel
258 JUNE 12, 1990
The Commission on Education of the
General Conference Mennonite Church is
offering scholarships to writers who plan to
attend the Mennonite Writers' Conference
to be held Sept. 21-23 in Hesston, Kan.
The deadline for application is Aug. 15.
Preference will be given to writers who are
affiliated with General Conference congre-
gations. A limited number of scholarships
are available. Contact Maynard Shelly,
COE, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 1 4, (316)
283-5100.
More than 200 prominent evangelical
Christians from four nations have en-
dorsed a statement affirming the equality of
men and women on the basis of biblical
teaching. The declaration declares, "In the
New Testament economy, women as well
as men exercise the prophetic, priestly and
royal functions" and "in the church, public
recognition is to be given to both women
and men who exercise ministries of service
and leadership." Signers include World
Vision president Robert Seiple. Inter-
Varsity Christian Fellowship president
Stephen Hayner, Christian College
Coalition president Myron Augsburger and
well-known evangelical pastors like Bruce
Larson and Stuart Briscoe.
At the Rally for Life '90 a crowd estimated
at 225,000 to 250,000 by U.S. park police
and at more than twice that number by the
event's organizers heard U.S. President
Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle.
other politicians and such religious leaders
as New York Cardinal John O'Connor
denounce abortion and urge continued
efforts to combat it.
RESOURCES
tooks
The new Mennonite Your Way
Directory VI ($1 1 , $20 for two
copies) for the years 1990-92 is
available from Mennonite Your
Nancy and Leon Stauffer browse
at the new Mennonite Your Way
Directory VI.
Way, Box 1525, Salunga, PA
17538, (717) 653-9288.
The Quixote Center, 331 1
Chauncey Place, #301, Mt.
Rainier, MD 20712, has
published A Saga of Shame:
Racism and the Death Penalty
in tabloid format.
Fit for God's Presence by
Everett L. Fullam (Revell, 1989,
$5.95) shows readers the best
ways to develop all aspects of
the spiritual body.
A Homeland for Strangers
by Peter J. Klassen (Center for
Mennonite Brethren Studies,
1989, $15.95) is an introduction
to Mennonites in Poland and
Prussia.
Sol, a retired farmer, gives
up on life and sinks into despair
after the death of his wife in the
novel Winds of Promise by
Shirlee Evans (Herald Press,
1989, $7.95, $9.95 in Canada).
Copper Moons by Susan
Yoder Ackerman (Herald
Press, 1989, $9.95, $12.50 in
Canada) is the story of a year
of discovering Africa, a new
husband and a faith that takes
risks.
Hispanics and Mennonites
have similar histories and much
to learn from one another, say
Jose Ortiz and David Graybill in
Reflections of an Hispanic
Mennonite (Good Books,
1989, $6.95). (See page 262.)
Dictionary of Christianity in
America: A Comprehensive
Resource on the Religious
Impulse that Shaped a Conti-
nent, edited by Daniel G. Reid,
Robert D. Under, Bruce L.
Shelley, Harry S. Stout
(InterVarsity Press, 1990,
$39.95), features 2,600 signed
articles, 1 ,400 pages of double-
column text, charts and
diagrams representing the
development of denominations
and institutions.
A liberation theology of the
lUBgjjw Eucharist, Our
God Has No
x(~7 T7+ Favorites by
>^4X Anne Pri-
vJv_/Lv mavesi and
\ i \S H ] Jennifer
FAVORITES Henderson
(Resource
Publications,
1990. $8.95)
stirs up church issues for men
and women.
Vision, Doctrine, War:
Mennonite Identity and
Organization in America, 1890-
1930 by James C. Juhnke
(Herald Press, 1989, $19.95,
$24.95 in Canada) tells how
Mennonites responded to the
challenges of war and to
doctrinal and cultural change.
David A. Haury edits an
occasional newsletter of the
historical committee of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church called General
Conference Heritage. It is
published by the Commission
on Education, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114-0347.
Homiletic: A Review of
Publications in Religious
Communication ($7 per year) is
published semiannually in June
and December by the Academy
of Homiletics and the Religious
Speech Communication
Association. Order from
Lutheran Theological Semi-
nary, 61 W. Confederate Ave.,
Gettysburg, PA 17325.
William J. Doorly develops a
theology of economic justice
that makes the prophet's words
a stirring indictment and
illumination of society today in
Prophet of Justice: Under-
standing the Book of Amos
(Paulist Press, 1990, $5.95).
Intimate Moments with the
Savior: Learning to Love by
Ken Gire (Zondervan, 1989.
$12.95) is a devotional
tapestry, woven from threads of
Scripture, meditation and
prayer.
Marlene Kropf is the writer
for an edition of the Adult
Bible Study Guide (Commis-
sion on Education and Men-
nonite Publishing House)
scheduled for use in June, July
and August. The Bible study is
based on passages from
Psalms, Proverbs and other
references.
Holiness by Donald Nicholl
(Paulist Press, 1990. $8.95)
explores the value and
dynamics as well as the
excitement and mystery of our
human relationship with God.
A new church development
seminar offered by Mennonite
Board of Missions, called
Foundations for Growth, is
designed for congregational
leaders and anyone interested
in seeing the church be
effective in kingdom building.
Contact Melba Martin. MBM.
Box 370. Elkhart, IN 46515-
0380.
Joseph Smith: Selected
Sermons and Writings, edited
by Robert L. Millet (Paulist
Press. 1990. $24.95) is #17 in
the Sources of American
Spirituality Series.
— compiled by Gordon Houser
Marlene Kropf
THE MENNONITE 259
Moving?
Take
The mennonIte
with you.
Let us know your new
address, and we will see
that you get your
favorite magazine on
time. Contact Doris
Yoder, Box 347, Newton,
KS 67114, (316) 283-5100.
Celebration of Conscience — A
gathering commemorating 50
years of continuing witness against
war, at Bryn Mawr, Pa., Aug. 3-5,
1990. Dave Dellinger, Eva Michel,
Parren Mitchell speaking, Holly
Near singing. Free info and
registration materials. Contact
Celebration of Conscience, Suite
750, 1601 Connecticut Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20009-1035,
(202) 483-4514.
Are you lonely? Maybe Cross-
roads can help you, too. Some of
the couples who have met their
mates through us include a nurse
and a minister, a teacher and a
carpenter, and a widow and a
farmer. Other clients are meeting
friends who share their interests.
Some are still waiting to meet the
right one. Perhaps they are
looking for you. How will you find
out if you don't join7
For information write to Cross-
roads, Box 32, North Tonawanda,
NY 14120.
Full-time nine-month position
available at Hesston College
teaching college writing, introduc-
tion to literature, modern literature.
Send resume to Academic Dean,
Hesston College, Hesston KS
67062, or call (316) 327-8207 for
information.
A half-time position in guidance
and full-time positions in special
education and public relations
are available at Christopher Dock
Mennonite High School. Also
open is a co-curricular position as
yearbook adviser. The guidance
position may be combined with
subject area teaching to comprise
a full-time position. The public
relations position, available July 1,
includes responsibility for school
publications and for student
recruitment.
Interested persons send resume to
Elaine Moyer, acting principal,
1000 Forty Foot Road, Lansdale,
PA 19446.
Administrator needed, beginning
June 15, for an accredited K-8
elementary school with an
enrollment of 220 students.
Master's degree preferred.
Interested persons should address
inquiries and resumes to Don
Hess, Board Chairman, New
Danville Mennonite School, 393
Long Lane, Lancaster, PA 17603,
or call (717) 464-4506.
Applications are being received for
the position of executive director
for a new children's curriculum for
use in congregations. This is a co-
operative project of the Mennonite
Church, General Conference
Mennonite Church, Church of the
Brethren and Brethren in Christ.
Qualifications for the assignment
include experience in curriculum
development, organizational and
management skills, training in
biblical studies and active
membership in the congregational
life of one of the participating
denominations. The position is full
time for a period of three years. It
is preferable for the person to be
located in the vicinity of one of the
publishing houses of the cooperat-
ing partners. The position begins
September 1990.
Apply in writing immediately to
Laurence Martin, Mennonite
Publishing House, 616 Walnut
Ave.. Scottdale, PA 15683.
Include a resume and a brief
paragraph telling your reason for
applying for the position.
Mennonite Central Committee
has the following service positions
open:
•Secretaries/administrative
assistants in the United States and
Canada (14 needed). Good
relational, organizational and office
skills. Need one bilingual
(Spanish/English).
•Truck drivers/canner operators (3
needed). At least age 21 with
license to drive semis. Team
worker, physical stamina, good
relational skills. Need immediately.
Based in Akron, Pa.
•Self-Help Crafts warehouse
workers (many needed). Stocking
supervisor, returns supervisor,
order processors and packers.
Two-year and short-term. Age 18
and up. No experience required.
Service positions include room,
board and personal allowance.
Two-year terms.
Contact Mark Sprunger, Personnel
Services, Box 500, Akron, PA
17501-0500, (717) 859-1151
Menno Simons Christian School
is actively seeking to fill teaching
positions in its junior high
program. Teaching openings are
in French, the humanities, math
and science.
Interested applicants should
forward pertinent information and
resume to the Principal, Menno
Simons Christian School, 2445-23
Ave. S.W., Calgary, AB T2T 0W3,
(403) 249-9944.
Sarasota Christian School,
Sarasota, Fla., is in need of a prin-
cipal (grades K-12). Master's
degree in education or administra-
tion is required. Will assist school
administrator in giving oversight to
educational program. Should have
strong interpersonal as well as or-
ganizational skills.
Send resume to Steve Ponchot,
4715 Beacon Drive, Sarasota, FL
34232.
Western Mennonite High School,
located in Salem, Ore., has the
following positions to be filled:
•Volunteer positions for married
couple — maintenance and
cafeteria (7/1/90), single male as
assistant in boys' dorm (immedi-
ately), single female as assistant
in girls' dorm (8/20/90).
•Salaried positions as librarian
(8/20/90) and head dean of girls
(8/20/90).
For more information contact
Bryan J. Stauffer, Western
Mennonite High School, 9045
Wallace Road., NW, Salem, OR
97304, (503) 363-2000.
Goshen College seeks faculty for
a full-time, long-term position in the
Division of Teacher Education,
with emphasis on curriculum and
educational foundations. Position
open August 1990 or August 1991.
Qualifications include Ph.D. or
Ed.D. Candidates with dissertation
in progress may be considered.
Teaching experience in elementary
school preferred. Commitment to
integrating Christian faith and the
principles of peacemaking with
teaching is important. Minority
persons are encouraged to apply.
Send resume and three profes-
sional references to John W. Eby,
Academic Dean, Goshen College,
Goshen, IN 46526. Applications
will be received until the position is
filled. If you have further ques-
tions, call John Eby (219) 535-
7503 or John J. Smith, Director of
Teacher Education, (219) 535-
7439.
MCC Canada invites applications for:
Director — Kanadier Concerns Program
Primary Responsibilities:
• Administer the Mexico Kanadier program.
• Promote and develop new educational materials for Kanadier Menno-
nites in Latin America.
• Develop new Kanadier programs in Latin America, in consultation with
the MCC Latin America desk.
• Serve as a resource to Kanadier communities in Canada.
Key Qualifications include:
• A genuine interest in, and love for, the Kanadier people.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• Administrative and leadership skills.
• Fluency in Low German. Spanish would be an asset.
• Previous experience in Latin America and/or with MCC preferred.
Starting date is negotiable. Deadline for applications is June 30.
Contact: Overseas Coordinator
^ _ .. Mennonite Central Committee Canada
f \ rfnS 134 Plaza Drive
L i r!lL Winnipeg, MB R3T5K9
Canada Telephone (204)261-6381
260 JUNE 12, 1990
Letters
Use The Mennonite
Often we use The Mennonite as a
resource for preaching, and next year I'll
use it while teaching Bible, church
history and Mennonite studies at United
Mennonite Educational Institute in
Leamington. Linda Dueck, 3 Sparrow
Road, Winnipeg, MB R3R 2Y8
We are encouraged
We appreciate The Mennonite's contents
and the spiritual enrichment we get out
of it. We are encouraged in faith as we
read the articles, the records and the
valuable testimonies that come from
different people. God has blessed us
through reading the magazine. Thank
you for working hard to get it up-to-date
and relevant to the present context and
need. Premanand and Rachel Bagh, C-
86, Union Theological College, Box 4613,
63, Miller's Road, Benson Town, Banga-
lore, India 560046
Editor's note: See Prologue in this issue
for more on overseas subscriptions.
Proclaim life and hope
After reading "Abortion: a personal
response" [May 8] by Helen Friesen, I
have to respond. I have known Helen
since I was a small child going to church,
and I couldn't begin to list the ways that
God has used her life and the people
whose lives Helen has touched. Helen
wrote, "We will never know whether one
of those lives aborted might have
discovered the cure for cancer, written a
great symphony or become president or
prime minister of a country." I say,
thank God for "ordinary" people like
Helen.
I would like to tell three ways that God
has used Helen's life to speak to me.
First, she was my Sunday school teacher
in my youth and as a young adult. She
never failed to come fully prepared to
teach, and her enthusiasm for studying
the Bible infected me. I don't remember
so much what she taught, but I do
remember her love for God's Word.
Second, Helen never forgot to send a
monthly letter or birthday card while I
was a student in college and later in
seminary. She still remembers the
birthdays and anniversary of my family,
even though we have been away from our
home community for several years.
Third, it was Helen and her husband,
Willard, who challenged and encouraged
me to go to seminary and enter the
pastoral ministry. Their affirmation was
what I needed to serve God.
I know that the abortion debate
creates a lot of emotion, even among
church people, and it is a complex issue
to discern. I will not lend my voice to say
that abortion in cases of rape or incest is
wrong, but as in Helen's life, God can
and does create something good out of an
evil act. We as a church need to proclaim
the good news in various ways that God
is still creating order out of chaos, good
out of evil, and that God redeems lives
and situations that human beings see as
hopeless or abhorrent. Let us as Christ's
followers not view the abortion contro-
versy from a human perspective. Let us
remember that God is still at work
creating and redeeming the world and
that we should be agents of that creation
and redemption. Let us proclaim life and
hope in the abortion debate. Gordon
Krause, pastor, Prescott Mennonite
Church, Box 26055, Prescott Valley, AZ
86312
Thanks
The March 13 issue was much worth
reading and I appreciate particularly the
articles by Susan Classen and by James
Schrag. William Klassen, Toronto
United Mennonite Church, 1772 Queen
St. E., Toronto, ON M4L 1G7
You have consistently produced a good
magazine. I got a blessing from the
editorial "Broken Bread Helps Us Meet"
[April 10]. May God provide the strength
you need. Harry Martens, 1225 Green-
croft Drive, #20, Goshen, IN 46526
I appreciated the editorial "Broken Bread
Helps Us Meet." Donald C. Lacy, Box
175, Leesburg, IN 46538
The Mennonite is a super publication.
Minna Regier, 734 Monroe St., Evanston,
IL 60202
I read the April 24 issue with interest. I
thought several of the articles were most
thought provoking. May God continue to
bless your efforts. Neil C. Fitzgerald,
Box 192, S. Dartmouth, MA 02748
We enjoy your paper and have saved all
copies for over 10 years. Please send the
index for 1989. Jake and Irene Wiebe,
813 Ave. U. N, Saskatoon, SK S7L 3C8
Editor's note: The 1989 index is avail-
able upon request. Write Angela Rempel,
Box 347, Newton, KS 67114.
Pilgrim food
I am one who looks for answers. Thank
you for not trying to produce an "answer
magazine" (Editorial, April 24). You help
keep me on a "pilgrimage of faith."
I enjoyed the interplay of Katie Funk
Wiebe and Rebekah Burch Basinger's
writing about survival and hope [April
24]. Ms. Basinger wants "something
better than survival," yet "survival is
about (all) I hope for at the moment."
Ms. Wiebe writes that "the church will
survive" with "their vision on a hope."
Good pilgrim food. Suzanne Lawrence,
Route 2, Box 49A, Hillsboro, KS 67063
Some people are 'set apart'
Katie Funk Wiebe's article on profession-
alization of leadership [March 27] has
several weaknesses. First, it speaks
about the ministry of the church, a
theological matter, without any reference
to a biblical-theological base. Second, the
article fails to distinguish between "the
ministry of the whole people of God" and
the ministry of those functionally "set
apart" for specific leadership roles in the
church. Third, the emphasis seems to be
on the church gathered and what
happens when they gather. But the
church gathered is only one aspect of
being the church. Most of the time the
people of God are not gathered but scat-
tered (home, work, recreation) and fulfill
their primary ministry when scattered.
An important passage on this subject
is Ephesians 4:11-16, where Paul lists a
few of the "set apart" people (apostles,
prophets, evangelists, pastors and
teachers). These have a unique function
within the body — they are to equip the
believers for ministry, or "works of
service." As I understand the text, the
ministry of "the many" is not primarily a
pastoral ministry. All the believers are
called to serve Christ and others — this is
the primary ministry of the people of
God. The "set apart few" are called to a
derivative and secondary form of minis-
try primarily within the body.
Being functionally "set apart," as the
text states, does not mean being elevated
or set above the rest of the people. They
are called to serve the others, not lord it
over them.
Having some people set apart in the
church for this ministry does not usurp
the ministry of the believer. Set apart
people are called precisely to equip all
believers for their ministry when
scattered. John H. Neufeld, 290 Emer-
son Ave., Winnipeg, MB R2G 1G4
THE MENNONITE 261
REVI EWS
Biblical
Faith and
Fathering
Why we call God "Father"
John W MMer
Propping up men
Biblical Faith and Fathering: Why
We Call God 'Father' by John W. Miller
(Paulist Press, 1989, 165 pages)
Reviewed by Lois Barrett, 1508 Fairview,
Wichita, KS 67203
The primary question of this book of
academic essays on the topic of faith and
fathering is, How can women move
beyond patriar-
chy and rectify its
abuses without
bringing to an
end the involve-
ment of men in
fathering of their
own children?
John W. Miller,
professor of
religious studies
at Conrad Grebel
College, Water-
loo, Ont., begins
with the assump-
tion that mothering is supported biologi-
cally but that fathering is only a cultural
artifact. Following psychoanalytic
theory, Miller says that the first step in
children's reaching maturity is putting
emotional distance between themselves
and their mother, who is assumed to be
the primary caregiver. Girls, so the
theory goes, have a relatively easy time
reidentifying with the parent of the same
sex; boys, however, need a strong male
role model, a father, in order to make the
successful transition to maturity and
identification as a man.
Therefore, it is especially important
that fathers stay involved in parenting.
To do so, fathers need extra support in
the role of nurturing and guiding their
children. Otherwise we witness the
breakup of family structures, as we now
have in our culture, to the detriment of
all.
Thus, writes Miller, it is important
that we continue to use male language
for God, especially the title of Father
(and not feminine or neutral images for
God), to support the fathering role of
human fathers.
To support this view biblically, Miller
draws primarily from the Old Testament
(even though the New Testament uses
"Father" or Abba/"Daddy" much more
often to refer to God). In fact, he regrets
that "Christianity, in breaking free of its
Jewish moorings, tended to de-empha-
size the importance of the biological
family in favor of the spiritual family."
But in so doing he raises the biological
family far above the teachings of Jesus,
where the disciples leave home and
family to follow Jesus, and the teachings
of Paul, where the "brothers and sisters"
are other members of the family of faith,
the church.
Other ideas used to support the
priority of human fathering are suspect.
Miller sees father-involvement and
monogamy as exclusively human,
ignoring male seahorses and birds that
mate for life. The supposedly less
intense patriarchy in other ancient Near
Eastern cultures, in comparison to
Hebrew culture, is supported only by
myth, not by evidence of real human
beings and their life together.
The emphasis of the book is on how
patriarchy (that is, father-rule) supports
men; seldom is there any consideration of
its effect on women. In fact, the assump-
tion on which the book rests is that men
are so weak in their motivation for
fathering that we need to prop them up
much more than women and put men in
charge so that they will participate in
family life at all.
Surely we can have a higher opinion of
men than that.
To its credit, the book is moderate in
tone and does not resort to the name
calling often found with those who wish
to debate feminists. Its value will
depend on what priority one wishes to
give to Freudian-psychoanalytic theory of
child development and to Old Testament
(as opposed to New Testament) social
structures.
The book is a helpful reminder that we
should not quit using the term "Father"
for God, but it fails to convince that we
should give lesser priority to other
biblical terms and images of God in an
attempt to support human fathers.
A leader's journey
Reflections of an Hispanic
Mennonite by Jose Ortiz and David
Graybill (Good Books, 1989, 96 pages)
Reviewed by Alberto Quintela, Jr, 576 S.
Robert, St. Paul, MN 55107
Reading this book is like walking
through the graveyard markers of the
Hispanic ministries program of the
Mennonite Church. Most of the pro-
grams noted by Ortiz no longer exist,
and most of the Hispanic Mennonite
leaders that are mentioned are no longer
affiliated with Mennonites.
Alternating chapters by Ortiz and
Graybill provide a subjective and
objective view of Ortiz's involvement
with the church, respectively. What
Ortiz neglects to say in these sections is
more interesting than what he does say.
Ortiz's contact with Mennonites began in
the 1950s in his native Puerto Rico. He
recalls that the Mennonites were
different — "friendly, unassuming and
willing to reach across boundaries of
class and culture."
The first 12 chapters chronicle Ortiz's
high-speed journey through five colleges
or seminaries and three pastoral posi-
tions. A good description of these years
would be "busy but occasionally wearing
down." Sometimes the reader catches
glimpses of what Ortiz is thinking or
feeling, but these chapters read like
news releases of what he was doing, and
he was doing a lot.
Ortiz's positions as associate secretary
for the Hispanic Concilio and as director
of the Hispanic ministries program at
Goshen (Ind.) College are pivotal in the
history of Hispanic ministries in the
Mennonite Church. But little is men-
tioned of the struggle and effort under-
taken by various Hispanic leaders to
bring these programs about.
The final chapter finds Ortiz entering
his 50s with a mixture of gratitude and
concern. He has had a lifetime of
Mennonite church experiences and
accumulated many friendships yet has
few financial resources. His future is
insecure at a time when he should be a
tenured professor or director of a cross-
cultural religious institute with the
opportunity to write and impart to
aspiring Hispanic Mennonite pastors and
leaders the wisdom of his journey.
The uncertainty of Ortiz is a reflection
of the tenuous relations that Hispanic
ministries and past Hispanic Mennonite
leaders have had with the Mennonite
church. Ortiz's request is that he be
remembered as "someone who treated
people fairly, paid his bills and helped
make things happen." He may well be
remembered as the last associate
secretary of the Hispanic Concilio (when
it was still around) and the last director
of the Hispanic ministries program,
which is fast fading into the sunset.
A better title for this book might have
been The Rise and Fall of Hispanic
Ministries in the Mennonite Church.
Ortiz's story then would have been of
how one hard-driving Hispanic leader
survived amid dwindling funds and
structural Anglo retrenchment.
262 JUNE 12, 1990
MEdhwrioN
This seed grew in Katie's Woods
Robert W. Regier
"What shall we say the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters
seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets
up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.
All by itself the soil produces grain — first the stalk, then the
head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is
ripe, he puts the sickle to it because the harvest has come"
(Mark 4:30-32).
he little town of Mountain Lake, Minn., was my childhood
playground — all of the town. I assumed that every neigh-
borhood sandbox was in the public domain. And when our
road-building, mining and sifted-sand enterprises became a bit
tedious, there were the railroad tracks, the stockyard, the lake
shore, the locker plant, Schroeder's Pond, Marten's Creek, the
dump ground, the cemetery, Reimer's barn and Katie's Woods.
Katie's Woods was particularly intriguing: between and
behind the trees were so many things that moved. But we were
prepared. One of my favorite friends was the proud owner of a
BB gun — an item my parents never allowed me to possess.
Most of the movement, greatly exaggerated through the
application of imagination, was generated by an assorted
number of woodland birds common to southwestern Minnesota.
We were without conscience and took aim at these winged
Name calling
Ruth Unrau
Outside my window on a frail and swinging branch
I hung a lump of suet, hoping to see close up
those fluttery strangers from the neighbors' trees.
Oh, jay and cardinals I know, but small wild things,
so very shy, too full of darts to be ensnared
by studying eye, those were my prey.
So with a child's First Book of Birds I watched,
and patiently, for every time I turned the page
they flew away. I learned their names: vireo,
downy woodpecker, starling, junco, chickadee.
creatures whenever the supply of rats in Reimer's barn waned.
The reason that such sordid activity by a 10-year-old gradu-
ally gave way to a lifelong passion in bird identification and
bird behavior surfaced only 13 years ago. In one of our quick
trips back to my home soil, a gentleman in his 90s asked me if I
still enjoyed bird study. (He was the widower of the deceased
Katie, to whom the woods belonged.) After assuring him that
birding was still an enormous source of pleasure in my life, he
asked me the painful question: "Do you remember the hours
that you and your friend spent in our woods stalking birds with
a BB gun?" I confessed that I did. He followed with a second
question: "Do you remember why you stopped?" I confessed
that I didn't. He said, "You know, I didn't like what you were
doing and pondered the problem for a long time. Finally, I
decided one day to walk to your house to give you my only bird
book. [It was the Reed's Bird Guide, copyright 1906.] You
became involved in the book and never visited our woods with a
BB gun again." Had this chance visit with Katie's husband not
occurred I would never have known of this mustard seed
experience.
The sprouting continues. Within recent years several
friends, some who know vastly more about birding than I, have
reminded me, to my surprise, that a chance outing together
was their beginning. Reed's Guide, Katie's hus-
band, chance encounters — sprouts that grew in
ways I did not know.
Robert Regier is professor of art at
Bethel College, North Newton,
Kan., and a member of Bethel
College Mennonite Church. He is
pictured here in his studio.
I know why God had man give names to all that breathe.
Someone who doesn't have a name just doesn't count for much.
Unidentified flying objects are dull. But verily, I love the vireo.
A starling is no darling, but he is somebody.
That up-and-downy pecker of wood who flew away
(he felt my shadow in the glass) would be more tame
if seed and suet were distributed by name.
Ruth Unrau is a member of Bethel College Mennonite Church, North
Newton, Kan.
THE MENNONITE 263
NEWS
01 002?. 03 1 3 23
LI 3ft A F Y
ASSOC MENN 3I3LICAL SPM
3003 BE WHAM AVE
ELKHART IN 46r>17
EdiTORiAl
'Mennonite Christian' is redundant
ourteen years ago, when I first joined a Mennonite
congregation, I thought I was part of a Believers'
Church. I was a Christian, had spent years studying
the Bible, seeking God's will about what church should
be, at least what kind of church I was called to. I
became a "convinced Mennonite" or, as I referred to
myself, an Anabaptist. The radical call to discipleship,
to non-violence, to community, drew me to the Anabap-
tists' understanding of the way of Jesus.
I soon discovered that the church I had embraced, that
had in turn welcomed me warmly, had misgivings about
itself. I found myself encountering a different culture.
This did not bother me. I realized that any group of
people develops unique cultural traits. I enjoyed learn-
ing about — and tasting — foods like borscht, verenika
and zwieback, about singing, service and, of course, the
network of names that many toss around in playing "the
Mennonite game."
What has come to bother me increasingly is a linger-
ing tendency to use "Mennonite" as an adjective along-
side Christian. I joined the Mennonite church with the
understanding that only believers were members. To be
a Mennonite is to be a Christian, I believe. But the re-
dundant term "Mennonite Christian" keeps popping up.
"Mennonite" is used as an ethnic term.
One problem with this is that it is simply inaccurate.
My in-laws in western Kansas are German Catholics.
Many of their cultural practices — from borscht and
verenika to offhanded comments in German — are
identical to what many think of as Mennonite traits.
Some of my wife's ancestors came to the United States
from Austria in the 1870s to escape conscription. But
they were Catholics, not Mennonites.
"Mennonite," I believe, should describe our faith, the
way we have chosen to follow Jesus, not the foods we eat
or the names we are born with. This is the essence of
the Many Peoples emphasis. We've been over this
ground before, but it keeps cropping up. I suppose we
need reminders.
I n Mark 9:38-41, the disciples object to someone outside
their circle doing ministry in Jesus' name. Jesus says,
"Anyone who is not against us is for us" (verse 40).
While he presented a radical message of repentance,
Jesus did not quibble over incidentals. He called his
followers to take
up the cross, to g,
lose their lives I
for the sake of l
the gospel, but a
he excluded no
one who sought
mercy. He went
out of his way to
include those on
the fringes of
society — the
outcasts, the
lame, women,
children, even
gentiles.
If Mennonites
want to follow
this radical way,
we will need to
guard against
the too-easy
assumption that
our cultural quirks are a part of our faith. If we want to
reach people with the gospel and grow as a church, we
will need to dismantle fences, practices that obscure the
gospel's message of reconciliation. We will need to
watch our language.
Cultural fetes are fine — be they German, Hispanic,
Chinese, African. But don't call them Mennonite.
Gordon Houser
Believers' Church? 'Mennonite' should
describe our faith, not the foods we eat.
THE MENNOIMfTE
105:12 JUNE 26, 1990
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID. WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
A lifetime of
everyday ministry
Without a pastor we
discovered ourselves
'This Bible study
answered my prayer'
E
Ezekiel, Jeremy, Ruth and Esther Wong
pnoloquE
CONTENTS
John Bender, on staff at Associated Men-
nonite Biblical Seminaries, assembled
some of the articles on the following
pages. My thanks to him for his good help.
Each year we devote the major portion of an
issue of The Mennonite to seminary people
and education.
AMBS has worked hard over the
years to become accessible to its con-
stituency. My personal goal is to get
to its campus each summer for one of
the week-long courses. "Seminary without
walls" brings teachers to outlying areas.
Interterm for three weeks every January and
"pastor's week" for the week just following
make seminary education available to those
who can only take short times away from
home. (Last year the 225 who came for pas-
tor's week "feasted" on the book of Revelation.)
Extension courses are also available in Win-
nipeg and south central Kansas. If you
haven't yet delved into this treasure trove of
searching the Scriptures, do it soon. For more
information, contact Steve Fath, 3003 Ben-
ham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517-1999, (219) 295-
3726.
God has attended our journey / 267
Agnes Poettcker: a lifetime of everyday ministry / 270
My call to mission / 272
My call to ministry / 272
Without a pastor we discovered ourselves
and value of a pastor / 273
News / 274
Second Women in Mission Learning Tour / 274
Record / 279
Resources / 282
My 10-day preaching tour in Cuba / 283
Letters / 284
Reviews / 286
The nature of church / 286
The door to the house / 286
Syriac poet-theologian / 286
'This Bible study answered my prayer' / 287
From the greenhouse to the garden / 288
Cover: Photo by Howard Zehr
And now let my introduce the
newest member of this maga-
zine's board of advisers: Lynn
Liechty, member of First Men-
nonite Church, Berne, Ind., rep-
resenting the Central District
Conference. He succeeds Steve
Estes. Lynn brings much congre-
gational and conference experi-
ence, and I welcome his being
there with wisdom and counsel. Central
District folks who have ideas or concerns
about The Mennonite may refer them to Lynn
or to me.
The next issue, dated July
10, will feature Mennonite
World Conference. Muriel
T. Stackley
(3D
fc MENNONITE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100. Editor:
Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant: Angela Rempel;
art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the Associated Church Press,
Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a Mennnonite and Brethren in Christ
editors' group). It is an associate member of the Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretaries: Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14, and Rose Retzlaff, 600
Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4. Business manager: Dietrich Rempel. Special
editions editors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North Newton, KS 67117;
Window to Mission, Lois Decked, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14; Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, Richard A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1, Carstairs, AB TOM 0N0, (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2S 1V7; (Central District)
Lynn Liechty, 666 Columbus St., Berne, IN 4671 1 ; (Eastern District) Curtis Bauman, 429
N. Second St., Emmaus, PA 18049; (Manitoba) in process; (Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada) Margo Fieguth, 99 Veronica Drive, Mississauga, ON L5G 2B1 ; (Northern
District) Winifred Wall, Box 67, Freeman, SD 57029; (Pacific District) Clare Ann Ruth-
Heffelbower, 3198 E. Menlo Ave., Fresno, CA 93710; (Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger, 125
Rawlinson Bay, Regina, SK S4S 6M8,; (Western District) Leland Harder, Box 363, North
Newton, KS 67117.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 14 years of The Mennonite are also
available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College, North Newton, KS 67117, and
from University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106.
Circulation: 10,228
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build the
Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the guidance of
the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly by the General Conference
Mennonite Church, 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. Subscription rates: one
year, $18 U.S., $21 Canada; two years, $32 U.S., $38 Canada; three years, $44 U.S., $52
Canada. Outside North America add $1 6 U.S. per year to U. S. rate for surface mail,
$67.68 U.S. for airmail. Single copies: $2 U.S. Five or more: $1 U.S. each. Second class
postage paid at Newton, Kan., and additional mailing offices. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMAS-
TER: Send Form 3579 to The Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. ©1990
266 JUNE 26, 1990
«r to
attended our
journey
Ezekiel Wong
Even though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for
thou art with me.
Psalm 23:4
I am ethnic Chinese but was born in
Saigon, Vietnam. My parents moved
from China to Vietnam, living there
during the Japanese War, 1937-1945. I
come from a Christian family. I am
grateful that I could attend Sunday
school every Sunday with my parents. I
experienced the new birth, the new life
in my heart, when I was 10. Two years
later in a revival meeting, God called me.
At that meeting I dedicated my life to
serve the Lord.
My family was poor. When I was 15 I
had to work to earn some money to help
my family. I went to night school for my
high school studies.
I grew up as a teenager during the
Vietnam War. At that time the U.S.
government sent many soldiers to
South Vietnam to help the South Viet-
namese government fight the Viet Cong.
Every day I saw a lot of killing and
fighting. And every night I heard the
sound of machine guns, rockets and
bombs.
In those days God spoke to me continu-
ously about bringing the gospel to the
lost. Again and again the Holy Spirit
called me until I said yes to the Lord. I
said, "I dedicate my life to you" and I
went at age 17 to the Bible school in Nha
Trang (central Vietnam) for Bible
training. I studied at the Bible school for
five years, graduating in 1970.
I then served the Chinese church in
Saigon. We had 40 members, all over 50
years old. God gave me strength and a
humble heart to serve these older mem-
bers. After two years I started a chil-
dren's Sunday school, a youth fellowship
and a choir in the church. Two years
later I resigned to serve with a gospel
team. We preached the gospel among
the villages in the middle of Vietnam.
On April 30, 1975, the North Vietnam-
ese government took over South Viet-
nam. Everything changed. The Viet
Cong government closed many of the
churches. They closed our Bible college
in Nha Trang. Chinese people were
especially affected, many of them doing
well in business. The Communists took
their property, everything. They were
deported to the countryside to farm
without equipment or supplies.
In 1976 the Vietnamese government
began fighting with the Chinese govern-
ment. The Chinese in Vietnam saw
people from India and Korea evacuated
by their governments. But neither of the
two Chinese governments helped their
people return to their countries. We had
no hope. I asked God, "Why am I a
Chinese? Why am I not an Indian,
Korean, Japanese, American or some-
body else?" No answer. But we trusted
God.
In 1977 the Vietnamese government
began to push the Chinese residents out.
They did not want the Chinese joining
the Chinese government against them.
So began the refugee ("boat people")
Jeremy (wearing an Amish hat he bought in
Mishawaka, Ind.) and Esther Wong at their
home on the seminary campus in Elkhart.
movement. Many of our church mem-
bers had to leave Vietnam.
Eventually a deacon came to me and
said, "Pastor Wong, I think this is the
time you should leave Vietnam. Do you
have money to pay for your trip?" I said,
"No, I don't." Everybody had to pay more
than 10 ounces of gold to the boat owner.
My wife, Ruth, and I had to come up with
more than 20 ounces of gold. The deacon
said, "I can help you. I will let you
borrow the gold so you can leave the
country." And he added, "If you pass
away or if you both pass away on the sea,
you can forget about the debt. I hope you
can get into heaven without debt, so if
you arrive somewhere in this world, you
can pay me back, step by step." I said,
"Thank you."
Ruth and I registered with the boat
owner in April 1978. Ruth was two
months pregnant. We waited. Months
passed. The doctor told us our baby
would be born in December, close to
Christmas. On Dec. 17 the boat owner
told us, "OK, we have to go now."
I did not know how to cope with such a
Howard Zehr
THE MENNONITE 267
Crowded journey: Like this one, the Wongs'
boat was "only four meters wide and 20 meters ^
long. We could not move around at all. We T^^L2*
stood up and sat down to change position." 1^
i -
situation. I shared the dilemma with a
doctor in my church. I asked him how to
deliver a baby. He said, "I don't think I
can help you, but if you are sure God will
let you leave the country, I will pray for
you." Then he added, "I can let you
borrow a book, and you can read it
quickly, then I will show you some
equipment to buy to deliver a baby." So I
read the book in two or three days,
bought equipment and we were off for
the land journey to the port city in the
south of Vietnam. On that trip 25 of our
church members went with us. We
arrived at the port. We had to wait
again, day by day, for the boat.
One old man from our church said to
me, "Pastor Wong, right now I know why
God stopped our boat. I think it's the
baby." I said, "Yes, I think you're right."
On Dec. 24, in the evening, we all went
to the Vietnamese church for the Christ-
mas service. After the service we
returned to our waiting place. About
midnight my wife said, "I feel the baby
coming." We had to walk to the hospital.
On Christmas morning at 6:30 our first
child was born. We named her Esther,
giving thanks to God for her safe arrival.
On Jan. 1, 1979, the boat owner said,
"We are ready now. We have to go." So
many people were getting on the boat
that some said, "We think your wife and
your baby will pass away on the boat." I
said to them, "We trust God. God can
save us." So we got into the boat. It was
only four meters wide and 20 meters
long. We were 365 people. We could not
move around at all. We stood up and sat
down to change position.
At midnight on the day that we left, a
big storm came up. Everybody cried.
Many prayed to their gods. Our mem-
bers asked me, "Pastor Wong, pray for
us." I stood up and I comforted them and
told them, "Take heart and let's pray." I
prayed as loud as I could and asked God
to save us. About 10 minutes later, God
calmed the storm.
Then the person running the boat told
° V*ic0||Vef. ,
From the shores of Vietnam to the halls of
AMBS: "Ruth and I want to respond to the
vision of global evangelism and learn more
about Anabaptist history and theology. That
is why we came to Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries." This is a hallway in the
™« mf Wr/fSL to* m _ seminary's administration building
us, "Our engine has broken down
because of the storm." So he told every-
body, "We have to return to Vietnam to
repair our engine." Everybody was
scared, sad and discouraged. We had to
wait in the dock for four days to repair
the engine. God sent a woman to us
while the boat was being repaired. She
had recognized us from our previous
wait. She brought a bowl of rice to my
wife every day. That was a miracle. We
didn't ask; we simply prayed.
Finally our trip resumed. On the
eighth night someone carried a young
woman and set her beside me. She was
about to give birth. She was crying in
pain. Her mother-in-law had accompa-
nied her to take care of her. At that time
the Holy Spirit spoke to me, "You have to
help this young woman, because you
brought along the equipment." I had no
experience, but I remembered instruc-
tions from the book. I took out the equip-
ment, gave it to the mother-in-law and
showed her how to deliver the baby. The
baby, a boy, arrived safely.
When we got to Malaysia we entered
the refugee camp called Pulau Bidong.
We met other church members in the
refugee camp, including my sister. The
first question she asked me was, "Oh
brother, how come you came to this
camp?" I said, "I really don't know. God
just let us come here." She said, "Every
day, so many babies pass away here.
There are all kinds of sickness here." I
said, "We trust God to protect us." We
lived there four months in safety.
The Canadian government sponsored
us to come to Vancouver to live. On May
2, 1979, my family arrived at the Van-
couver International Airport.
In our orientation we met MaryAnne
Boschman, the coordinator of the
Mennonite Central Committee-sponsored
Refugee Resettlement Centre in Vancou-
ver. We were so thankful for her help
and we became good friends. Later I was
her co-worker, serving the refugees in
Vancouver for two years.
The Mennonite churches in Calgary
had sponsored several refugee families to
live in Calgary. The sponsors felt the
refugees in Calgary had a spiritual need.
So they contacted Henry G. Gerbrandt in
Winnipeg and Paul Boschman (Mary-
Anne's husband) to search for a pastor
who could reach out among the South-
east Asian refugees. Paul recommended
me to the sponsoring Calgary Mennonite
churches. In April 1981 my family
moved from Vancouver to Calgary.
We started two churches in Calgary,
one for Chinese and the other for native
Vietnamese. Easter Sunday 1981
marked the opening services for those
two churches. The Chinese church we
started with three members, and the
Vietnamese we started with seven
members. Thank God that in six years
the two churches grew, the Chinese
church from three to 50 and the Viet-
namese from seven to 35. Those two
churches have their own deacon boards,
Sunday school, youth fellowship, family
fellowship and choir activities every
week.
In June 1987 the Vietnamese church
hired its own pastor. In December 1986
the Chinese church bought its own build-
ing. After the Chinese church had its
own place to worship our Lord, the mem-
bership grew from 50 to 80. The Sunday
school of two classes has grown to eight
classes.
One day in the summer of 1988 the
Holy Spirit brought me a vision of global
evangelism. It came to me that the
gospel is not only for Southeast Asians
but for all people in the world. Ruth and
I want to respond to that vision. We also
want to learn more about Anabaptist
history and theology. For those two
reasons we decided to come and study at
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminar-
ies. Please remember us in your prayers.
Adapted from a chapel service at Associ-
ated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries,
Elkhart, Ind.
THE MENNONITE 269
Agnes Poettcker: a lifetime of
everyday ministry
Ruth Isaac
You don't need to give a lot of time,"
Agnes Poettcker reflects. "What
people need is to know they've
been heard."
She and I sit in her comfortably cool
living room on a warm spring Saturday
morning as she recounts some of her
experiences as a reference librarian.
Agnes and her husband, Henry, presi-
dent of Mennonite Biblical Seminary,
live in a quiet residential area on the
south edge of Elkhart, Ind. Many of
their neighbors are families, with chil-
dren of all ages. In their area, neighbors
know each other. Agnes seems to belong
in that neighborhood.
Her years of service and everyday
ministry in the community have taught
her much. She knows the rigors of trying
to balance a job and family life. But she
has found great fulfillment in following
her calling, a calling that has unfolded
gradually.
Agnes works as a reference librarian at
the Mishawaka Public Library in Misha-
waka, a twin city of South Bend, 15 miles
west of Elkhart. After six years there,
she looks toward retirement. She and
Henry are moving back to Winnipeg this
summer to be closer to their children and
grandchildren.
Years have passed since Agnes was
asked to take on her first library position
as interim head librarian at Canadian
Mennonite Bible College (CMBC) in Win-
nipeg. She ably rose to the challenge
with only basic on-the-job training.
Other positions opened. For a time she
served as children's librarian in the mail-
order department of the Manitoba
Extension Library. After completing a
bachelor's degree in English and history,
she returned to work in the library at the
University of Manitoba, first in reserves
and then in cataloging.
When Henry transferred from Cana-
dian Mennonite Bible College to Associ-
ated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries,
Agnes completed a master's degree in
library science at the University of
Indiana. She offered her services to the
seminaries. She and a volunteer, Nettie
Hooley, organized and set up the Men-
nonite Historical Library Reading Room,
a valuable library resource for students
of Anabaptist history. Later she applied
to the Mishawaka Public Library, where
she has spent the last six years.
What I have been doing, says Agnes,
"uses my natural bents and tendencies."
She provides an attentive and sensitive
listening ear and personal care as well as
reference information. "People come to
the library with a need and you help to
fill that need. The reason I find this
work so satisfying is that when Jesus
helped people, he helped them exactly
where their need was, and that's where
they were healed," she says with
characteristic conviction. "As disciples,
we follow Jesus' example. That's why
the reference desk is my calling. When
someone leaves and has been helped, it's
a tremendous joy. That's what happens
when you follow a call."
How does Agnes discover a person's
need? When someone comes to her in the
library she takes them through a
"reference interview." "We are taught to
find out just exactly what people want.
If you wait," she explains, "you'll find out
what they really want. They'll feel it if
you're open to helping them."
Her Russian Mennonite heritage has
made its contribution toward Agnes'
professional qualifications. She is a
woman of compassion and unobtrusive
servanthood. Born in Canada two
months after her parents emigrated from
the Ukraine, she heard much about their
suffering. Then came the Depression
and its hardships. "When you grow up in
the context of suffering, your spirit
connects with the spirits of people who
are suffering," says Agnes. "I can't tell
you how it happens — it just happens.
There's something about the way they
carry themselves physically, something
about their eyes and facial expressions,
that you know there's something deeper
going on than just wanting a book."
Many people come to the library after
visiting their physicians. Too often
doctors lack time to explain to their
patients all they need to know, so Agnes
meets a lot of people at the reference
desk who badly need information.
Sometimes, though, Agnes senses that
the person needs more. One day a
woman came in and asked for books on
stillbirth. After giving her materials
that explained the biological aspects,
Agnes noticed she didn't seem satisfied.
"I wondered if she wanted something on
grieving, so I said, 'It still hurts a lot,
doesn't it?' and that opened her up."
Another time a man came into her
department. As Agnes was busy helping
someone else, another woman attended
to him. Several minutes later, he
returned to the reference desk, visibly
upset. "Those are fiction, and I want
stories," he said. Agnes tried to explain
that fiction includes stories, but to no
avail. Realizing he was not understand-
ing her, and thinking he might be deaf,
she stood right in front of him so he could
lipread. He still seemed unable to under-
stand. "I could tell by his eyes that he'd
been trying to find help," she recalls, "but
could not get it. I knew I had to spend
time with him to make sure he got what
he needed. In the end, I found he had a
slip of paper in his pocket that said what
he wanted. Somewhere along the line,
something must have happened to him
which made it impossible for him to just
ask for help."
Most of Agnes' colleagues have been
affiliated with a Christian church or with
another religious tradition. "It's not
unusual for someone to say, 'I need your
prayers.' We're an ecumenical commu-
nity." Occasionally conversations about
the Bible arise during breaktimes. Even
so, as expected in a public setting, faith
is lived more than talked about. It
makes a difference, she maintains, "if
you have a faith in a Christ who wants to
be loving and helpful to others."
Agnes learned about Christ in her
childhood home. She and her parents
did not talk much about faith issues, but
she learned about faith through her
father's participation in the church.
When she was seven years old, her
family homesteaded in Alberta and
became part of a fledgling church there.
A "Reverend Janzen" prepared sermons
for the isolated, pastorless congregations
and distributed them by mail. Agnes'
father often read the sermons for the
congregation, so she grew up thinking
that she was getting instruction from her
father.
270 JUNE 26, 1990
"When Jesus helped people,
he helped them exactly where
their need was, and that's where
they were healed. Following
Jesus' example is why the
library reference desk is my
calling."
Agnes Poettcker
Agnes is modest about her singing
ability, but she beams as she speaks
about her love for singing during wor-
ship. It reminds her of her childhood,
when, each evening, her parents gath-
ered the family for devotions. "When I
was still a tiny tot, we read the German
Kalenderblat and the Bible, knelt for
silent prayer and sang a song." She
recalls a few titles: "Muede bin ich, geh
zu Ruh" ("I Am Tired and Am Going to
Rest"), "Lieber Vater, hoch im Himmel"
("Dear Father, in Heaven on High"), and
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus."
She mourns the current trend of
deeming sermons an unimportant part of
worship. "The sermon is important," she
says with conviction. "Often there'll be
one line I connect with that stays in my
mind and nurtures me."
This July Agnes leaves behind her
library ministry and many friends as she
and Henry move back to Manitoba. They
look forward to the next stage of their
ministry. Agnes hopes to be available to
people with needs and questions. Now
may be her time to work as a spiritual
friend, for which she prepared during
casual seminary studies years back. She
also hopes to take up sewing and other
handwork. She looks forward to having
her three children and seven grandchil-
dren close by.
Henry, meanwhile, will continue his
service with the seminary, working in a
fund-raising capacity, and will resume
involvement with CMBC.
Agnes refers to the German poet
Rainer Maria Rilke's reply to someone
who asked, "How will I know whether
I'm called to be a writer? Will others
think I'm a good writer?" Rilke re-
sponded, "If you have to write, you will
have to write whether anyone cares what
you write or not."
Whether or not the church called
Agnes to serve in the local library, she
knows she was called by God. She has
gladly followed in the way that God
revealed and in which God has walked
with her.
Ruth Isaac, an M.Div.
student at Associated
Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, grew up
near Dunnville, Ont.,
and most recently lived
in Winnipeg. During
this summer she is
taking Clinical Pas-
toral Education at
Hershey (Pa.) Medical
Center.
THE MENNONITE 271
PERSONAL
My call
...to mission
Susan Dick
I felt a call to mission after a time of
I spiritual renewal in my life. When I
got but a glimpse of the love of God, I
had a hunger for the truth and the Word.
In responding to God's love I felt a need
to share it with others. The spirit of
mission was also kept alive by attending
a church where it was strongly encour-
aged from the pulpit. At this church I
met many people who were new Chris-
tians. You cannot imagine the joy these
people had after receiving Christ as their
Lord.
My father died in February after a
lengthy illness. At his funeral at
Conestoga Mennonite Church, Morgan-
town, Pa., one of the speakers caught the
image of what change in Christ means.
My father's ministry was evangelism
among truck drivers. He was the north-
east regional director and a chaplain for
Transport for Christ International. This
speaker said that truckers are a group of
people who often don't smell good, use
foul language and don't lead moral lives.
The beautiful thing is that whoever
comes from the kingdom of darkness into
the kingdom of light becomes a new
creature in Christ Jesus. God gets a hold
of that person. Whereas before, someone
was distasteful, now that same person
becomes a beautiful individual, a work of
fine art, and all through life God contin-
ues to add the finishing touches.
The challenge I soon found myself
facing was, What right do I have to keep
all this joy and peace to myself? What
right do I have to deprive others of these
gifts and have them continue to serve the
works of darkness? At the same time I
discovered that it is all too easy to
become stagnant if we do not share God's
living water.
After much prayer and seeking the
Lord's will, we as a family have the
assurance and confirmation to be in
active service with Africa Inter-Menno-
nite Mission. My husband, Delbert, and
I have spent this past year at Associated
Mennonite Biblical Seminaries in the
mission training program as part of the
process in going to Zaire.
In the next school year, with our
daughters Deborah, 15, and Rachel, 13,
we will be in Sherbrooke, Quebec, to
study French, Zaire's national language.
We plan to leave for Zaire in the
summer of 1991 to serve at a recording
studio preparing tapes and broadcasting
material consisting of religious and
health-related topics.
Susan Dick is a
member of Silverwood
Mennonite Church,
Goshen, hid.
...to ministry
Steve Musselman
My call to ministry came through a
gradual process of seeking God's
plan for my life. I felt no instant call
from God that changed the path of my
life, but a conviction grew over several
years in the direction of being a minister
of God to others.
As a sophomore at the University of
Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Pa., in 1984, I
was on a weekend retreat with the Chris-
tian fellowship group on campus. During
this retreat my lagging faith was
renewed. I received the idea or call to be
a counselor at our church camp, Men-O-
Lan, in the Eastern District. That was
the first time I felt the urge to minister
to others. My Christian walk up until
that point had been one of receiving
nurture but not extending my faith to
others. I was blessed by that initial
experience as a counselor, and I then
began to teach senior high Sunday school
and serve as a youth adviser at my
original home church, Zion Mennonite
Church in Souderton, Pa. These experi-
ences confirmed my conviction to share
Christ's message with others.
I graduated from Temple University in
1986 with a degree in physical therapy,
began working at a rehabilitation
hospital and discovered satisfaction in
my work. I thought maybe in 10-15
years I would go to seminary and become
a pastor. In the meantime I would serve
the church in various functions.
About two years after my wife, April,
and I were married, we were looking
around to do some kind of service, and in
that search I thought more and more
about seminary. That was in the spring
of 1988. At that same time, my pastor at
Grace Mennonite Church in Lansdale,
Pa., Norman Schmidt, died. At his
funeral were many testimonies about
how his whole life was geared toward
ministering to people. I was encouraged
to seek the same type of life.
Other influences in my decision to
enter seminary were the enjoyment I had
We should look around and
challenge people we discern
as gifted in leadership to
consider seminary education.
in my responsibilities of leading the
senior high youth group at Grace
Mennonite, and in the motivation I felt
listening to John Esau (director of
ministerial leadership for the General
Conference Mennonite Church) speak
about pastoral ministry at the Eastern
District Conference in 1988.
I enrolled at Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries in February 1989.
No one had actually come up to me and
said, "Why don't you consider the
ministry or seminary?" I was involved in
another profession and was satisfied.
When I did make the decision, the
congregation encouraged and supported
me, as did my previous congregation at
Zion. I have the feeling of being "sent"
by my home congregation. In my
opinion, the congregation has a big
responsibility in the calling of leaders.
We should look around and challenge
people we discern as gifted in leadership
to consider seminary education, mission
training or other training to be leaders
and workers for the kingdom of God.
272 JUNE 26, 1990
TOqEThER
Without a pastor
We discovered ourselves and the value of a pastor
Helena M. Brown
We had no pastor for a whole year.
For us, Bergthal Mennonite
Church, the oldest General Conference
congregation in Alberta, it became a time
of discovery.
By careful and conscientious planning
the church board and the deacons man-
aged to find speakers to take the pulpit
every Sunday. First they looked at home
and found capable ones among our own
members. An emergent sense of loyalty
made these people willing to serve as
well. As a congregation we learned to
accept their efforts with tolerance and
gratitude.
We were fortunate to have at this time
the services of a local young man who
needed to do a ministerial practicum to
complete a Bible college course. Our
church encouraged him and noted his
development with delight. His ministry
to the youth and the baptismal candi-
dates, under the direction of conference
pastor David Braun, was especially
effective.
Every Sunday was a surprise. We
found that our horizons widened as
visiting workers told of their ministries
and concerns.
Competent members volunteered to
lead the weekday home Bible studies
that were held at different places. New
friendships formed as we talked to each
other in small group settings.
Severe illness and even death came to
us that year. In the fellowship of
suffering we were drawn closer to each
other and to the Lord.
We at Bergthal also discovered that
while we completed most of the programs
as before, we did not address crucial
areas of need. If we had not been in the
process of calling a new pastor, we
probably would have appointed a
spiritual leader to do the necessary coun-
seling and visitation. Unfortunately
some of this was left in limbo.
As the deacons answered the phone
calls, sorted the mail and made countless
instant decisions, they, more than
We learned that pastoral duties require time,
careful consideration, tact, wisdom.
anyone else, found that a pastor has
many hidden duties. These all take time
and require careful consideration. We
learned that a preacher must minister
the Word but must also administer the
affairs of the congregation with tact and
wisdom.
We now have a pastor again. He is
finding in us a congregation prepared to
give him our trust and the deference due
him as a minister of the Lord.
Helena M. Brown's
address is Box 262,
Didsburv, AB TOM
0W0
Compelled
Clarence C. Unruh
I am compelled
to praise the Lord.
For he has changed
my future.
To my heart
he gave a new song,
From above comes
grace, mercy and pardon.
He leads me on
in a mysterious way.
In Christ there is peace,
life eternal.
With my life
I will praise the Lord.
Clarence C. Unruh lives at 314
S.E. Fifth, Newton, KS 67114.
THE MENNONITE 273
To open a newspaper in Guatemala today is to be assaulted by story after story of
assassinations and kidnappings — at least 10 per day. writes Emily Will, who visited the
Mennonite Central Committee program there in March. There are few, if any, political
prisoners. Mostly there are disappearances and mutilated bodies. The newspapers do
not dare say who is responsible. But the November 1989 abduction and torture of
Catholic sister Diana Ortiz, a North American, provided evidence of the link between death
squads and the military. (See The Mennonite, Dec. 12, 1989, page 568.) "To choose the
non-violent option here means to be ready to die," says a Guatemalan Mennonite. "It's
the option of martyrdom, the ultimate option. Any humanitarian action is seen as subver-
sive. Here, life is at risk for helping someone in the street, for giving an opinion." By and
large, the Mennonite churches, like most other evangelical churches in Guatemala, "side
with the government, preaching a doctrine of individual salvation and a good life after
death," says this man. A relative of his employed by military intelligence has warned him
to be careful about what he says in church. The Guatemalan military is highly organized.
U.S. military assistance to Guatemala totaled $9.4 million in 1989, and much of its $147.4
million in non-military aid was also used to support Guatemalan Army goals.
NEWS
Second WM Learning Tour
Women to focus on Canadian/U.S. ministries
Newton. Kan. (GCMC)— The
North American mission field is
the focus of the Feb. 6-20.
1 991 . learning tour planned for
women by Women in Mission
with the Commission on Home
Ministries.
WM and CHM, which are
programs of the General
Conference Mennonite Church,
are asking each provincial and
district WM organization to
choose a woman to send on
the learning tour.
"We see this as an oppor-
tunity for women to gain a
perspective on what it means
to do home ministries," said
WM coordinator Sara Regier.
Each woman who partici-
pates in the tour will spend the
first two days in Chicago for a
group orientation. She will be
teamed with another participant
for the next 1 0 days at one of
the following mission sites —
Chicago, Phoenix, Toronto,
Winnipeg and Washington.
During this time the two women
will visit with local mission
workers, share in daily activities
and attend local church and
community events.
CHM works with many
different ethnic groups, includ-
ing Hopis, Hispanics, Chinese
and African-Americans. It also
has active Mennonite Voluntary
Service, church-planting and
peace and justice programs.
"We anticipate that the women
A scene from the first Women in Mission Learning Tour in 1988:
Missionary Rose Waltner Graber (left) and learning tour participant
Linda Grasse, Telford, Pa. (right), surround a Brazilian woman in
Recife, responding to a request for prayer.
will develop one-to-one
relationships with other
women," said Regier. "Many of
these relationships will be
cross-cultural."
For the final two days of the
tour all the women will once
again meet in Chicago for
personal sharing together with
WM and CHM staff. The
participants will also learn how
they can communicate their
experiences in their local
churches and communities.
"I have the hope that the tour
will result in the sprouting of
many ideas for service,
evangelism and fellowship to
take place reciprocally between
advantaged and disadvantaged
women in North America." said
Anette Eisenbeis, Marion. S.D.,
former WM representative to
CHM.
Women who are interested in
participating in the learning
tour, called "At Home with One
Another," should contact their
provincial or district WM
president for more information.
The cost of the tour is approxi-
mately $1,400.
CMLC set
to open again
Chicago — Chicago Mennonite
Learning Center, an elementary
school on the southwest side of
the city, will reopen in Septem-
ber at the Lawndale Mennonite
Church. The school had its
beginning in 1981 at the
Lawndale Church and was
there for three years before
moving to a larger facility,
which has since become
unavailable. The school was
not in session for one year due
to complications about location.
CMLC serves the 10
Mennonite congregations on
the south side of Chicago: six
Hispanic, three black and one
white in a community of
predominantly Polish and
Lithuanian residents. The
school is a mission outreach
tool.
Because so many in these
communities are under-
employed, a great need for
financial assistance exists for
many of the families to meet
their tuition costs. More staff is
also needed. For information
contact Pauline Kennel. CMLC
Interim Administrator. 4155 S.
Rockwell, Chicago, IL 60632,
(708) 894-3676.
274 JUNE 26, 1990
Twenty-seven Mennonite youth from
British Columbia helped the Mennonite
Church of Mexico with several building
projects over their school break March 15-
27. The youth raised $28,000 for the
service project through their local churches.
"I had a desire to see our young people get
interested in something outside them-
selves," said John Dawson, youth worker
for the British Columbia Mennonite Youth
Organization. Dawson and nine other
adults provided leadership during the trip.
B.C. Mennonite youth help build a house in
Blumenau, Mexico.
CAMS (Canadian Association of Mennonite
Schools) Music Festival '90. in celebration
of Mennonite Collegiate Institute's centen-
nial, featured 12 Mennonite schools from
across Canada. A 1 75-piece band
presented a concert on May 5 at MCl's Ju-
bilee Place in Gretna, Man. On May 6 a
500-voice choir performed at the Centen-
nial Concert Hall.
NEWS
SYAS ministries continue;
November consultation open
Elkhart, Ind. (MBM/GCMC) —
Essential elements of Student
and Young Adult Services are
being carried out by the
Commission on Education of
the General Conference
Mennonite Church and the
Mennonite Board of Missions of
the Mennonite Church. This
follows SYAS director Myrna
Burkholder's resignation, which
became effective May 1 1 (see
story at right).
COE will be responsible for
the publications in search and
Feedback, while MBM will
conduct the annual student
census this fall.
A Nov. 2-4 consultation will
determine the future direction
of young adult ministries. That
meeting in Chicago will bring
together young adult leaders,
representatives from districts/
conferences, people who have
served in young adult ministries
and staff from MBM, COE and
Mennonite Board of Congrega-
tional Ministries (Mennonite
Church).
Ken Hawkley, COE secretary
for adult and young adult
education, said, "This meeting
will help the church become
more aware of agenda relating
to young adults and how the
two can help each other."
"We want to find a way to
work cooperatively without
duplication," says Irv Weaver,
MBM vice president for Home
Ministries. "We will also
examine how church agencies
can effectively assist and
resource young adults both in
congregational settings and in
urban areas."
Ed Bontrager, director of
MBM Evangelism and Church
Development, is issuing an
open invitation to the Novem-
ber meeting to people who
have special interest in the
future of young adult ministry.
Phil Richard
Burkholder
concludes as
SYAS director
Myrna Burkholder has con-
cluded nine years as director of
Student and Young Adult
Services. In
1987 the
Commission
on Education
of the General
Conference
Mennonite
Church joined
Mennonite
Board of
Missions of
the Mennonite Church in
SYAS.
Soon after moving to Elkhart,
Ind., in 1983, she started in
search, the quarterly newsletter
now received by 15,000
General Conference Mennonite
Church and Mennonite Church
students and young adults.
Burkholder says that half the
subscribers receive no other
publication from either group.
Research in the mid-1980s
revealed that 88 Mennonite
Burkholder
churches had been started in
the previous 20-30 years by
students and young adults who
migrated to urban and college
and university settings. The
figure now may be close to
100. Burkholder believes.
"These groups haven't
always been taken seriously by
the church," she said. "They
identify strongly with the church
and its beliefs but often want to
do their own thing independent
of church structures." The 300-
500 young adults who attended
Normal '89 "wanted to be there.
They hadn't necessarily been
asked to attend nor were many
serving as delegates."
Burkholder plans to continue
studies at Associated Menno-
nite Biblical Seminaries, Elk-
hart, Ind. Hubert Brown, who
hired Burkholder in 1978, says
The Mennonite connection To
all of you who wrote after seeing
my address in this magazine and
until I get them all answered: A big
thanks to each of you and to The
Mennonite for reconnecting us.
Nancy Kerr, 575 Quebec, Prince
Georae, BC V2L 1W6
Akron Mennonite Church is
seeking a music leader on a one-
fourth to one-third-time basis to
resource their music ministry. This
person will provide leadership in
music for children, youth and
adults. The applicant should be
proficient in choral directing and in
a keyboard instrument. The
position is open August 1990.
Applications may be sent to
Chairperson, Music Committee,
Akron Mennonite Church, Box 208,
Akron, PA 17501.
that her leadership and gifts
helped revitalize our under-
standing of the babyboomers
(young adults) who represent
the future of the church."
Mennonite Mutual Aid has an
opening for a vice president of
stewardship services. Person is
responsible for the programs and
services of the Mennonite
Foundation, life, retirement and
investment departments. Candi-
dates must have the following: five
years of management experience:
knowledge of tax laws, estate
planning, legal issues, finance and
insurance: preference of graduate
degree in business administration,
law or CPA. Candidates must
have a commitment to Christian
values as interpreted by the
Mennonite Church. Qualified
women candidates are especially
encouraged to apply.
If interested, please contact
Personnel Department. MMA.
1110 N. Main St.. Goshen. IN
46526. (219) 533-9511.
Mennonite Mutual Aid has an
opening for a group underwriter
to develop a group underwriting
function for MMA insurance
products sold to groups. Qualifica-
tions include bachelor's degree
with strong emphasis on math
courses; group underwriting,
actuarial or other similar work
experience helpful; strong risk-
assessment and decision-making
ability. Candidates must have a
commitment to Christian values as
interpreted by the Mennonite
Church.
If interested, please contact
Personnel Department. MMA,
1 1 10 N. Main St., Goshen, IN
46526, (219) 533-951 1.
THE MENNONITE 275
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NEWS
College and seminary
students testing
pastoral ministry skills
Newton, Kan. — Fourteen
college and seminary students
are working in "Timothy-Paul"
relationships with experienced
pastors in the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church.
Bethel College students are in
the Ministry Inquiry Program or
are summer interns. Students
from Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries are in what
is called Congregationally
Supervised Pastoral Education
assignments, which range from
three to 1 2 months.
The seven seminary students
Buller
are Kevin Goertzen, working
with James Gingerich at First
Church, Moundridge, Kan.;
Peter Janzen, working with Tim
Schrag at First Church,
Beatrice, Neb.; Gary Jewell,
Friesen
Penner Regier
with Brice Balmer, First Church,
Kitchener. Ont.; Heidi Regier
1970-1990
TOURMAGINATION invites all 3,000 of you who
have traveled with us since 1 970 to our 20th
anniversary celebration. It will be held during
Mennonite World Conference in Winnipeg, July
27, 2-4 p.m. in the Marlborough Inn. Renew
friendships and memories!
All others (and TM alumni) are invited to join us j
on a tour in 1 991 :
Jamaica
91A
Jan. 18-25
Jan Gleysteen
Jamaica
91 B
Jan. 25-Feb. 1
Wilmer Martin
Europe
91 A
June 10-30
Jan Gleysteen, Fern Yoder
Europe
91 B
July 1-19
Wilmer Martin, John Ruth
Eastern
Canada 91
July 12-25
Hubert Schwartzentruber,
Henry Landes
Europe
91C
July 20-Aug. 3
Arnold Cressman, J. Denny Weaver
Europe
91 D
Aug. 29-Sept. 18
Jan Gleysteen, Henry Landes
TOUR-
MM
«4
1 210 Loucks Ave.
Scottdale, PA 1 5683
41 2-887-5440
412-887-9436
131 Erb St. West
Waterloo, ONT N2L 1T7
519-747-0517
519-745-7433
569 Yoder Road, P.O. Box 376
Harleysville, PA 19438
215-256-3011
215-723-8413 iSS
Kreider
(mentioned in
"Workers");
Steve
Musselman,
with Don Fry
at Emmanuel
Church,
Rheinholds,
Pa.; Philip
Stoltzfus, with Ronald Krehbiel
at Salem Church, Freeman,
S.D.; and Bev Suderman, with
Gary Harder at Toronto United
Mennonite Church.
The seven college students
are Eric Buller, working with
Lome Friesen at First Church,
Mountain Lake, Minn.; Matt
Friesen, with Brian Epp,
Bethesda Church, Henderson,
Neb.; Michelle Krehbiel, with
Ray and Brenda Martin Hurst,
Tabor Church, rural Newton,
Kan.; Carmen Pauls, with Brian
Bauman and Nancy Brubaker,
First Church, Reedley, Calif.;
Vicki Penner, with Betta and
Marlin Kym, First Church,
Hutchinson, Kan.; Michael
Regier, with Steve Ratzlaff at
Seattle Mennonite Church; and
Jalane Schmidt, with Les
Tolbert, Markham (III.) Commu-
nity Church.
Celebration of Conscience — A
gathering commemorating 50
years of continuing witness against
war, at Bryn Mawr, Pa., Aug. 3-5.
Dave Dellinger, Eva Michel. Parren
Mitchell speaking, Holly Near
singing. Free info and registration
materials. Contact Celebration of
Conscience, Suite 750, 1601
Connecticut Ave. NW, Washing-
ton. DC 20009-1035. (202) 483-
4514.
276 JUNE 26, 1990
MCC Contact (USPS 689-760) is
published in February, April, June,
August and November by Mennonite
Central Committee, PO Box 500,
Akron, PA 17501-0500. Editors are
Charmayne Denlinger Brubaker, Ardell
Stauffer and John Longhurst. Graphic
design by Kim Kane. Copies are sent in
bulk to church addresses upon request.
Address correspondence to MCC
Contact Editor, 21 South 12th Street,
PO Box 500, Akron, PA, 17501-0500.
In Canada address correspondence to
MCC Contact Editor, MCC Canada,
134 Plaza Dr., Winnipeg, MB, R3T
5K9. Second class postage paid at
Akron, Pa., and additional mailing
offices. POSTMASTER: Send address
changes to PO Box 500, Akron, PA
17501-0500. Printed in U.S.A.
Photo credits: Page 1, Kent and Mary
Frederick Beck; Page 2, Susan Jones;
Page 3, Wally Ewert; Page 4 and 5 Ruth
Keidel Clemens; Page 7, Jim King; Page
8, Daniel Jantzi.
Schoolchildren, Egypt.
Finding common ground in Christ
Mennonites and Coptic Orthodox
"So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions,
then it is dead."
It was our Sunday evening Bible study, one that English-
speaking friends had requested. The discussion was based
on James 2 and the relationship between faith and works.
"What is faith?"
"It's believing without seeing."
"It's hoping for things in the future."
"But my faith needs actions."
Many people talked about their ideas and experiences,
about people who model faith, how faith is expressed, how
their faith grows.
We have been meeting for the past several weeks. We sing,
we read, we talk, we listen and pray together — in English.
For some it is a chance to practice English. Others come
first of all to study the Word of God. All come from
Christian families and most are Coptic Orthodox. For some
Coptic Orthodox believers, doctrines and practices, such
as baptism (total immersion of the infant three times by
the priest in order to receive the Holy Spirit) are enough
to determine who is and who is not truly Christian.
"What else does faith need? What makes it grow? What
about baptism?"
"Baptism is needed." Heads nodded.
"But," the reply soon followed, "it's enough only for the
small child. When we grow our faith must grow. We must
have works, too, if our faith is living."
The group discussed and interrupted and questioned, but
no one disagreed.
Here is a group of young people we are at home with. They
take the New Testament seriously, wanting to grow closer
to God. Together we are finding the basic principles of the
Church and finding common ground in Christ.
We are blessed to have their support.
••• Linda Herr
of New Holland, Pa.
MCC Egypt
2 MCC Contact/June 1990
Father and children, Philippines
Death of an infant
Finding the truth
As we marvel at the wonder of our own newborn, we are
sadly reminded of another tiny child who died recently.
Rosalie Gonzales lived near Butuan in the mountains. At
dawn one morning, eight gunmen surrounded her family's
hut and strafed it with automatic rifles. Seven family
members died immediately, including four girls aged 9 to
14. Only a 24-year-old woman and Rosalie survived.
But the gunmen came back and fired at 1 9-day-old Rosalie
and the woman survivor, killing Rosalie instantly and
critically wounding the woman who was holding her. A
few days later, a report in a daily newspaper quoted military
spokespersons as saying the eight people massacred were
believed to be "communist sympathizers. " The report did
not give the ages of the dead.
Marlene and I often struggle to find out the truth. Truth
about why so many horrifying things happen here like the
killing of baby Rosalie and her family. We knew that
neither a 19-day-old baby nor the young sisters could
possibly be "communist sympathizers." So we look
elsewhere for answers. And that often takes us on long
searches, many of which never end conclusively. Still, we
believe we can make a small contribution to the building
of a new society when we are able to uncover "untruths"
about this country, about the causes of suffering and
injustice.
Face to face
Burglary victims meet offenders
You would think the last thing a burglary victim would
want to do is go to jail to meet men convicted of break
and enter. But a unique Winnipeg program is proving that
idea wrong.
Called Face-to-Face, the MCC-sponsored program brings
burglary victims to the Headingley Correctional Institution
to meet men who have committed theft. Since October
1989 the program has run three successful sessions.
The program, one of only two in Canada — the other, in
St. John's, Newfoundland, is also sponsored by MCC —
meets a need for both victims and offenders, according to
Face-to-Face director Jake Letkemann. "Victims come
seeking answers to the question 'Why me?' The meetings
help them realize that the burglary was nothing personal,
not an attack on them. The session seems to help relieve
their anxieties as they meet and confront offenders."
Victims do not meet the actual offender who burglarized
their home; instead, they meet offenders convicted of
burglary. The meetings help offenders to realize the human
consequences of their crime. "It's not just a theft of
property — it also steals peace of mind from the victim,"
Letkemann says.
Although Face-to-Face presently only works with burglary
victims, Letkemann says they are also willing to help
victims of violent crime. A recent survey showed that most
victims of violent crime are open to meeting an offender;
many respondents indicated such a meeting would be an
important part of their healing process.
According to Letkemann, this kind of meeting is important
because the present legal situation does not allow victims
and offenders to meet. "I often hear offenders say they'd
like to apologize to their victims, but it's impossible in our
present court system."
"Crime doesn't happen between the court and the
offender — it takes place between people," he adds.
"Face-to-Face enables people to go beyond the impersonal
court system to seek restorative justice."
••• John Longhurst
MCC Canada
••• Dale Hildebrand
of Toronto, Ont.
MCC Philippines
3 MCC Contact/June 1990
News from MCC
MCC helped fund a day of
"normal childhood" for
Palestinian children from three
refugee camps in the Israeli-
occupied West Bank. The
children participated in music,
drama, arts, gymnastics and
other activities at Friends Boys'
School in Ramallah. Childhood
is difficult for young
Palestinians, with frequent
violence and worsening
economic conditions in the
Israeli-occupied territories.
• # •
MCC worker Jim Unruh works
with TASK, an inter-church
agency in Atlanta, Ga. TASK
enables 10 men with physical
disabilities or mental
retardation to use their skills,
socialize and talk about their
faith. The men are employed by
TASK to clean up construction
sites in the northern suburbs.
TASK is funded by donations,
grants and money earned.
Some 8,000 Salvadoran
refugees living in a camp near
Colomoncagua, Honduras,
have returned to their homes in
El Salvador. The refugees have
hope for their future, says MCC
worker Phil Borkholder, who
has accompanied groups that
returned. But "they fear what
the military might try once they
are in El Salvador and
international presence has left."
Rhoda Rempel of LaSalle, Man.,
has created a reusable
"Ecobag" that consumers can
take to the grocery store every
time they shop. "We can hardly
keep up with the demand," she
says. The rip-stop nylon bags
are available from MCC
Manitoba, 134 Plaza Dr.,
Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9 at $5.95
(Can.) each, or $4.00 for
non-profit groups. Free
patterns are also available.
Hugo Jantz, MCC Europe
program secretary, traveled to
Romania March 1 0 to 1 7 to help
deliver relief supplies gathered
by West European Mennonites.
Supplies included seeds,
pesticides, medical equipment,
food, clothing, laundry
detergent and cloth. The
cooperation and generosity of
European Mennonite churches
was marvelous, says Jantz.
4 MCC Contact/June 1990
Troops, Cambodia. One place the delegation visited was Chrang Camresh, a
Cham Muslim community just north of Phnom Penh. The
Chams are a religious minority in Cambodia, a country
that is 90 percent Buddhist. During the Khmer Rouge years
they were targets of terrible persecution. Before we entered
the mosque, a woman, who knew that Father Chacour was
a religious figure, asked him to bless her child. This he did,
with his hand on the child's head.
Two Cambodian dances
Stories of suffering;
fears for the future
[An MCC-sponsored peace delegation visited Cambodia
late last year. Participants were Hedy Epstein, a Jewish
survivor of the Holocaust, Elias Chacour, a Palestinian
Melkite priest and Emma Mashinini, a black South African
woman. The following is taken from a report by Jonathan
and Ruth Keidel Clemens, who coordinated the delegation
visit.]
We entered and sat on the floor — where prayers are said
five times a day — and talked, while a cool breeze blew off
the river. The Chams pointed proudly to a school being
built near the mosque with funds raised by the community
itself. Father Chacour said that he too has built a school
in Israel, and that although he is Christian, 65 percent of
the students are Muslim. The old man to whom he was
talking said, "Oh, thank you very much," as though a
personal favor had been done for him.
The men observed that in Israel the Palestinians and Jews
are fighting, and asked if Father Chacour and Hedy had
sometimes quarrelled during the week-long visit. They both
laughed, and assured the men that not all Palestinians and
Jews are making war; many are working for peace and
understanding.
The Chams listened intently as the delegation members
shared their own stories of difficulty and suffering. When
they were done, one of them said simply, "Your suffering
is like ours."
On the last morning of the delegation's visit, we went to
see a performance by students of classical Khmer dance at
the School of Fine Arts. As we approached the pavilion-like
theater, we saw another "dance" just 50 to 75 feet away.
A number of students from the school, dressed in military
fatigues, held automatic rifles tightly to their bodies and
practiced rolling and crawling through the grass. A man at
a table in front of them gave orders.
In front of us the performance of six- to 1 0-year-old dancers
preserved and recreated the traditions of Khmer culture.
Behind us through the open end of the pavilion, the military
prepared for war.
Talking with one of the teachers, Madame Chea Samy, we
learned that almost all that had been written down about
Khmer dance and art had been destroyed by Pol Pot and
the Khmer Rouge. Since then, the few dancers and artists
like Madame Samy who had survived the Pol Pot years had
recreated from memory all the traditional dances, a vital
part of Khmer identity. We had to think: will this beauty
be destroyed again by Pol Pot's return or by the civil war
being fought to prevent his return? Will the "dance" taking
place outside in the grass consume once again the rebuilding
and the hope we saw inside?
*** Jonathan and Ruth
Keidel Clemens
of Lancaster, Pa.
MCC Cambodia
5 MCC Contact/June 1990
Resources
• • •
The Horn of Africa Project:
Modeling alternative conflict
resolution is the 11th title in
MCC's Occasional Paper
series. Written by Ronald J.R.
Mathies, Harold F. Miller and
Menno F. Wiebe, it examines the
work and impact of the Horn of
Africa Project, which promotes
peace through dialogue.
Available from MCC, PO Box
500, Akron, PA 1 7501 -0500. A $1
donation is suggested to help
offset production costs.
• • •
The 1990 MCC cash projects
poster, "Make a difference in
your world," is now available.
Contains 18 projects from
around the world for which
congregations, Sunday
schools, Bible schools or
families can raise money.
Available free of charge from all
MCC offices.
• • •
Sharing stories, sharing
strength, a new MCC-produced
20-minute VHS video cassette,
features stories from MCC
workers in El Salvador, Haiti,
Bangladesh, Manitoba and
Florida. For prospective
MCCers or people who want to
know more about MCC.
• • •
Everyone counts, a 20-minute
VHS video cassette produced
by MCC, shows creative ways
five congregations have
included people with
developmental disabilities and
encouraged their participation
in congregational life.
Both audiovisuals are available
for free loan from all MCC
offices.
Is God calling you to fill one of
these urgent personnel needs?
• • •
Bangladesh: horticulturists/
agronomists
• • •
Saskatoon, Sask.: employment
concerns coordinator
• • •
Akron, Pa.: canner operators/
truck drivers
• • •
Egypt, Sudan, Cambodia, Laos:
nurses
• • •
Mozambique: physicians
• • •
China, Zambia, Egypt: English
teachers
• • •
Halifax, N.S.; Toronto, Ont;
Miami, Fla.: volunteer
coordinators
MCC ministry to those in need
Unavoidably political
As an agency of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ
churches, Mennonite Central Committee is unavoidably
political. The very essence of these churches is bound up
in their commitment to being an alternate social reality. As
followers of the incarnate Christ who announced that "the
Kingdom (a political entity) of God is at hand," deep in
our tradition lies the understanding that living the gospel
includes the political realm.
From its beginning MCC represented these churches by
ministering to suffering people across political boundaries.
The first agreement MCC signed with an organized
government was with the Soviet Union in 1 920 in order to
bring assistance to the suffering people of the Ukraine. In
1939-40 the churches asked MCC to negotiate with the
American government an alternate to military service. The
conference of Historic Peace Churches, one of the
precursors of MCC Canada, did the same. The desire to
relieve the suffering of oppressed people is an essential
ingredient of the Mennonite peace testimony. Mennonites
and Brethren in Christ churches understand that being the
church in ministry requires involvement that includes an
intrinsic political statement.
From 1920 to the present MCC has been involved in
numerous political entanglements. Moving refugees from
the USSR to Germany and on to Paraguay in 1930 involved
delicate political negotiations. The same happened again
in 1 945-50, including negotiations with the military rulers
of defeated Germany. Working with refugees in the Middle
East, Southeast Asia, Central America and the Horn of
Africa requires close association with political realities.
Even the shipping of food requires political savvy. The
airlift of corn, beans and milk powder into the blockaded
towns of southern Sudan these days demonstrates some
odd partnerships. Churches of Sudan initiated the project.
The funding comes from American and European churches
and is supplemented by Canadian and Finnish governments.
At the beginning of the project Russians piloted the
American-made plane. The food is mostly provided by
Lutheran World Relief, Catholic Relief Services, Church
World Service and Mennonite Central Committee. The
MCC representative for Sudan, Willie Reimer of Winnipeg,
Man., is a key link in making the system work.
Most of the time, in most places, MCC works with the
established authorities. But sometimes these authorities are
the problem. I write this on Good Friday, which
memorializes the day our Lord was crucified by the civil
authorities. Unfortunately, some governments continue to
make the church the enemy and violate human integrity.
MCC feels the call of God and the church to represent
divine love in these situations. We not only feel the pain,
see the violence, but also want to do our part to witness
to the way of love and peace. MCC hence finds itself critical
of such political activity.
6 MCC Contact/June 1990
As a North American agency we feel comfortable urging
constituents to express a concern for human well-being in
Canada and the United States. On some occasions when
we feel strong constituent encouragement or the power of
the tradition as in conscientious objection to war, or when
our experience provides authenticity, we will make an
MCC statement. Overseas we are reluctant to do this as
we are "strangers in that land" and believe this to be the
task of the local church. Sometimes we are invited by local
churches to be partners in their statements.
Yet MCC and our churches should not be viewed in
traditional political terms. Our task is not to organize and
maintain political structures. Our primary task is to
faithfully follow Christ and to glorify God. We do this as
an agency committed to the gospel, which is good news to
all people, in all situations. We do this representing a
community that transcends political, economic and societal
boundaries which point the world toward the true
reality — God in Christ reconciling all things.
••• John A. Lapp
Executive Secretary
Mari Malgui, right, of the MCC
Nigeria board, with Eric Olfert,
MCC co-secretary for Africa.
Egypt
MCC country profile
Egypt
Population: 54,779,000
Per capita income: $686
MCC present since: 1968 Eighty to 90 percent of
Number of MCCers: 22 Egyptians are Muslim. Ten to 1 5
7989 expenses: $227,568 percent are Christian, mainly
Coptic Orthodox, a church
Ninety-nine percent of Egypt's tracing its ancestry to St. Mark,
people live in the Nile Valley and a fast-growing population,
Delta, 1/25 of the total area of large foreign debt and religious
Egypt. East and west of the Nile tensions make this an uncertain
are arid desert lands. time for many Egyptians.
MCC workers in Egypt serve
through the Coptic Orthodox
and Coptic Evangelical
churches there; they primarily
teach English and train nurses.
MCC's strong ties with the
church enable cooperation in
many ways. MCC also provides
canned meat and milk powder
for nurseries and kindergartens.
7 MCC Contact/June 1990
Thoughts on personnel
Can MCC workers
scratch where it itches?
MCC sends 450 to 500 people into international service
every year. Some have great service experiences, some awful
experiences. Some people serve eight to 10 years, some
terminate in one or two years. The MCC personnel
department frequently asks, "Are we sending the right
people?" Can MCC workers scratch where the itch is?
I recently read two different sources of information that
addressed this question. Nancy Heisey and Paul Longacre
recently completed a two-year Mennonite International
Study Project (MISP). Nancy and Paul asked Third World
church representatives what they wanted from North
American missions in the 1990s. Our overseas partners
listed some clear characteristics that they want to see in
service workers.
A recent article looked at characteristics that helped U.S.
business employees have successful job stints overseas.
("Training the international assignee," by Simcha Ronen,
Training and development in organizations, 1989).
Following is a chart summarizing many of the elements
listed by both studies:
MISP
Cultural sensitivity
Practical skill
Patience and flexibility
Biblical foundation
Participate in local church
Learn language
Listen, be trainable
Simple lifestyle
Open to health risks
International assignee
Cultural empathy/
low ethnocentrism
Technical/
administrative competence
Flexibility/
tolerance of ambiguity
Belief in mission
Interest in host culture
Learn language
Willing to acquire
new behavior
Stable family
The similarities between what Third World churches and
corporate America say it takes for a worker to successfully
cross cultural barriers are striking. How a worker operates
is more critical for success than what that worker can do.
Ronen found that failure rates in international corporate
placements range from 50 percent to 15 percent. MCC's
early termination rate is 5 percent. MCC would like to
reach 0 percent.
A Tanzanian bishop states, "Mission candidates should
know that, whatever they learned in seminary, they do not
know enough. They should be willing to put their seminary
knowledge aside to learn afresh the country and people."
(MISP quote). If this fits you, give MCC a call.
Choir practice, Kafanda, Zaire
Cash projects
• • •
(August) Child services, India:
Child In Need Institute (CINI)
treats common illnesses and
provides health education for
young girls and women. CINI
also provides education
resources for girls, their
parents and teachers. $7,420 is
the total budget of this project.
• • •
(September) Home bakeries,
Botswana: Young women
supplement family income with
small home bakeries. With the
income, they can better provide
for the needs of their children.
A gift of $15 funds one woman
to complete a baking course.
$50 provides supplies for one
baking course. $750 is the total
budget of this project.
Material aid projects
• • •
(August) Bath and hand towels:
MCC needs towels for use in
abused women's shelters in the
United States. Please send
quality dark-colored bath or
hand towels.
• • •
(September) School kits: This
year MCC will send 10,000
school kits to Sudan, a country
wracked by civil war. MCC will
also send school kits to Chile,
Vietnam, Haiti, Jamaica and
Nicaragua. To prepare a school
kit, place these items in a 1 0- by
16-inch (25- by 41 -centimeter)
drawstring bag: 4 unsharpened
pencils, 1 plastic metric ruler
(30 centimeters long), 4 spiral
notebooks (a bit smaller than
the cloth bag and about 75
pages each), 1 package of 1 2 to
16 crayons or colored pencils
and 1 pencil eraser.
cashP'°»eCtS-
Bill Loewen
Director, Personnel Services
8 MCC Contact/June 1990
On Easter Saturday morning about 2,000
people attended the first official public
Christian church service in Cambodia since
1975. Mennonite Central Committee
workers were among those who attended
the service, a Catholic mass held in Phnom
Penh. Since the Khmer Rouge takeover of
Cambodia in 1975, Christians could only
meet secretly in homes in small numbers.
The Phnom Penh government has hesi-
tated to recognize the Christian church
because of the strong Western influence
the church previously represented. But in
April the government gave written permis-
sion for the church to meet legally.
Hundreds of people in Nepal took to the
streets April 9 in joyful celebration, shout-
ing, "Democracy, democracy at last."
Nepal's king lifted a 30-year ban on political
activities April 8, following six days of
increasing demonstrations and violence in
Nepal. On April 16 King Birendra dissolved
Nepal's parliament and invited the national
opposition to form a multiparty government.
Mennonite Central Committee workers from
Bangladesh, Nepal and India met in Nepal
March 31 -April 4 for their annual retreat.
Twenty members of the MCC Bangladesh
team finally left Kathmandu safely April 9,
according to MCC worker Rollin Rhein-
heimer, who with his wife, Betty are
members of Akron (Pa.) Mennonite Church.
On Mother's Day, May 13, the "mother
congregation" of North American Menno-
nites topped its previous membership
record, 99, set in 1712. Three baptisms
and the reception of four people by
transfer of letter brought membership to
103 at Germantown Mennonite Church in
Philadelphia, the oldest Mennonite
congregation in North America.
NEWS
Ministers'
salaries
surveyed
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)— Every
other year the ministerial
leadership offices of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church and the Mennonite
Church conduct a salary survey
of pastors. Current research
indicated that
•59 percent of our current
full-time pastors have served in
their current congregation up to
four years, 28 percent from five
to nine years, 10 percent from
10-14 years, 4 percent 15
years or longer.
•60 percent of all full-time
Goshen College seeks faculty for
a full-time, long-term position in
the Division of Teacher Educa-
tion, with emphasis on curriculum
and educational foundations.
Position open August 1990 or
August 1991. Qualifications
include Ph.D. or Ed.D. Candi-
dates with dissertation in progress
may be considered. Teaching
experience in elementary school
preferred. Commitment to
integrating Christian faith and the
principles of peacemaking with
teaching is important. Minority
persons are encouraged to apply.
Send resume and three profes-
sional references to John W. Eby,
Academic Dean, Goshen College,
Goshen, IN 46526. Applications
will be received until the position is
filled. If you have further ques-
tions, call John Eby (219) 535-
7503 or John J. Smith, Director of
Teacher Education, (219) 535-
7439.
pastors are seminary gradu-
ates, 22 percent have done
some additional formal study
beyond the seminary degree.
An additional 22 percent have
had some seminary or gradu-
ate study, even though they
have not graduated.
•84 percent of General Con-
ference pastors are full time;
52 percent of the Mennonite
Church pastors are full time.
•60 percent of the spouses of
full-time pastors are now
employed outside the home.
•78 percent are enrolled in
one of the church-sponsored
retirement plans; 91 percent of
full-time respondents partici-
pate in Social Security/Canada
Pension.
Rosthern Junior College invites
applications for the position of
male residence dean beginning
September 1990. Rosthern Junior
College is a private Mennonite
residential school offering
academic and residence programs
for grades 10-12.
Send inquiries and resumes to
Erwin Tiessen, Principal, Rosthern
Junior College, Rosthern, SK S0K
3R0.
Rosthern Junior College invites
applications in the following areas:
art, drama, chemistry and biology
beginning September 1990.
Rosthern Junior College is a
Mennonite secondary school
offering an academic and residen-
tial program for grades 10-12.
Contact Erwin Tiessen, RJC,
Rosthern, SK S0K 3R0, (306) 232-
4222 or (306) 232-5422.
•The average cash salary for
full-time ministry in the United
States is $24,905; in Canada
and in Canadian dollars it is
$28,377. When benefits are
added to the cash salary, those
figures rise to $29,670 in the
United States and $30,482 in
Canada.
•Add reimbursements like car
mileage allowance and
conference expenses and the
average cost to a congregation
to support a full-time pastor in
the United States is now
$31,441 per year.
Copies of the full report are
available for $3 from John
Esau, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114.
Freeman Academy has positions
open for 1990-91 for a Bible
instructor and a guidance
counselor
Freeman Academy is a Christian
junior-senior high school, grades 7-
12, affiliated with the General
Conference Mennonite Church. To
apply send letter and credentials to
Leroy Saner, Principal, Freeman
Academy, Box 1000, Freeman, SD
57029, (605) 925-4237.
Menno Simons Christian School
is actively seeking to fill teaching
positions in its junior high
program. Teaching openings are
in French, the humanities, math
and science.
Interested applicants should
forward pertinent information and
resume to the Principal, Menno
Simons Christian School, 2445-23
Ave. S.W., Calgary, AB T2T 0W3,
(403) 249-9944.
The Conference of Mennonites
in Manitoba invites applications or
nominations for the position of
executive secretary. This is the
chief administrative position of the
conference and includes responsi-
bility for the development and coor-
dination of the overall conference
program.
The executive secretary is
accountable to the General Board.
Further information regarding the
position description, salary and
benefits is available upon request.
Applications will be received until
July 1.
Please submit inquiries or
applications to Jack Loepp.
Personnel Chair. Route 2, Box 25,
Morris. MB R0G 1K0. (204) 746-
8161 (evenings).
Goshen College seeks applicants
for director of Multicultural
Center beginning fall 1990.
Funding for the position is subject
to grant approval.
Assignments involve the direction
and coordination of various
programs intended to sensitize
majority students and to assist
minority students in becoming fully
integrated into campus and
community life.
Qualifications include a master's
degree (doctorate preferred) and
relevant work experience.
Send letter of application, resume
and the names of three references
to Norman Kauffmann, dean of
student development, Goshen
College, Goshen, IN 46526. Appli-
cation deadline is July 10. An
equal opportunity employer.
THE MENNONITE 277
Evangelical Christians in Manila, Philip-
pines, published a letter to President
Corazon Aquino in national papers May 16
declaring their opposition to "the continued
stay of American military bases in our
land." In a separate letter May 14 both
Catholic and Protestant church leaders
joined 26 Filipino congresspeople and
other leaders in publicly calling on Presi-
dent Aquino to serve an immediate
termination notice on the U.S. bases.
Health officials and physicians in May
criticized the U.S. government for pushing
tobacco products on developing nations.
At the World Conference on Lung Health in
Boston, doctors and researchers charged
the administration with hypocrisy for waging
a war against drugs in this country while
wielding economic and trade sanctions
against other nations trying to curb
smoking at home. The United States has
accused Thailand — which prohibits
cigarette advertising — of unfair trade
practices in an effort to force that country to
allow U.S. tobacco companies to market
their products. (National Catholic Reporter)
Image Carpets, Inc., is making better
carpeting for consumers and creating a
cleaner environment for everyone by pro-
ducing carpet out of recycled soda bottles.
The firm uses a process that starts with
clean, recycled bottle flake and extrudes it
into fiber. The fiber is then spun and tufted
into a carpet that has a 10-year warranty.
With up to 50 bottles recycled into one
square yard of carpeting, the company can
consume more than 500 million bottles a
year.
NEWS
COM staff,
missionaries
on the road
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)—
Several Commission on
Overseas Mission staff and
missionaries visited churches in
Ohio, Ontario and Pennsylva-
nia in April and May to help
them celebrate 90 years of
overseas work by the General
Conference Mennonite Church.
Jeannie Zehr, COM secre-
tary for mission communica-
tions, and missionaries Edward
Applications are being received for
the position of executive director
for a new children's curriculum for
use in congregations. This is a
cooperative project of the
Mennonite Church, General
Conference Mennonite Church,
Church of the Brethren and
Brethren in Christ. Qualifications
for the assignment include
experience in curriculum develop-
ment, organizational and manage-
ment skills, training in biblical
studies and active membership in
the congregational life of one of
the participating denominations.
The position is full-time for a period
of three years. It is preferable for
the person to be located in the
vicinity of one of the publishing
houses of the cooperating
partners. The position begins
September 1990.
Apply in writing immediately to
Laurence Martin, Mennonite
Publishing House, 616 Walnut
Ave., Scottdale, PA 15683.
Include a resume and a brief
paragraph telling your reason for
applying for the position.
The COM Celebration 90 springtour team (from left): Edward
Burkhalter, Jonathan Larson, Marietta Sawatzky, Sheldon Sawatzky,
Jeannie Zehr
Burkhalter, Jonathan Larson
and Sheldon and Marietta
Sawatzky depicted overseas
mission outreach through story
and song. The theme of their
presentation was "We Seek a
City" (Hebrews 11:10, 13:14).
The group's tour schedule
April 21 -May 6 included United
Mennonite Church, Quaker-
town, Pa.: East Swamp
Mennonite Church, Quaker-
Preschool teacher for the
Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries Child-Care Coopera-
tive. Nine-month contract, full-
time, beginning in September.
Teaching degree/certificate
required.
Contact Phil Mininger, AMBS,
3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN
46517, (219) 522-4481.
town: Zion Mennonite Church,
Souderton, Pa.; Bethel
Mennonite Church, Lancaster.
Pa.; Pine Grove Mennonite
Church, Bowmansville, Pa.;
Niagara United Mennonite
Church, Niagara-on-the Lake,
Ont.; Vineland (Ont.) United
Mennonite Church; Vineland
Home and Pleasant Manor
Home; Waterloo-Kitchener
(Ont.) United Mennonite
Church; Leamington (Ont.)
United Mennonite Church; First
Mennonite Church, Bluffton,
Ohio; Salem Mennonite
Church, Kidron, Ohio; Oak
Grove Mennonite Church,
Smithville, Ohio.
For more information about
Celebration 90 contact your
local church or Jeannie Zehr,
Commission on Overseas
Mission, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114, (316) 283-5100.
Worship
planned at
missile site
during
Assembly 12
A worship service will be held
at a North Dakota nuclear
launch site as part of Assembly
12 of Mennonite World Con-
ference in Winnipeg. The
service, to be held July 27, is
sponsored by Christian Peace-
maker Teams. It will be held
on private land surrounding the
launch site. Buses will leave
from Winnipeg after the
morning plenary and return in
time for the evening plenary.
Other peace-related events
planned for Assembly 12
include a July 25 service on
"Justice, Peace and the
Integrity of Creation," a prayer
center, workshops, storytelling
and wall displays.
A half-time position in guidance
and full-time positions in special
education and public relations
are available at Christopher Dock
Mennonite High School Also
open is a co-curricular position as
yearbook adviser. The guidance
position may be combined with
subject area teaching to comprise
a full-time position. The public
relations position, available
July 1, includes responsibility for
school publications and student
recruitment.
Interested persons send resume to
Elaine Moyer, acting principal,
1000 Forty Foot Road, Lansdale,
PA 19446.
278 JUNE 26, 1990
Dr. John and Jeanne Zook, Peace
Mennonite Church, Portland, Ore., spent
six weeks in February and March
teaching and doing surgery in four
Mennonite hospitals in Zaire. Their min-
istry was both to the local Zairian
doctors who maintain these hospitals
and who have minimal surgical training
and to the many patients needing
corrective care. The Zooks took along
several thousand dollars worth of
supplies. Dr. John Zook operated on
113 people.
RECOIld
The Great Plains Seminary Education
Program, now in its 10th year, "is becoming
established as an authentic continuing
education option for persons interested in
biblical, theological and historical studies,"
says director Jacob T. Friesen. Courses from
the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries
(Elkhart, Ind.) departments of Bible, history/
theology/ethics and church/ministry are
offered, all of which can count toward semi-
nary graduation. Nearly 400 students have
been enrolled in the 38 courses offered since
1980. Based in North Newton, Kan., GPSE is
sponsored by the Western District Conference
of the General Conference Mennonite Church
and the South Central Conference of the
Mennonite Church.
The South Central Conference (Menno-
nite Church) executive committee has
confirmed a plan to plant a church in the
Kansas City area in cooperation with
Western District Conference (General
Conference Mennonite Church) home
missions committee. A church-planting
candidate has been interviewed who may
be available this summer.
WOltliERS
Donald C. Bakely, Rainbow
Church, Kansas City, Kan.,
received a doctor of humanities
degree from Rockhurst
College. He is the author of
two Faith and Life Press books:
If, A Big Word With the Poor
and Bethy and the Mouse.
Howard and Loraine Bender,
East Zorra Church, Tavistock,
Ont., are midway through a
one-year MCC assignment in
the Self-Help Crafts warehouse
in New Hamburg, Ont.
Jake and Martha Bergman
were ordained May 27 at the
Altona (Man.) Bergthaler
Church.
Harold D. Burkholder, Burns
Kan., since retiring as a pastor
in April 1989, has been active
as a "relief preacher," most
recently for nine weeks at
Ebenezer Church, Bluffton,
Ohio.
Gloria Cashman, Black
Creek (B.C.) United Mennonite
Church, is beginning a two-year
MCC assignment in Courtenay,
B.C., working as coordinator of
store activities for the Global
Handshake, Self-Help Crafts of
the World shop. She and her
husband, Gary, have two
children.
Eva and Jose Chipenda,
Benders
representing the All-Africa
Conference of Churches,
visited with MCC staff, Akron,
Pa. Eva works with African
women's issues for the Angola
Council of Churches, and Jose
is general secretary of AACC in
Nairobi.
David Chiu, Saskatoon, will
be the coordinator for evangel-
ism and church development
for the Conference of Menno-
nites in British Columbia,
effective in November.
Nan Cressman, Olive Branch
Church, Kitchener/Waterloo,
Ont., will leave the MCC
Ontario Development Dialogue
cable television show. For the
past five years she has hosted
this program, which shows
viewers how they can do
something about world needs
and which chips away at
stereotypes of Mennonites.
She will become the Concili-
ation Network developer for the
Ontario Mennonite and
Cashman Chiu
Cressman Dyck
Brethren in Christ task force on
conciliation services.
Elva Epp, Grace Church,
Regina, is beginning a one-
year local voluntary service
MCC assignment in Saskatoon,
working as manager of a Self-
Help Crafts store.
Dale Dickey is retiring as
professor of speech at Bluffton
(Ohio) College.
Vicki Dyck, Rosthern, Sask.,
has resigned her teaching
position at Rosthern Junior
College to do free-lance art and
theater projects, workshops
and public speaking.
Janet Friesen, Phoenix;
Randall D. Kratz, Maple
Avenue Church, Waukesha,
Wis.; Donna Pyle Minter,
Assembly Church, Goshen,
Ind., and Marian Lydia Wiens,
Breslau (Ont.) Church, were
among seven who received
Goering Goerzen
Elmer Ediger Memorial
scholarships from Mennonite
Health Services to continue
studies of mental health and
developmental disabilities.
Ediger, 1917-1983, was
instrumental in shaping the
Mennonite mental health
movement.
Wynn Goering, Goessel
Church, has been appointed
registrar at Bethel College,
North Newton, Kan. He
replaces Diana Torline.
Alvin W. Goerzen, Tabor
Church, rural Newton. Kan., is
volunteer head chef at Swan
Lake Christian Camp, Viborg,
S.D., for the third year.
Willy Guenther was ordained
June 10 at Charleswood
Church, Winnipeg.
David Habegger, pastor at
Champaign-Urbana (III.)
Church, serves on the East
Central States Inter-Mennonite
Committee to study possible
integration of the area district
conferences of the General
Conference and Mennonite
Church.
Lisa J. Hale, Manhattan.
Kan., has been named
associate dean of students at
continued on next page
AMBS— Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries
CMBC — Canadian Mennonite Bible College
MCC — Mennonite Central Committee
MVS — Mennonite Voluntary Service
THE MENNONITE 279
Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., and Sen.
Mark Hatfield, R-Ore., have introduced the
Selective Service Stand-By Act of 1990, a
bill before the U.S. Congress that, if
enacted, would end the 10-year-old draft
registration requirement for 18-year-old
males. "The Pentagon is furiously planning
for reductions in force in a belated reaction
to a changed world order," DeFazio said,
"so why are we still paying $26.3 million a
year to plan for a massive mobilization that
will not happen?"
A recently declassified Sandia National
Laboratories document, "Report on the
Safety Criteria for Plutonium-Bearing
Nuclear Weapons," suggests that the
record the U.S. Defense Department made
public in 1981 omitted hundreds of acci-
dents. The DD's 1981 document listed 32
serious nuclear weapons accidents. The
Sandia Laboratories document reveals that
between 1 950 and 1 968 a total of 1 ,250
nuclear weapons were involved in acci-
dents, including 272 weapons that experi-
enced an impact strong enough to make
detonation of the conventional high
explosives they contained a possibility.
( The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
The Saskatoon Chinese Mennonite
Church is offering a second series of
theological courses this summer. Dennis
Hollinger of Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind., will teach "Chris-
tian Ethics in the 21 st Century" July 1 6-20.
Mary Ann Hollinger of Indiana University,
South Bend, will teach "Building a Strong
Family Life" July 16-20. Roelf Kuitse of
AMBS will teach "Spontaneous Growth in
the Book of Acts" July 30-Aug. 3. Informa-
tion is available from David Chiu at (306)
343-8432.
RECond
Habegger Hornbostal
WORltERS. continued from
previous page
Bethel College, North Newton,
Kan.
Susan Hornbostel and
Robert Keim recently joined the
staff of Glencroft Retirement
Communities as director of
fiscal services and chaplain,
respectively. Glencroft is
sponsored by Apostolic
Christian, Church of the
Brethren, Friends and Menno-
nite congregations in the
Phoenix area.
David E. Hostetler, Scottdale,
Pa., has accepted the position
of program director at Laurel-
ville Mennonite Church Center,
Mt. Pleasant, Pa. He served
for the past 1 9 years as an
editor at Mennonite Publishing
House.
Maria Howard, Central
College Campus Church, Pella,
Iowa, has begun an MVS
summer term as a SWEAT/
volunteer coordinator for
Mennonite Housing Rehabilita-
tion in Wichita, Kan.
Margaret Hudson, a sculptor
from Mennonite Community
Church, Fresno, Calif., donated
a 20-inch-high sculpture to the
West Coast Mennonite relief
sale, with proceeds going to
MCC. The sculpture sold for
$2,000.
Keim Kreider
Erica Janzen, Winnipeg, will
be an associate professor of
nursing at Bethel College,
North Newton, Kan.
Ed King, Morton, III., began
June 1 as interim pastor at
Calvary Church, Washington,
III. He is a former missionary to
Honduras with the Eastern
Mennonite Board of Missions,
Salunga, Pa.
Cleo Koop was licensed for
ministry on June 10 at First
Church, Newton, Kan, where
he is director of youth and
young adults.
Lawrence Kratz, co-pastor at
Maple Avenue Church,
Waukesha, Wis., was one of
nine nominees from the county
for a peacemaker award from
the local YWCA.
Heidi Regier Kreider, New
Haven, Conn., is the summer
intern pastor at Faith Church,
Minneapolis, and the St. Paul
(Minn.) Fellowship. Arrange-
ments were made through
AMBS. She is a student at
Yale Divinity School.
John Kroeker has resigned
as pastor at Meadows Church,
Chenoa, III. He and his wife,
Grace, will move to Minneapo-
lis, where she will do an
internship in music therapy.
Todd and Dawn Hardt
Lehman, North Newton, Kan.,
Lever Loewen
are beginning an MCC assign-
ment in Bolivia with agriculture
and community development.
They are members of First
Church, Aberdeen, Idaho, and
Menno Church, Ritzville,
Wash., respectively.
Allison Lemons has been
appointed instructor in English
at Bethel College, North
Newton, Kan.
Lee Lever was ordained
May 6 at the Menno Church,
Ritzville, Wash. A 1988
graduate of AMBS, he began
as pastor at Menno that
September.
Ted Loewen, First Church,
Reedley, Calif., is beginning a
two-year MCC assignment as a
resource developer in Reedley.
He was last employed as a
lawyer in Fresno. He and his
wife, Fran, have two children.
Jason Martin, Mishawaka,
Ind., will be the interim pastor
at Bethesda Church, Hender-
son, Neb., beginning in
September.
Becky McKay, Faith Church,
Newton, Kan., won the C.
Henry Smith Peace Oratorical
Contest for her speech on the
plight of the homeless. She is
a student at Bethel College.
Mary Clemens Meyer began
Jan. 1 as editor of On the Line,
the Sunday school take-home
Millers
paper for junior-aged children,
published in Scottdale, Pa.
She succeeds Virginia
Hostetler.
Ed and Susan Stamm Miller,
Arvada (Colo.) Church, are
beginning an MCC assignment
in San Jose Guayabal, El
Salvador, in community
development.
Ruth Naylor has resigned as
associate pastor at First
Church, Bluffton, Ohio.
Don Nester, Mennonite
Church of Normal, III., has been
accepted as a Fellow in the
College of Chaplains. He is
chaplain at Mennonite Hospital,
Bloomington.
Wally Nickel was installed
on April 8 as associate pastor
at Sherbrooke Church,
Vancouver.
Edith Painter, Bluffton (Ohio)
College professor of psychol-
ogy, won an award from the
Sears-Roebuck Foundation for
teaching excellence and
campus leadership.
Pamela Peters, Nutana Park
Church, Saskatoon, began
June 1 as director of youth and
young adults services for the
Conference of Mennonites in
Manitoba.
Gwen Rempel, Winnipeg, is
the new program director at the
Mennonite Heritage Village.
280 JUNE 26, 1990
Two Bluffton (Ohio) College faculty
members are visiting the Baltic States of
Latvia and Estonia during a trip to the
Soviet Union from June 1 to July 1 . Todd
Rainey, associate professor of biology, and
Jim Satterwhite, professor of history, are
serving as tour leaders, along with faculty
members of Eastern Mennonite College,
Harrisonburg, Va. They originally planned
to include Lithuania as well, but the unrest
there made the visit impossible.
Christian Peace Revival is an international
conference to be held Nov. 9-1 1 in Denver.
Sponsored by Christian Peacemaker
Teams and several Denver area Mennonite
churches, the conference will feature
biblical teaching, worship, study of the roots
of domestic and international violence, and
practical teaching and involvement in
peacemaking. A children's track is in-
cluded. Peace actions will be scheduled.
For more information write Denver CPT
Conference, c/o Glennon Heights Menno-
nite Church, 1 1 480 West Virginia Ave.,
Lakewood, CO 80226, or call Al Zook at
(303) 297-2436 or Nancy Stormer at (303)
329-3664.
Worshipers heard Scriptures read in
Hmong, English and Spanish at the
commissioning service for the 1 1 graduates
of Hesston (Kan.) College's Pastoral
Ministries Program on May 19. The 1990
class is the fourth to graduate from this
program. The number of graduates is now
29. They are serving in 13 states and in
Mexico and Argentina. Howard Keim is the
director.
RECORG
Naylor Stenson
Jennifer Russell, Wichita,
Kan., will fill a one-year term as
instructor of history at Bethel
College, North Newton, Kan.,
during Keith Sprungefs
sabbatical.
Phil and Aylin DeJesus
Sauder have been reassigned
by MCC to a second year as
host couple at Miami Interna-
tional Guesthouse.
David Sawatzky, Altona
(Man.) Bergthaler Church,
began a four-month MVS
assignment on May 4. He is
working as a child-care worker
at Friendship Day Care Center,
Hutchinson, Kan. His parents
are Jacob and Frieda
Sawatzky.
Edwin Stalter \s interim
pastor at Congerville (III.)
Church.
Gary Stenson was to be
installed as pastor at Grace
Church, Lansdale, Pa. on June
24. The congregation was also
to celebrate its 60th anniver-
sary and dedicate its newly
renovated building.
Bill Thiessen, Calgary
Fellowship, has been appointed
voluntary service and develop-
ment education director for
MCC British Columbia,
effective in July. He is currently
MCC Alberta's executive
director. He and his wife,
Unruh |. voth
Marianne, have served in
Nigeria for six years with MCC.
Everett J. Thomas is the new
executive secretary for the
Mennonite Board of Congrega-
tional Ministries, Elkhart, Ind.
Diana Torline will become
director of the Center for
Academic Development at
Bethel College, North Newton,
Kan. She was the registrar at
the college.
R. Toshi, a CMBC student
from Nagaland, northeast India,
will be a student summer
assistant pastor at First
Church, Edmonton.
Elsie and Henry Troyer,
Rainbow Church, Kansas City,
Kan., are beginning an MCC
assignment as country repre-
sentatives in Laos.
Richard Tschetter has
resigned at First Church. Pretty
Prairie, Kan., effective Oct. 1 .
Allan Tschiegg, pastor at
Marion (S.D.) Evangelical
Mennonite Brethren Church,
has been called to pastor at
Bethesda Church, Marion,
S.D., for a one-year shared
ministry.
Jim Unruh, First Mennonite
Church of Christian, Moun-
dridge, Kan., is beginning a
two-year MCC assignment in
Atlanta as a construction
worker with Training and
S. Voth I. Weaver
Serving the Kingdom program.
His parents are Elaine and
Jerry Unruh.
Doug and Joyce von
Ehrenkrook and Tom Mierau,
Church of the Servant, Wichita,
Kan., led a disabilities retreat at
Camp Mennoscah on Memorial
Day weekend.
Irvin and Susan Voth,
Alexanderwohl Church,
Goessel, Kan., will be mission
partners with the Commission
on Overseas Mission. They
begin work in August with Holy
Land Ministries of Tulsa, Okla.,
at the Arab Evangelical School
and Orphanage, Hebron ,
Israel. The school began in
1953 and was sponsored by
MCC until 1967. Susan is
concluding 10 years as material
aid assistant at the MCC center
in North Newton, Kan.
J. Denny Weaver, First
Church, Bluffton, Ohio, has
been granted a one-year leave
of absence as professor of
religion at Bluffton (Ohio)
College. He will serve as
visiting professor at CMBC,
Winnipeg, temporarily filling the
vacancy left by Helmut
Hardens move to the position
of general secretary of CMC.
Irene Weaver, Hesston,
Kan., former Mennonite
missionary in India and several
A.N. Wiens
W. Wiens
African countries, will be the
speaker at the Jubilee celebra-
tions of the women of the India
Mennonite Church, Oct. 13-16.
Esther and George Wiebe,
composer and conductor from
CMBC, Winnipeg, will lead
music week, July 8-14, at
Laurelville Mennonite Church
Center, Mt. Pleasant, Pa. In
April George went to Germany
by invitation of the Umsiedler
(resettlers) churches in
Germany to work with choirs,
conductors and congregations.
He was sponsored by the
European Ministries of the
Conference of Mennonites in
Canada.
Werner and Adelia Neufeld
Wiens, Hope Church, Winni-
peg, will serve the Mennonite
Church of Hope, Fennell Bay,
Australia, from the end of June
through September while the
pastor, Foppe Brouwer, attends
Mennonite World Conference
and visits churches. The
Wienses have one son.
Allen Yoder Jr., Silverwood
Church, Goshen, Ind., received
the Bluffton (Ohio) College
National Alumni Association
outstanding alumni award. He
is a 1951 graduate who has
been involved with agriculture
and manufacturing.
— compiled by Angela Rempel
THE MENNONITE 281
Urbana 90, InterVarsity's 16th Urbana
Student Mission Convention, will be held at
the University of Illinois at Champaign/
Urbana Dec. 27-31 . Planners expect more
than 18,000 people to attend. Theme for
the event is "Jesus Christ: Lord of the
Universe. Hope for the World."
The National Council of Churches has
joined a growing body of religious organiza-
tions calling on Americans to view the
500th anniversary of Christopher Colum-
bus' arrival in the New World as an
opportunity to acknowledge the exploitation
of people and land that accompanied the
explorer's landing in 1492. Meeting May
16-18 in Pittsburgh, the governing board of
the 32-denomination ecumenical organiza-
tion approved a resolution that says,
"invasion, genocide, slavery, 'ecocide' and
exploitation of the wealth of the land"
followed Columbus' arrival, calling into
question the propriety of celebrations being
planned for 1992.
When Ellen Ahlgren heard that thousands
of babies infected with the AIDS virus were
living out their short lives in cold and sterile
hospital cribs, she decided to make them
some quilts. She and several other women
in Northwood, N.H., sewed about a dozen
quilts and sent them to Boston City
Hospital. That was more than 18 months
ago. Since then Mrs. Ahlgren's circle of
quilters has become a nationwide volunteer
organization with about 1,000 people
sewing quilts in 44 states. ABC Quilts, the
name of the group, has donated more than
3,000 quilts to hospitals. (New York Times)
RESOURCES
>ooks
One Small Plot of Heaven:
Reflections on Family Life by a
Quaker Sociologist by Elise
Boulding (Pendle Hill, 1990,
$12.50) is a collection of 12
essays based on Boulding's
career as a sociologist and
futurist and as a wife, a parent
of five and a grandparent of 1 5.
Paul Longacre and Nancy
Heisey visited Mennonite
churches worldwide and
gathered their counsel on the
role of North American
churches in mission. They
summarize their findings in a
paper entitled Mennonite
International Study Project,
available on request from
Mennonite Central Committee,
Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-
0500.
Sanctuary: the New
Underground Railroad by
Renny Golden and Michael
McConnell (Orbis, 1989, $7.95)
portrays the human face of
sanctuary through storytelling
while analyzing the political and
economic forces trying to stop
the movement.
Elie Wiesel, Jim Wallis and
Yvonne Dilling are among the
contributors to Sanctuary,
edited by Gary MacEoin
(Harper & Row, 1989, $7.95), a
resource guide for understand-
ing and participating in the
Central American refugees'
struggle.
Sacred Stories: Daily
Devotions from the Family of
God by Ruth A. Tucker
(Zondervan, 1989, $15.95) tells
a one-page
story for each
day of the
year of a well-
known or
obscure
Christian and
ties it in with
Scripture from
the NIV Bible.
Taking the images of journey
and steward as metaphors of
the Christian's life and using
several of Jesus' parables as a
springboard, Ronald Vallet in
Stepping Stones of the
Steward (Eerdmans, 1989,
$12.95) explores various
dimensions of Christian
stewardship.
Living Without Electricity
by Stephen Scott and Kenneth
Pellman (Good Books, 1990,
$4.95) explains how and why
the Amish live without electric
lights and other inventions that
most people take for granted.
It includes photos.
Based on data gathered over
a 20-year period from observa-
tions, interviews and personal
involvement, The Waterloo
Mennonites: A Community in
Paradox by J. Winfield Fretz
(Wilfrid Laurier University
Press, 1990, $16.95, $19.95 in
the United States, in paper-
back, $24.95 and $29.95,
respectively, in cloth) is a
sociological history of the large
Mennonite and Amish commu-
nity in the Waterloo area.
The Memoirs of Charles G.
Finney: The Complete
Restored Text, edited by Garth
M. Rosell and Richard A.G.
Dupuis (Zondervan, 1989,
$24.95), restores the text of
Finney's original manuscript
and completely footnotes and
annotates the many changes to
it since his death.
The 1989 edition of the
Mennonite Church Women in
Leadership Ministries Commit-
tee packet includes study
materials, current listing of
female pastors and other
resources for those dealing
with women in leadership
issues. It is available for $5
from Mennonite Church
General Board, 421 S. Second
St., Suite 600. Elkhart, IN
46516.
Preaching for Recovery in
a Strife-Torn Church by
Jerrien Gunnink (Zondervan,
1989, $7.95) tells how preach-
ing can bring a church back to
vitality, unity and good health.
Crucial relationships are
sustained by fragile links, says
James P. Osterhaus in
Counseling Families: From
Insight to Intervention (Zonder-
van, 1989, $12.95).
Building on Faith: Models
of Church-Sponsored Afford-
able Housing Programs in the
Washington, D.C. Area ($10) is
a publication of the Churches
Conference on Shelter and
Housing, which works with
congregations to encourage
and equip their ministries of
shelter and housing. Order
from CCSH, 1711 14th St.,
NW, Washington, DC 20009.
As a response to the
challenge of atheism, philoso-
phy and theism, John J.
O'Donnell has written The
Mystery of the Triune God
(Paulist Press, 1990, $8.95).
Footprints of Compassion
($10) is a history of Mennonite
Central Committee British
Columbia, written on the
occasion of its 25th anniversary
in 1989.
A simulation game called
Culture Contact provides a
way to gain insight into the first
contact between different
cultures. The game is suitable
for youth and adult groups of
20-30 individuals. Each
individual is assigned a role as
one of a group of islanders or
one of those who have arrived
on the island. It is available
from The Resource Centre,
Conference of Mennonites in
Canada, 600 Shaftesbury
Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4.
Bioethics and the Begin-
ning of Life, edited by Roman
J. Miller and Beryl H. Brubaker
(Herald Press, 1990, $14.95,
$18.95 in Canada), addresses
the complexities of ethical
issues and contains guidelines
to help find an appropriate
communal response to the
dilemmas of bioethics.
The National Institute of
Mental Health has published
When Someone Close Has
AIDS, which depicts three case
histories of people with AIDS
and their caregivers while
giving practical advice on what
caregivers should expect.
Copies are free from Consumer
Information Center, Department
577 W, Pueblo, CO 81009.
— compiled by Gordon Houser
282 JUNE 26, 1990
My 10-day preaching tour in Cuba
Washington Brun
Monday, one o'clock in the
morning, we approached
Havana, the capital of Cuba.
For one who grew up in Uruguay in
the 1960s and matured politically in the
1970s, visiting Cuba was like a dream. I
adjusted my seat belt for landing.
I flew into Havana from Panama City.
I used the technique of the insistent
widow in Luke 8, and the Cuban ambas-
sador in Panama finally gave me a visa.
By invitation of Mennonite Central
Committee and the Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. Memorial Center I was to spend
10 days in Cuba to give seven lectures
on the theme "The Radical Reformation
for Life and Church Mission in Latin
America."
For four nights my audience fluctuated
between 25 and 35. It was an ecumeni-
cal group — Baptists, Episcopalians,
Salvation Army members and Presbyte-
rians. Most were lay people. For the last
lecture, held together with a Baptist
activity, the group grew to more than
150.
My listeners were interested in talking
about community within the church. But
their question was, What is the mission
of the church in a revolutionary atmos-
phere? Many were astonished to learn
that Anabaptist ideas emerged in a
context of political, social and economic
revolutions, not only religious ones.
The old dichotomies (church-world,
spirit-body, evangelism-social service)
are also present in the Cuban church. It
seemed as though the blockade imposed
on Cuba also isolated them theologically
during the 1960s and 1970s. Perhaps for
this reason, some of the ideas seemed
novel, radical and, as they told me,
"urgently needed."
Nevertheless, in recent years new
winds have been blowing in the Cuban
church. We Anabaptists have a history
and reflection pertinent to Cuba and all
of Latin America.
Political commitment: The last day of
the course I was asked to participate in
the Constituting Assembly of the Baptist
Fraternity of Cuba. Some years ago a
total of nine churches (more than 700
members) were expelled from the Baptist
Convention of Cuba. They were expelled
because of political commitment and
began looking for their roots in the Ana-
baptist movement of the 16th century. I
spoke on "The Search in Community for
a Sense of Suffering." The assembly fol-
lowed with the administrative and
organizational aspects of the future of
their fraternity — with Anabaptist roots.
That night I preached on "Come, Let
Us Rise Up and Build Together" (Ne-
hemiah 2:17). After the service, amid
tears and embraces, we parted.
The next day the minister for religious
affairs of the Communist Party, Felipe
In an oppressed world
like Latin America, the
most sinister opposition
to the gospel is not
atheism but idolatry.
Carneado, congratulated the new
religious organization. At the same
time, he said, "I hope that you persist,
since other religious organizations have
been born and then dissolved because
their pastors go to the United States."
On Sunday morning I spoke in two
congregations of the Brethren in Christ
in the outskirts of Havana. These
maintain relations with Mennonite
World Conference and with their denomi-
nation in Nicaragua. They need leader-
ship, due to the flight of pastors. They
are humble congregations, with few
youth and with much neo-Pentecostal
emphasis.
I asked about the Mennonite work,
and they informed me that there are still
a few families in the east of the island,
fruit of the work initiated befoi-e the
revolution of 1959. Without leadership
of their own, they receive visits from
a Pentecostal pastor but insist that
"we were and want to continue to be
Mennonites."
At the end of the 10 days a secular
Cuban magazine interviewed me. The
interview focused on the history of the
Mennonites and in particular their
emphasis on conscientious objection.
Money and arms: New winds are
blowing in the Cuban church. In the
1980s Christians began to acquire
legitimacy before the people and
government.
In the past many Christians placed
themselves in opposition to socialism and
in some sad cases even trafficked in
money and arms against the revolution.
The flight of pastors prompted the
comment that the church is used as a
type of "trampoline" to get a visa and
jump to Miami.
Because of the self-criticism of several
leaders, the church has brought a greater
authenticity before the Cuban people.
Some brothers because of their faith
were scorned in unions and work
brigades. Later, because of their practi-
cal testimony, they were respected and
valued in labor activity.
In closing, I have three personal
suggestions:
1. Before fearing Marxism because it
calls itself atheist, we should ask
ourselves what type of just society we
have constructed in the world that
confesses Christianity.
2. In an oppressed world like Latin
America, the most sinister opposition to
the gospel isn't atheism but idolatry.
3. As a family of Mennonite institu-
tions we can continue to give some
support to the brothers and sisters in
Cuba. Some is already happening:
•The Baptist (Anabaptist) believers in
the new fraternity are looking for a
closer relationship with the world
Mennonite family. This would be a
matter for Mennonite World Conference.
•The Cubans showed great interest in
the Bible study materials and courses of
SEMILLA, the Central American
Mennonite seminary program, and would
like to participate in this institution. I
believe Mennonite Central Committee
and SEMILLA could find ways to inte-
grate them in biblical-theological
training from an Anabaptist perspective.
•Mission boards could pursue the work
initiated many years ago among those
families who still "feel like" Mennonites.
Washington Brun is a
Uruguayan pastor,
now a seminary
student in Costa Rica,
and a member of
International Menno-
nite Peace Committee.
THE MENNONITE 283
Letters
Plenerts now in B.C.
It's North America Assignment time,
thus the address change from B.P. 4081,
Kinshasa 2, Republic of Zaire. Unfortu-
nately the last six or seven months'
issues of The Mennonite haven't come yet
because of the local postal service or lack
of it. Next term I'll pay the extra dollars
for first class.
The last weeks of our term here I spent
working with the central administration
of the Zairian Mennonite Church. This
country and the church especially need
prayer. The church is needed as a
witness but is often involved in its own
problems. Stephen Plenert, #60 3290
Gladwin Road, Abbotsford, BC V2S 6W8
Schedule of MDS meetings
During the last year the Mennonite
Disaster Service network has been busy
responding to the seemingly never-
ending disaster activity. Here is the
future meeting schedule for the various
MDS regions: Region IV annual meet-
ing, Oct. 13, San Jose, Calif.; Region I
annual meeting, Oct. 13, Grantsville,
Md.; Region III annual meeting, Nov. 9-
10, Moundridge, Kan.; All-Unit meeting,
Feb. 8-9, 1991, Shipshewana, Ind.
Lowell Detweiler, Executive Coordinator,
21 S. 12th St., Akron, PA 17501
God's food
Soup kitchens [March 13] are apt to keep
the poor in poverty. We [should] discover
God's good and perfect gifts, from his
own kitchen cooked by his own sun, that
produce healthful wisdom. Cooking
renders food toxic, destroys nutrients
and contributes to disease. Erich Gellert,
212 S. Lawn, Bluffton, OH 45817
'Circumcision' not required
I was disappointed, if not surprised, to
see that one of Mark Winslow's 15
reasons for joining a Mennonite church
[March 27] is that his church sponsors
"Christ-centered recovery groups for
homosexual men and women." I appreci-
ate that a few individuals, whose
homosexual activity stems from sexual
abuse or similar problems, may find
liberation in "recovery groups." But such
unqualified comments leave the impres-
sion that all gay and lesbian people are
unhealthy and in need of recovery. That
is manifestly untrue. Almost all gay and
lesbian people find their sexual orienta-
tion to be a natural part of ourselves.
Like heterosexual Christians, we seek to
understand God's will for our lives
regarding whether to live that out in
singleness or in relationships, but we
are not sick or "addicted" or demon-
possessed by virtue of our sexual
orientation.
Under the influence of a modern
"circumcision" party, the conference has
virtually made heterosexuality a funda-
mental of the faith. Heterosexual
marriage or abstinence from homosexu-
ality is considered one of the evidences of
salvation, without which one can be
lumped with the reprobate.
In the first-century church the conten-
tion was over circumcision. Circumci-
sion, though despised by many gentiles,
was certainly a relatively simple opera-
tion. Much more possible and much less
odious than a change of orientation or
•the teaching that we must abandon our
lifelong partners to achieve salvation.
The Scripture of that day clearly taught
circumcision. (The New Testament was
not yet written.) Jesus was circumcised.
Every possible doctrinal and theological
argument of the time would seem to have
argued for circumcision. Moreover, it
would be understandable that people
taught from their youth to see uncircum-
cision as unclean and impure would be
uncomfortable associating with and
understanding people who failed to
perform so simple an act. Yet both Peter
(though apparently he wavered; see
Galatians 2:11-12) and Paul (though he,
too, recognized an occasion for circumci-
sion in limited circumstances; see Acts
16:3) vigorously opposed making circum-
cision a fundamental of the faith.
Nearly 20 centuries later, Mennonites
have abandoned the counsel of the New
Testament. Although sexual orientation
is virtually unchangeable, heterosexual
conformity (through abstinence or
marriage) has been made official doc-
trine. Is it not appropriate to recall
Jesus' counsel to avoid the teaching of
religious leaders who "bind heavy
burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on
people's shoulders; but they themselves
will not move them with their finger"
( Matthew 23:4)? Might not Jesus' words
to the scribes and Pharisees also be
appropriate to conference leaders of
today? To wit: "Woe to you... because you
shut the kingdom of heaven against
people.... Woe to you. ..hypocrites, for you
traverse sea and land to make a single
proselyte, and when that person becomes
a proselyte, you make that proselyte
twice as much a child of hell as your-
selves" (Matthew 23:13-15).
I appreciate the almost unheard Peters
and Pauls of our day who argue against
sexual requirements for salvation. But I
wish the conference would listen to them
as the believers of Jerusalem listened to
Peter and James (Acts 15). Yet officially
we hear, at most, of small steps toward
"dialogue." I should be grateful and
understand that the good heterosexual
Mennonites of today are no less sincere
in their devotion to tradition than were
the religious people of first-century
Palestine. But I also remember that
HEAR
Eric Ram
Director of International Health
of World Vision International
at the Mennonite Health
Professionals Luncheon
at Mennonite
World Conference
12
1990 Winnipeg
Juty 24-29. 1990
Place: Fort Garry Hotel,
Provencher Room
Date: July 25; 12:30-3pm
Topic: "Mennonite Health
Care in Global
Perspective"
Admission by advance ticket only. Send
$ 1 5 00 in U.S. funds per ticket to Mennon-
ite Health Association, Box 370, Elkhart,
IN 46515- Cost covers meal and program.
Sponsored by Mennonite Health Associa-
tion, Mennonite Medical Association, and
Mennonite Nurses' Association.
Name
Address
phone number
# tickets enclosed $
Make check payable to: Mennonite Health Association
284 JUNE 26, 1990
Letters
when the Holy Spirit testified to the
acceptability of the uncircumcised, the
Jerusalem conference didn't just pass a
resolution voicing support for "dialogue"
with the uncircumcised. They didn't just
say that they might let a few unofficial
uncircumcised representatives sit in on a
few conferences or meetings. No. They
accepted Peter's testimony that God had
poured out the Holy Spirit on the
gentiles and had "made no distinction,"
and they made it official policy not to
"trouble those of the gentiles who turn to
God."
Today, in young Mennonite churches
scattered across North America and the
globe, the Holy Spirit has poured out
gifts of church leadership and spiritual
maturity on many gay and lesbian
Christians. Yet the Mennonite denomi-
nations reject this witness. They still
officially trouble gay and lesbian people
who turn to God by demanding a modern
circumcision. Because of it, the name of
Jesus is considered a name of oppression
and rejection rather than liberation, and
Christ's gospel is misunderstood among
many.
The "heterosexuals only" party may
believe as sincerely as the first-century
circumcision party that it has the only
true way to salvation. Yet the testimony
of the Holy Spirit and of biblical accounts
concerning the difficulties of including
gentiles suggest that the Mennonite
church ought to follow a course of
acceptance. Then maybe our 16th reason
for joining a Mennonite church could be
its openness to the witness of the Spirit
and our willingness to testify that Christ
has broken down modern as well as
ancient dividing walls of hostility among
people. John Linscheid, Apt. 3, Cope
House, Awbury Arboretum, Philadelphia,
PA 1913
Remember another good one
I enjoyed the article "A Mediator's View
of the Abortion Storm" [May 8]. It made
me think of the article in which a church
had to decide whether or not to display
the American flag. Their procedure
became the model for answering other
questions. I remember they (1) had to let
each side have its say, (2) have each side
back its position from the Bible, (3)
prayed together. Bonnie Clarkson, Route
1, Box 71, Stark, KS 66775
Editor's note: The article is "Working
Through Conflict: a Testimony" by Bob
Buxman in the May 9, 1989, issue of The
Mennonite. For a copy send $2 to Angela
Rempel, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114.
Widow' a profession?
I know you don't write Crossroads'
advertisement [May 8, page 206], but
since when is "widow" an occupation like
the others mentioned? Somehow it was
offensive to me, as if a woman is going to
sit around being a widow and get paid for
it. Janice Hershberger, 1027 Lane, Clay
Center, KS 67432
Remember
Thanks for the editorial in the May 22
issue. Well-written, to-the-point, re-
freshing. Often instead of new informa-
tion and insights we just need helpful
reminding. Thanks for helping us
remember. Jim Egli, Pastor, Flanagan
Mennonite Church, Box 217, Flanagan,
IL 61740
The full-time position of editor of
With and YouthGuide is available
as of Sept. 4. Desired qualifica-
tions include editorial skills and
experience, awareness of issues
pertinent to teens, experience in
working with youth, active
congregational membership in
either Mennonite Church or
General Conference Mennonite
Church. Job description is
available. Office for this position is
located in the Commission on
Education, Newton, Kan.
Applications accepted until June
30. Send resume, samples of
work and letter stating interest in
the position to Norma Johnson,
Executive Secretary, COE, Box
347, Newton, KS 67114, (316)
283-5100.
Goshen College seeks applicants
for potential resident director
position beginning fall 1990.
Qualifications include bachelor's
degree (master's preferred) and
relevant work experience.
Send letter of application, resume
and the names of three references
to Norman Kauffmann, dean of
student development, Goshen
College, Goshen, IN 46526. Appli-
cation deadline is July 10. An
equal opportunity employer.
1-W reunion planned for all former
1-Ws who served at the General
Rose Hospital, Denver, Colo.
Date: Aug. 16-18, 1991. Place:
Denver.
For more information and reserva-
tions contact by July 1, 1990:
Wallis Goertzen, Box 117,
Henderson, NE 68371 .
Mennonite Voluntary Service
openings
Saskatoon
Big Brothers case worker
Soup kitchen food service worker
San Francisco
Civil rights organizer/coordinator
Alcohol counselor
St. Catharines, Ont.
Senior citizen visitation worker
Denver
Women's day shelter staff
Habitat for Humanity volunteer
project director
Call or write David Orr or Barb
Unruh for details or a complete list
of openings in Canada and the
United States: Mennonite
Voluntary Service, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-
5100.
Book by
PAULA DILLER LEHMAN
Cassette by
"ROAD LESS TRAVELLED'
"Paula Diller Lehman has provided the kind of devotional
material that is very much needed by people who want to
link reflection with action." Tony Campolo, Eastern College
"I was inspired and energized by this vision and was offered
many practical steps in living it out in every aspect of my
life. This whole book is quite an accomplishment. I highly
recommend it." Dr. James McGinnis,
Institute for Peace and Justice
In 13 thought-provoking and action-packed sessions, journey With Justice
leads individuals and groups to explore and do justice. The companion
cassette tape features original music bv Road Less Travelled created to
complement each lesson. Leader's Guide included.
Book-$7.95 US, $9.95 CAN; Cassette-$9.98 US, $11.98 CAN
Available at your local bookstore or
Faith and Life Press Faith and Life Press
718 Main, Box 347 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.
Newton, KS 67114-0347 Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4
316/283-5100 204/888-6781
THE MENNONITE 285
REVI EWS
« SSAOoltS
The nature of church
Freedom and Discipleship: Libera-
tion Theology in Anabaptist
Perspective, edited by Daniel S.
Schipani (Orbis Books, 1989, 188 pages)
Reviewed by Harry Huebner, Canadian
Mennonite Bible College, 600 Shaftesbury
Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4
Not much serious theological interchange
has taken place between the Anabaptist/
Believers' Church tradition and libera-
tion theology. Freedom and
Discipleship attempts to
remedy this, and for that it
deserves high marks.
The book is divided into
two parts. In the first, C.
Hugo Zorilla, C. Rene
Padilla, LaVerne A. Rutsch-
man, Willard M. Swartley,
John Howard Yoder, Ronald
J. Sider, John Driver and C.
Arnold Snyder present their
perspectives on Anabaptist
and liberation theologies. The second
part contains responses to the dialogue
from Jose Miguez Bonino, George V.
Pixley, Richard Shaull, John H. Yoder,
Gayle Gerber Koontz and LeRoy Friesen.
In many respects this book recognizes
that the real issue between liberation
theology and Anabaptism has to do with
the theological nature of church. Repre-
sentatives from both perspectives agree
that the church cannot be a state-inte-
grated institution. Nor can it be separa-
tist. But to say simply that we share a
common prophetic vision of the church
via a mutual counter-culture conscious-
ness— the faithful community for Ana-
baptism and the base communities for
liberation theology — may well be true
but is not adequate in sorting out our
differences or in stating our agreements.
The matter of stating the view of the
church correctly is especially important
for Christian social ethics, which is really
the issue being debated. What is the
biblical view of how society gets
changed? To put it starkly we can ask,
are we — the counter-culture commu-
nity— the movers/determiners of God's
history? If so, how? Is God the sole
mover of history? And if so, how? If
neither is adequate, and we — God and
the church — find ourselves in some
collaborative enterprise, what is the
biblical model most helpful for under-
standing this correctly? If salvation/
shalom come to us via grace, how can we
even understand social ethics?
We need to be careful how our theology
of church gets sorted out. Simply
resorting to our ecclesial histories cannot
help. This is where the issues got put
antagonistically to begin with because of
a truncated view of the church that built
rather than destroyed walls. Simply to
ignore our histories will not suffice
either. We need to find ways of reread-
ing the biblical material as a critique of
our own traditions as we talk with one
another about the nature of that one
body of Christ.
This is an excellent start in a worth-
while process. I hope we find ways of
continuing the dialogue.
The door to the house
The Logic of Evangelism by William
J. Abraham (Eerdmans, 1989, 248 pages)
Reviewed by Gary E. Martin, Associated
Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, 3003
Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517
Abraham's book is unique in that he
reflects theologically on the theory and
practice of evangelism. No major con-
temporary theologian has written on this
topic. Christian tradition is the founda-
tion for examining evangelism, and he
encourages it to be taken seriously as a
discipline in practical theology.
Two popular approaches to evangel-
ism, proclamation of the gospel and
church growth, are discarded in favor of
Abraham's major thesis: Evangelism is
primary initiation into the kingdom of
God. Initiation focuses attention on two
important aspects: the beginning of a
new relationship and the need for careful
instruction. Initiation dispels two
unfortunate myths that frequently
surround evangelism: It includes
everything the church does, and it does
not encourage "counting the cost."
The Logic of Evangelism should be
priority reading for both those committed
to evangelism and for those critical of it.
Abraham is intentionally polemic in light
of his commitment to stimulate dialogue
among theologians: "The great need in
evangelism is not for some new program,
nor for a fresh wave of activism, but for a
renewal of theological vision and a
reworking of our basic conceptuality."
The chapter "The Ministry of Evangel-
ism" is especially helpful for Mennonites.
He uses the analogy of the relationship
between a door and a house to explain
the role of evangelism in the church. In
one sense it is subordinate: evangelism
leads people into the edifice of works of
love and mercy. A door cannot be on the
the same level of importance as a house.
But in another sense, the door is the only
way for a house to be useful; evangelism
is therefore essential.
He also emphasizes the relationship
between worship and evangelism:
"Evangelism should begin from a deep
sense of the reality of the reign of God
within the Christian community."
Should we stop evangelizing until our
house is in order? No, he responds. "One
way in which the church recovers its first
love in worship and celebration is by
catching the wonder and joy of those who
are newly won to the faith. In evangeliz-
ing, the church itself is re-evangelized."
Syriac poet-theologian
Ephrem the Syrian: Hymns, trans-
lated and introduced by Kathleen E.
McVey (Paulist Press, 1989, 474 pages)
Reviewed by Gordon Houser, assistant
editor
This volume in the highly acclaimed and
valuable Classics of Western Spirituality
series presents works by a too-little-
known figure in church history. Scholars
will be most interested in this book, but
Ephrem's beautiful poetry, written to be
sung in the congregation, will appeal to
others, particularly women, I think.
A fourth-century poet-theologian,
Ephrem was an ascetic of a peculiarly
Syrian sort, a solitary or "single" one, a
celibate living in the ordinary Christian
congregation as the special representa-
tive of Christ. He wrote in Syriac, a
dialect of Aramean, the language spoken
by Jesus and his immediate disciples.
McVey provides an excellent introduc-
tion (with copious footnotes) that places
Ephrem in his historical context and
gives insights to his major themes. For
example, McVey writes, "The central
theological theme of the Hymns on the
Nativity is Ephrem's understanding of
the incarnation as the miraculous and
paradoxical self-abasement of God out of
love for humankind."
Ephrem writes often of women in
Scripture. Here is a stanza based on
Mark 5:25-34: "Blessed are you, woman!
The flow of mercy/ met you and healed
the flow of your blood./ That Sun Who
dispelled from souls the frost of the
hidden death--/ its hidden flash radiated
and dried up/ every fresh anger the mind
perceives."
286 JUNE 26, 1990
A San Carlos Apache woman says,
'This Bible study answered my prayer1
Carla Reimer
A three-month Bible study led by Malcolm and Esther
Wenger, Newton, Kan., in Hopi and intertribal
churches in Arizona was an "answer to prayer," accord-
ing to Nandla Irving of Phoenix.
"What I liked most about the Bible study was how simple the
words were to understand. The lessons repeated themselves
and stayed with you," said Harvey, one of 30 students who
participated in the course, which ran from Jan. 9 to April 12.
She is a member of the San Carlos Apache tribe.
The Wengers, who worked with Native peoples in Canada
and the United States until their retirement, were invited to be
the instructors by the Hopi Mennonite Church Council (part of
the Mennonite Indian Leaders Council). They used material
written by Anglicans in Argentina to teach about the life of
Christ based on the Gospel of Matthew. They also taught
about the history of the church in general and Anabaptists in
particular.
"We volunteered our time because we know there is a deep
need for leaders in Native American churches," said Esther.
Malcolm added that the curriculum they used is "good for
anybody who seriously wants to be active in the church."
"This is the first time that a couple who grew up in the Men-
nonite tradition came and shared their history and the Ana-
baptist view of the church and Scriptures with us," said Elmer
Myron, pastor of the Intertribal Mennonite Fellowship in
Phoenix. "The Wengers taught us in a way we could under-
stand because they had worked with Native Americans."
Myron taught the course to the fellowship members every other
Sunday, when the Wengers could not be present.
The class, which was taught at four locations, had represen-
tatives from six churches: Intertribal Mennonite Fellowship,
Moencopi Mennonite Church, Bacavi Mennonite Church,
Oraibi Mennonite Church, Hopi Independent Mission and
Sunlight Baptist Church. They also had a separate class for a
couple who could not attend during the other times. The
students enrolled included 12 Hopi, eight whites, four Navajo,
three San Carlos Apache and three Kiowa.
One participant was a San Carlos Apache grandmother
named Lillie. "She had all her work done before the others in
the class. She doesn't hear well, but if she heard the question
she could answer it," said Malcolm. "She told us she has not
been a Christian for too many years. She said, 'I did every-
thing bad there was to do. Jail was my home. Now I read at
least three chapters in the Bible every day. Sometimes I read
seven. It is making me clean.'" Nandla Irving helped translate
some of the English into Apache for Lillie.
Danny T. Begaye, Phoenix, a member of the Navajo tribe,
noted that other Christians had never taught him what the
name, "the Son of God, Son of Man" means. "Now it is clear to
me what the Bible teaches. Jesus is the only one who can be
the bridge from human nature to godly nature because he
experienced both," he said.
Kent Delma, Phoenix, a member of the San Carlos Apache
tribe, appreciated learning about the geography of Palestine.
"I could picture Jesus moving from one town to another in his
ministry," he said. "Knowing the land, like our ancestors, is
important to our Native American people today."
In several of the classes the participants discussed the issues
and problems they faced in their own lives. "People were quick
Reading the Bible is "making me clean": Nandla Irving (right) and
Lillie, members of the San Carlos Apache tribe, learn about the Bible
through a course taught by Malcolm and Esther Wenger. Both women
attend Intertribal Mennonite Fellowship in Phoenix, Ariz.
to understand the conflict between Matthew the tax collector
and Simon the Zealot," said Esther. "They immediately
thought of their own conflicts between people who work for the
government and those who are traditionalists. They were
impressed with how Jesus brought people together from
different backgrounds."
"One class was sad," Malcolm said. "Shortly before we
started, we discovered that a young man had hung himself
from a tree not far from where we were meeting. At first no
one knew who it was and we could tell that people were
worried that it might be someone close to them. Near the end
of the class, a small girl came in to tell one of the students that
it was one of his clan relatives, a young man who was an
alcoholic. He could no longer stop drinking. He must have felt
that life was no longer worth living."
Elmer Myron hopes his fellowship can continue to use the
Bible study material in the fall. "Now we can identify and
affirm the Anabaptist understanding of what it means to follow
Jesus Christ. We know why the early Anabaptists died for
their beliefs. There was a bonding that took place across our
different cultures."
-J J_ Carla Reimer, Woodstock School, Mussoorie
U.P., India, 248-179, is the former news service
editor for the General Conference Mennonite
Church.
'* y
THE MENNONITE 287
NEWS
01 0 02? 031 3M
LI BR \RY
ASSOC ME NN 8I8LICAL SEM
30 03 BEHHAM A#E
ELKHART IN ' 4651 7
EdiTOMAl
From the greenhouse to the garden
Make sure that God has called you to it," says
Noel Santiago, talking about planting — church
planting, that is. "It's hard and lonely work.
Many times it is unappreciated. You need to depend
totally on God." (Santiago spoke as a consultant in
evangelism and church development for Mennonite
Board of Missions.) The occasion was a class devoted to
the subject taught by Gary Martin at Associated Men-
nonite Biblical Seminaries.
Newly commissioned worker for our Commission on
Overseas Mission Delbert Dick was in that class. (He
and Susan, members of Silverwood Mennonite Church,
Goshen, Ind., plan to go to Zaire after a year's study of
French in Canada.) Delbert summarizes church plant-
ing thus: (1) Find out where people are; (2) determine
the. needs; (3) set the plans to meet the needs.
Fear and hope: The metaphor connecting preaching to
planting is time honored and apt. Jesus used it. Paul
used it. Old Testament prophets Amos and Jeremiah
used it.
My question is, how much of this planting can we
expect of ourselves? It's good to set goals, and I hear
provincial and district conferences setting such goals:
We will plant X number of churches in the next year, or
in three years.
Logically we should next ask, What do we have to
work with? My colleague Gary Franz has pulled to-
gether some statistics that alternately strike fear and
hope in listeners. Here is some of what he says (and
much of this information is in our conference Handbook
of Information. For a copy send $8 to Doris Schmidt,
Box 347, Newton, KS 67114):
•The 64,631 of us members of the General Conference
Mennonite Church, mostly in Canada and the United
States, earn about $900 million.
•Our total contributions for 1988 were $37,460,594.
Of that, almost $1.5 million went to non-Mennonite
causes. We kept another $22,202,378 at home for local
expenses, local mission, to pay our local pastors and to
maintain our church buildings. Generally church
planting does not take place at this level, although
certainly the ground can be tilled and garden plots
r
marked. (Generally congregations are adding paid staff,
but total membership is staying about the same. So we
have more paid pastors serving fewer parishoners.)
•Provincial and district budgets
received $2,692,815. As I go to the
annual business sessions of these
regional conferences I hear much
enthusiasm for beginning new congre-
gations. God be praised. But these
dollars are, after all, only an 18th of
our total contributions.
•We gave our seminary (the main
"greenhouse") $290,481 in 1988.
•According to the Handbook we
designated a combined $1,552,439 to
the overseas and home ministries com-
missions of our conference. Join that
with the church-planting portion of the
$1,226,654 that was received by the
Conference of Mennonites in Canada
for its budget.
Wall of persecution: Devoted
gardners that we are, we probably
have to admit that church planting is
not our highest priority.
I look toward the day when that
extra $1.5 million is used to "water"
the plants that we have started and
want to start, rather than someone
else's. I look toward the day when our
local settings don't take the lion's
share of what we contribute. I wonder
what it would be like if we were up
against a wall of persecution. The
stories of church growth during
persecution in China and in Ethiopia
give one pause.
Santiago also mentioned reaping. This will happen,
he concluded, "if you walk alongside Christ." May it be
so in our society, which is so in need of gardens and the
nourishing produce from them, so in need of the good
news of Jesus Christ. Muriel T. Stackley
Make sure that
God has called you
to it: Here Howard
Zehr's camera
eavesdrops on
Dennis Hollinger,
another voice from
our "greenhouse. "
MENNONITE
TION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
105:13 JULY 10, 1990
Inside:
pnoloquE
CONTENTS
Dave Linscheid
Downtc
With this issue we say farewell to
Angela Albrecht Rempel (pictured
here) who ably served as interim
editorial assistant for The Mennonite this past
year. I watched Angela learn the details of
her assignment with
lightning speed,
keeping track of press
deadlines, authors and
photographers and
book reviewers' hono-
raria, invoices for ad-
vertisers, the photo
^lfir^\'; files, proofreading idio-
Bi cyncracies — this in
addition to keying all
manuscripts for publications and the corre-
spondence for Gordon Houser and me.
If you're coming to Winnipeg for Assembly
12, July 24-29, you may see her somewhere
downtown. (The map below may assist you.)
Sharon
Sommer, as
this Prologue
goes to press,
is due to
arrive back
on the North
American
continent
after a
spending the
past year
with her
family in
Tokyo. She
and her husband, John, worked for the Com-
mission on Overseas Mission, staying at the
Anabaptist Center, while the center's regular
staff, Fritz and Ellen Sprunger, were on North
America Assignment. Sharon rejoins The
Mennonite staff as editorial assistant for the
Aug. 14 issue and will also be attending
Assembly 12.
This issue takes you to that gathering. The
program is on page 303, and the quiz on page
295 may help acquaint you with our world-
wide Mennonite family. Let's all be in prayer
for this unusual occasion.
May God be glorified.
Our previous issue was
mailed late because severe
winds knocked out the
power at Mennonite Press,
which prints The Menno-
nite. Our apologies. Muriel
T. Stackley
'peg
297
298
299
This is who Mennonites are today / 291
Recover the Anabaptist vision / 294
Mennonite World Conference quiz / 295
After 64 years I went home to the Soviet Union / 296
To become global we went Dutch / 297
Brazilians connect with young African church /
News / 298
Tanzanian Mennonites develop themselves /
GC African-American leaders told to 'go home' /
Record / 304
Letters / 306
Choices, the pledge and the Nicolaitans / 308
I draw a line between 'dear' and 'sacred' / 309
Reviews / 310
No other name / 310
Radical Reformer / 310
A guide to Kraus / 310
May we share the 'fellowship of Christ's sufferings' /
MWC: Who needs it? / 312
Cover: Photo by Howard Zehr
311
W \i£ MENNONITE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347. Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100. Editor:
Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant: Angela Rempel;
art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the Associated Church Press,
Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a Mennnonite and Brethren in Christ
editors' group). It is an associate member of the Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretaries: Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14, and Rose Retzlaff. 600
Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4. Business manager: Dietrich Rempel. Special
editions editors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North Newton, KS 67117;
Window to Mission, Lois Deckert, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14; Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, Richard A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1, Carstairs, AB TOM 0N0, (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2S 1V7; (Central District)
Lynn Liechty, 666 Columbus St., Berne, IN 4671 1 ; (Eastern District) Curtis Bauman, 429
N. Second St., Emmaus, PA 1 8049; (Manitoba) in process; (Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada) Margo Fieguth, 99 Veronica Drive, Mississauga, ON L5G 2B1 ; (Northern
District) Winifred Wall, Box 67, Freeman, SD 57029; (Pacific District) Clare Ann Ruth-
Heffelbower, 3198 E. Menlo Ave., Fresno, CA 93710; (Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger, 125
Rawlinson Bay, Regina, SK S4S 6M8,; (Western District) Leland Harder, Box 363, North
Newton, KS 67117.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 14 years of The Mennonite are also
available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College, North Newton, KS 671 17, and
from University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106.
Circulation: 10,221
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build the
Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the guidance of
the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly by the General Conference
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290 JULY 10, 1990
This is who
Mennonites are
today
Cornelius J. Dyck
I n Christ a new people of God are
I arising who are indeed one family as
| Mennonites.
The Mennonite story began in the
1500s in Zurich, Switzerland. Through
debates arranged by the reformer
Huldrych Zwingli and the city council,
numerous reforms were introduced into
church life in the area.
Soon a circle of students and other
admirers gathered around Zwingli, in-
cluding Conrad Grebel and Felix Mantz.
But for Grebel and Mantz the reforms
came too slowly and did not go far
enough.
At one of their Bible study sessions on
Jan. 21, 1525, a number of them baptized
each other and held a
communion service. Perse-
cution and death soon
followed, but the number of
believers increased far
more rapidly than the
number that were killed.
The Mennonites were
first called Menists by
Countess Anna of Friesland (the Nether-
lands) in 1541, named after early Dutch
leader Menno Simons ( 1496-1561 ). They
were also called Anabaptists (rebaptiz-
ers) because they insisted on forming
congregations composed only of people
baptized on confession of faith.
According to the American church
historian Roland H. Bainton, three
values considered central to a democratic
society today — the voluntary church, the
separation of church and state, and
Persecution of the 16th-century Anabaptists,
like this execution by burning, contributed to a
scattering of the believers. The intense
enthusiasm of the first generation had largely
spent itself by the time of Menno Simons'
death in 1561.
t
religious liberty — were first articulated
by the Anabaptists.
Anabaptism spread from Switzerland
and South Germany into the Austrian
lands and the Tyrol (now Italy). From
the Netherlands, migrations along the
North Sea and Baltic coasts began in
1530.
Persecution and diaspora: New
major movements from Prussia to the
Ukraine (now the Soviet Union) began in
1787 and continued until 1870. Early,
sporadic migrations to North America
began in the 1660s, with the first perma-
nent German-Dutch settlement in
America established by Mennonites and
Quakers at Germantown, Pa., in 1683.
Numerous other migrations followed,
the largest being from the Ukraine to the
Canadian and U.S. Midwest in the
1870s. In the 1920s some 23,000 people
migrated from the Ukraine, primarily to
Canada, but they also went to Paraguay
and Brazil.
During World War I the Manitoba
government insisted that instruction in
Mennonite schools be conducted in the
English language and that these schools
come under provincial educational
authorities. Some conservative Menno-
nites saw this as a threat to their faith,
leading to some migrations from Canada
to Mexico and Paraguay in the 1920s,
later extending to Bolivia and Belize.
Cultural integration and assimilation,
albeit to varying degrees, eventually
became inevitable in the North American
environment and, apparently, more
recently in Russia, but numerous
Mennonite enclaves continue to exist in
both North and South America.
While the Anabaptists were, in fact
and by definition, the only missionaries
of the Reformation, the intense enthusi-
asm of the first generation had largely
spent itself by the time of Menno Simons'
death in 1561. Becoming "the quiet in
the land" was hastened by persecution
and diaspora.
From that time on, most overt mission
activity ceased among Mennonites until
the mid- 19th century, when the influence
of Pietism was felt in southern Russia.
Dutch Mennonites founded a missionary
society in 1847, and the missionary
interest of other denominations brought
similar stirrings to Mennonites in North
America.
In North America a slow beginning
was made among Native Americans in
the 1880s, followed by work in India,
Argentina, China and in ever-widening
circles into all the world.
Zaire: With a global total of 802,900
Mennonites (according to the latest
available Mennonite World Conference
Mennonite and Brethren in Christ World
Directory, printed in 1988), it is obvious
THE MENNONITE 291
that those members coming out of the
original Swiss and Dutch movements
today comprise only somewhat more
than half the world membership. The
mission activities of the Mennonites have
Menno Simons (1496-1561) was a
Roman Catholic priest in the Nether-
lands until 1536, when he decided "to
follow the Scriptures in matters of
faith." As a leader of the Anabaptists
he articulated their beliefs: separation
of church and state, freedom of
conscience, voluntary church member-
ship, democratic church government,
holy living and a Christian peace
witness in a world of strife.
added some 340,000 members in Africa,
Asia and Latin America, where some of
the fastest-growing congregations and
conferences are located.
Of the 12 countries in Africa where
organized Mennonite life exists, Zaire
has the largest number (93,272) and
Malawi the smallest (42). The approxi-
mate membership total in Africa in 1988
was 145,400.
Congregations and conferences in Asia
and Australia have approximately
114,000 members.
Some 78,100 members live and work in
Latin America, with a presence in almost
every nation. This latter figure includes
Mennonites of Dutch-Russian descent
who migrated to Latin America from
Canada.
All of the statistics include baptized
members only.
In recent decades the most visible and
dynamic expressions of global Mennonite
unity have been the Mennonite World
Conference assemblies held every five or
six years.
In these MWC sessions unity and
diversity — theological as well as cul-
tural— have been celebrated. Here is the
most creative global forum Mennonites
possess for dialogue, worship and social
meeting. MWC began in Europe in 1925.
Meetings are given to discussion,
fellowship and worship rather than to
the drafting of resolutions binding upon
members.
Differences among Mennonites
worldwide lie more in the area of practice
than of doctrine, and in degrees of
emphasis given to specific convictions.
While Mennonites are non-creedal and
affirm the Bible as their final authority,
numerous confessions have been written.
Mennonites believe the Bible to be the
Word of God, written under the inspira-
tion of the Holy Spirit. Christ's life,
death and resurrection constitute the
watershed of history.
New covenant: The congregation is
that group of people for whom Christ is
truly Savior and Lord, who daily seek to
follow his teaching and example and who
live in a vital relationship with each
other. This means, ideally, that a
conscious, mature decision has been
made by every member in choosing to
belong to this fellowship and that
baptism has been requested and received
as the sign of a new covenant.
The 16th-century ideal of the auton-
omy of the church from the state contin-
ues to be affirmed in theory. The
Mennonite church is still a suffering
church today in parts of Asia, Africa and
Latin America. In Western Europe and
North America it is primarily the
members of minority groups who still
suffer the violence of unjust social and
economic structures; most of the rest
enjoy a comfortable, middle-class way of
life.
Mennonites observe two ordinances,
believer's baptism and the Lord's Supper.
The Lord's Supper is seen as a memorial
A visible and dynamic expression of global
Mennonite unity is the Mennonite World
Conference assemblies. This was some of the
luggage seen at the 10th such assembly, held
in Wichita, Kan., in 1978.
292 JULY 10, 1990
Those Mennonites coming out of the original Swiss and Dutch movements
now comprise only a little more than half of the total world membership.
Some of the fastest-growing Mennonite congregations and conferences are
in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
There can be no real evangelism without witness to a peace-loving, peacemak-
ing God. There can be no real compassionate justice without concern in the
hearts of people. These understandings set Mennonites apart from other
evangelical churches. We must seek to embody a vision for the fulness of the
good news for this world. May the lordship of Christ and the kingdom of God
be our passion. Rick Stiffney, staff, Greencroft, Goshen, Ind.
to the sacrificial death of Christ and his
glorious resurrection, a foretaste of the
great banquet of the Lamb, to which
believers look forward. Baptism is
the outer witness to an inner faith
commitment.
For Mennonites historically, and today
as well, Christianity without discipleship
is Christianity without Christ. Ethics is
part of the Good News in Jesus Christ.
Love is seen as so central to discipleship
that non-resistance and loving the enemy
become ethical absolutes.
In addition to economics and pacifism,
Mennonite discipleship has become more
sensitive in the area of justice. From the
era of asking for special privileges from
governments, Mennonites are finding
courage to be advocates on behalf of the
poor and oppressed.
'Entangling alliances': Discipleship
often takes the shape of service and relief
in society. Mennonites have tried to help
the poor, giving of their time and skills to
alleviate human need and healing the
sick. The emergency relief committee
founded by the Dutch Mennonites in
1725 is still active. In 1920 Mennonite
Central Committee was founded for
similar reasons in North America and
continues today with strong congrega-
tional support.
Most Mennonites feel a spiritual unity
with all believers who acknowledge Jesus
Christ as Savior and Lord and who seek
the way of discipleship. On the other
hand, they are generally afraid of
"entangling alliances" that may compro-
mise their life and witness.
Mennonite emphasis is on the local
In Mennonite World Conference unity and
diversity — theological and cultural — are
celebrated. Paul Kraybill (left), MWC
executive secretary from 1973 through 1990, is
shown here with Ethiopian churchman
Million Belete, a former MWC president.
Mennonites moved to the Ukraine from 1787 to 1870. This picture was taken last Aug. 13 at the
200th anniversary of a Mennonite presence in the Soviet Union. People reached for Russian-
language Bibles, which children handed out in Zaporozje.
congregation. They would tend to say
that the real church is the local congre-
gation, that the universal church is a
spiritual rather than structural goal or
concept. The church must be visible, the
body of believers together.
Organizations and institutions are not
the church, though Mennonites have
many of both. But Mennonites are
increasingly open to dialogue with other
Christian groups — to learn from them,
and to help fulfill the prayer of John 17
"that they may all be one."
Who knows how the Holy Spirit may
yet lead this small group of God's people?
C.J. Dyck retired in 1989 from the faculty of
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries,
Elkhart, Ind., to part-time teaching and
writing projects in
16th-century Anabap-
tism. This article is
condensed and revised
from a chapter of the
book Mennonites and
Reformed in Dialogue,
published by Menno-
nite World Conference
and the World Alliance
of Reformed Churches.
THE MENNONITE 293
The fear that a typically Anabaptist emphasis would reduce
evangelistic results has made us cheapen our gospel, cleaning
away from it what seems to us hardest to accept.
Recover the
Anabaptist
vision
Cesar Vidal Manzanares
I n many of our churches on all conti-
I nents Anabaptist theology has been
: I lost. Anabaptism has been sup-
planted by emphases that are worthy of
respect but that, many times, are
incompatible with Anabaptism.
Many Mennonite and Brethren in
Christ church members do not know the
meaning of "Anabaptist." They do not
know who Conrad Grebel, Menno Simons
or George Blaurock were. They have lost
the emphases of Anabaptism. Yet they
accept without examination doctrines
like the pentecostal "baptism of the Holy
Spirit," the "political liberation" of the
liberationists or interpretations of
conversion that are lightweight in the
light of the New Testament.
The loss of Anabaptism can be seen in
an especially distressing way in the field
of peace testimony and relations with the
state. We must confess that we have lost
our peace identity in many countries. In
some nations with Anabaptist churches
there are absolutely no conscientious
objectors; peace doctrine is not taught or
even known. This is leading them to look
in a dangerous way for models of relating
to social reality that are not rooted in the
New Testament or our historical iden-
tity. These models come from the
theological fads of recent years.
Many youth and people in places of
church responsibility in Latin America,
for instance, are eager for an alternative
that does not include revolutionary or
institutional violence, but they don't
know of any because we have lost our
identity.
The same is true of relations with the
state. Considerable sectors of world
Anabaptism have adopted Constantinian
postures in relation to the political
powers.
Forgetting the privilege of being a
radical New Testament alternative, we
have developed a strong nationalism in
some of our churches (at times even
manifested by the placing of the nation's
flag next to the pulpit), and the entrance
of some of our young people into the
professional army of their country.
We must put squarely before ourselves
this question: Is the conduct that pro-
gressively deprives us of our identity and
clashes with the New Testament pleas-
ing to God?
Another terrain is the Christian vision
of money and material goods. Although
Anabaptists dedicate many funds
proportionally to help the needy, the
truth is that a strong materialism and
economic individualism exists in many of
our communities.
The theology of prosperity is present in
many churches. We have built a theol-
ogy that identifies economic success with
the blessing of God.
We must repent in the face of this and
at the same time find a way of being
more faithful to the New Testament and
to the Anabaptist interpretation of it.
What I propose is not an economic
legalism but a vision of what the church
is and how it ought to follow its Lord.
Our missionary policy is partly
responsible for the problem. We have
feared that a typically Anabaptist
emphasis would reduce the evangelistic
results. This has made us cheapen our
gospel, cleaning away from it what seems
to us hardest to accept. So we have often
silenced the teaching on non-resistance
found in the Bible, and adopted tradi-
tions that seem to us more acceptable to
the people of our country.
There has been much blessing in the
missionary labor, and the Lord has
utilized it for his glory, but the truth is
that in place of the missionary standards
of the New Testament we have substi-
tuted others. These others, although not
evil, resemble more closely the traditions
of the missionary societies of the 19th
and early 20th centuries, which take
away importance from the local church.
A naked man: At the root of all this is
the inclination to avoid the cross and to
get results. We have forgotten the
obedient acceptance of the cross and the
signs of failure and shame that accom-
pany it. We have adopted ecclesiastical
and missionary policies based more on
the search for results than in faithful-
ness to our identity that surges from the
New Testament.
The instrument of God for our salva-
tion, the one in whom God was incar-
nated, was a naked man, hung shame-
fully in the worst punishment of that
day, exposed to the mockings of his
contemporaries.
We have preferred to progress mission-
wise by reducing the radical nature of
our message, adopting other traditions
and theologies and molding them to the
world in its search for success.
God has blessed in a rich way the
people of the Anabaptist tradition in
recent years. Anabaptism has been
considered anew within interdenomina-
tional organizations. Its prophetic voice
has cried out in places we never believed
possible a few decades ago.
But we must remember that if we lose
our identity under other theologies, we
run the risk of not finding out who we
are and whom we follow.
It is urgent to return to the sources, to
return to following in depth the New
Testament in questions such as the peace
testimony, fraternal economic practices
and missionary work. We must focus our
teaching, our pastoral work and our
evangelization not around a search for
numbers and results but around faithful-
ness, even if this brings with it mocking
or loss of popularity.
I believe sincerely, and so I state it to
my brothers and sisters in all the world,
that this is what the Lord expects of us.
Cesar Vidal Manzanares, a lawyer, is in
the Brethren in Christ Church at Madrid,
Spain.
294 JULY 10, 1990
Mennonite World Conference
QUIZ
1. Every Sunday, Mennonites worship in how many lan-
guages worldwide?
2. The First MWC assembly took place where and in
what year?
3. In which country do Mennonites make up the largest
percentage of the national population?
4. In what country could you visit with Mennonites in
i the Ga, Twi and Ewe languages?
5. Which Asian Mennonite conference was started not
by missionaries but by a Chinese merchant after God
healed him from illness?
6. Each day, where on earth could a Mennonite congre-
gation first see the sun rise?
7. Each day, where on earth could a Mennonite congre-
gation last see the sun set?
8. Of the world's 10 largest cities, how many have Men-
nonite congregations?
' 9. In what Spanish-speaking country do Mennonites
make up the largest faith, apart from Roman Catholics?
10. According to Mennonite World Handbook, what
(country has the largest number of Mennonite church
bodies?
11. What is the smallest country (in area) that has a
Mennonite church?
12. Which continent has hosted the largest number of
Mennonite World Conference assemblies?
Answers to quiz:
1. 100
2. At Basel and Zurich, Switzerland, in
1925
3. Belize (about 3 percent)
4. Nigeria
5. United Muria Christian Church
Conference (Indonesia)
6. Fennell Bay, Australia
7. Anchorage, Alaska
8. Five: Calcutta, Mexico City, New
York, Sao Paulo, Tokyo
9. Paraguay (14,076 members)
10. Paraguay (15)
11. Hong Kong (if only fully independent
countries are considered, the response is
Trinidad and Tobago)
12. Europe (7)
THE MENNONITE 295
PERSONAL
After 64 years I went home to the Soviet Union
Elfrieda Dyck
Elfrieda Dyck and her husband, Peter,
have been serving with Mennonite
Central Committee (MCC) since the
1940s. Both are emigres from the Soviet
Union. They attended the celebrations in
the Soviet Union last August commemo-
rating the 200th anniversary of the
coming of Mennonites to Russia. It was
Elfrieda 's first visit since she left there as
a child.
One day last August I walked
down a street in Pleshanovo on
which I ran as a child 64 years
before. I touched the tree in our yard,
stood by the well from which my family
drew water, and I surveyed the empty
area where our large house and store
once stood.
I entered the school across the street
that had been our church, saw Vladimir
Carefree and secure: Eight-year-old Elfrieda Klassen
Dyck (on the right) in 1925 in Donskoye, Russia.
Lenin's picture hanging on the wall and
slowly made my way to the cemetery
where my father and brother are buried.
It is easier to describe my actions than
my emotions.
Donskoye (now Pleshanovo) was one of
14 villages in Neu Samara founded in
1890. I remembered the time after the
Revolution when soldiers held my
mother at gunpoint and insisted that she
reveal the whereabouts of my father. I
remembered throwing myself at her,
clutching her skirt, crying and making
such a fuss that they finally let go and
left.
I looked for the smokehouse, remem-
bering how soldiers had locked up one of
our Mennonite leaders in it because the
village did not have a jail. I remember
sitting outside the smokehouse, talking
through the wall to the poor "uncle"
inside, while the guard eyed me suspi-
ciously. The smokehouse is gone, but I
met people who remembered it well.
At a Sunday evening church service I
gave a brief message and closed by
saying that if anyone still remembered
my family, Frank and Justina Wiebe
Klassen, I would be glad to meet them.
A number of people responded.
I confirmed what I suspected;
that ours had been a high-
profile family in the commu-
nity. People remembered our
store, the only one in the area,
our big house and my father's
leadership qualities.
In one home we visited, the
dear grandmother pointed to a
clock on the wall and said,
"That clock hung in your living
room. It still keeps good time."
Then she announced that she
was leaving for Germany and
would not take the clock along.
"If you would care to have it,"
she said, "please take it." To
my surprise my husband, Peter,
accepted the offer and packed it
up.
In the 1890s more than 3,600
Mennonites left the over-
crowded older colony of
Molotschna (largely because of
land shortage) and made a new
beginning in Donskoye, a so-
called daughter colony.
In the new colony they built
primitive shelters by digging a hole
about a yard deep, covering it with
another yard-high structure made of
earth, straw and logs. My father took his
young bride into one of these "semlinkas"
or earth-huts. My oldest brother
Cornelius was born there.
In time well-built houses, fruit and
The clock still keeps time: Elfrieda in 1944
vegetable gardens and brightly colored
fences lined the wide street of Donskoye.
About 58 families lived in our village. I
was the youngest in our family of 14
children. Our home, like other Menno-
nite houses, had the house, barn and
shed as one unit in the traditional
Prussian-Dutch pattern. Peter and I
found a few such buildings, but most
have been altered.
Here, as elsewhere in the Soviet
Union, we found Mennonites who were
staying and Mennonites who were
leaving. A few were agonizing because
they did not know what to do.
I recorded in my journal: [My family
members] are all gone and only I am still
alive. The houses have changed. The
church is now a school. (Lenin in our
church!) But there is faith. Last night
the singing in church, the prayers, so
fervent. The well, our well, still gives
fresh water. The clock still keeps time.
Donskoye, my village, was my first
home. Then Winnipeg, England,
Holland, Germany, Paraguay and finally,
Akron, Pa. But only in Donskoye did I
feel carefree and secure. Lord, you have
been so good to me.
Elfreida Dyck is a
member of Akron
Mennonite Church, Box
208, Akron, Pa.
296 JULY 10, 1990
TOqETkER
To become global, we went Dutch
I. ft
Van der Meer
Urbane Peachey
How can local congregations
become global? Some congrega-
tions give personalized financial
support to a missionary. Many of our
missionaries think it is important for us
to hear directly from overseas churches.
But how can congregations be global
when people tend to focus increasingly
on personal and local issues?
Having asked these questions, our
congregation, Akron Mennonite Church,
invited an international guest pastor,
Sybout van der Meer, to share in the
pastoral work of the
church for six weeks
last June 23-Aug. 6.
His wife, Ann, and
their two children,
Anke and Carmen,
joined him for the last
three weeks.
Sybout is one of four
pastors at Haarlem
Mennonite Church in
the Netherlands. He
pastored previously at
the Mennonite Church
in Heerenven. The
Haarlem Church has an adult member-
ship of over 1,300 members. The
congregation holds services in four
locations in the region around Haarlem.
On weekdays the Haarlem congregation
offers a wide range of activities includ-
ing Bible study, a peace group, study
of Mennonite history ,a choir and
theater.
Sybout's assignments in Akron
included two preaching events, a public
address on "The Church and Secularism
in Europe," leadership of Sunday school
sessions on Mennonite life and mission
in Europe, and contacts at Eastern Men-
nonite Board of Missions and Mennonite
Central Committee. Van der Meer was a
participant in the weekly meetings of the
pastoral team and entered numerous
pastoral conversations with individuals
in the congregation. He, along with the
family, interacted informally around the
dinner table and in small group events in
the congregation.
Both Sybout and Ann had a special
interest in services for parents with
handicapped children, especially those
with spina bifida. For the last five years
they have served with a National
Parents Organization at the University
of Groningen. Ann taught at the Univer-
sity of Utrecht earlier this year.
People of all ages in the Akron congre-
gation appreciated this bridge-building
event with another culture and another
congregation. One spontaneous response
from a youth in the congregation was, "I
think it's neat to hear someone from
another country preach." One of the
church council members said, "We have
to encourage more congregations to
receive overseas pastors. That may have
more long-term effects than a Mennonite
World Conference with thousands of
people at one place."
The entire van der Meer family partici-
pated in the Normal '89 gathering.
Anke, 17, joined our Akron Mennonite
Youth Fellowship, and traveled to
Normal by train.
Sybout is a member of Dutch Mennon-
ite Relief Board, secretary of the Interna-
tional EastAVest Contact organization
and chairperson of a European Mennon-
ite agency to assist in the resettlement of
Russian Mennonite refugees (Umsied-
ler).
Urbane Peachey is pastor at Akron (Pa.)
Mennonite Church. He says that the
congregation has an ongoing commitment
to international visits like this one.
...and in another corner of the world
Brazilians connect with young African church
Brazilian Mennonites are forming fraternal links with the emerging Men-
nonite churches of Angola. (The two countries speak the same language,
Portuguese.) The directorate of the Evangelical Mennonite Association of
Brazil sent Hans Gerhard Peters and Teodoro Penner to Angola.
We felt the hand of God guiding us throughout, say Peters and Penner.
Visas for Angola are hard to obtain, but ours were granted on the first try.
Angola has been at war since 1961, first for its independence and now in a
civil war between the Communist government and guerrillas.
Almost everything is imported. Even the water they drank came from
Europe. There are many physically handicapped people, orphans and others
suffering from the war. Everything is in short supply. But the people have not
lost hope for a future of prosperity, peace and justice.
The Angolan Council of Evangelical Churches met the visitors from Brazil at
the airport and provided the use of a vehicle for four days of meetings with the
Mennonite and Mennonite Brethren people.
The government, despite being Communist, is not against the churches and
legalized those that already existed before 1975. The government will legalize
only one group of Mennonites. But the three groups of Mennonites are not now
in a position to unite due to several issues within the churches.
The Mennonite Community is composed of 360 members, plus 2,000 that
still live in Zaire and are gradually returning to Angola. The Mennonite
Brethren count approximately 10,000 members, but the majority live in the
interior of the country, and communication is difficult. It is not known how
many of these may have affiliated with other churches.
How can Brazilian Mennonites help? Ideas include support for seminarians
coming to Brazil to study, correspondence courses, sending literature. More
complicated projects could include construction of schools, orphanages and
hospitals.
These brothers and sisters in different countries, of different races, are
united in the Holy Spirit. From a report in Intercambio Menonita
THE MENNONITE 297
NEWS
Pontius' Puddle
Y00 WfcVE TO KMOW HOW TO
APPEAL TO SONUAER AOD\ENCES.
FIRST £UOKCH»
NOW PLfvyiMGr:
vvtue sequel"
Outside money and expertise are not the answer
Tanzanian Mennonites develop themselves
Musoma, Tanzania (MCC) —
The Tanzania Mennonite
Church, South Mara Diocese,
has accepted a Congregational
Development Department as
an official part of the church
structure.
The origins of the Congrega-
tional Development Department
go back to January 1985, when
Jan and Peter Shetler, Men-
nonite Central Committee
workers who are members of
First Mennonite Church in
Bluffton, Ohio, began exploring
ways of working with the
Tanzania Mennonite Church
and development.
Previous development
models in the church, relying
heavily on outside money and
expertise, "had a debilitating
effect on people," say the
Shetlers, "convincing them they
can do little on their own and
that all good things come from
outside."
A vision evolved of building a
congregational level develop-
ment program using church
members' resources and ex-
pertise. Congregations looked
at problems in their villages and
planned ways to work at them.
"Little by little a few congrega-
tions caught on."
Some congregations began
by farming a small plot of land
together and using proceeds
for bigger projects. In 1 987 the
Shetlers visited one congrega-
tion where about 40 adults
were "hip deep in mud"
transplanting rice seedlings.
"They joyously told how good it
was to be working together,"
the Shetlers recall.
Another congregation bought
a grain mill. It was difficult to
collect the $2,000 (U.S.)
needed to begin, but the
people desperately wanted a
local mill since their women
had been walking 15 kilometers
to another village to grind grain.
When the new mill began
operating it was in use from
morning till night," they say.
Mill proceeds were used to
buy a sewing machine for a
women's group and carpentry
tools for the church youth
group. The church also built a
guest house and women's
sewing room and began
holding biannual village
evangelistic meetings.
Many youth from the
Tanzania Mennonite Church
finish school but cannot find
employment, so they often
return to villages where they
have no productive work.
Some Mennonite congrega-
tions have asked their older
men to begin groups to teach
the young people their skills.
Village youth are invited to join
groups if they agree to follow
church guidelines.
Building furniture is popular.
Students build tables, chairs,
stools, beds and cupboards
with hand tools and rough-
sawn lumber cut with a pit-saw
Other youth employment
groups include bicycle repair,
metal work and shoe making.
Many church projects, such
as grain mills, shallow wells
'There is a new
spirit in the church
of self-confidence
and of willingness
to take things into
their own hands."
and tree planting, attempt to
decrease women's labor, since
women work the hardest of any
group in Tanzanian society.
They are completely in charge
of child care and household
chores, and they often must
haul water and wood long
distances. Women also run the
farms, doing most of the work
with a hoe.
New groups provide a
chance for fellowship. When
groups are well organized, they
visit the sick, the bereaved and
the new mothers in their village.
The group also provides a
chance for women to practice
creative skills. Congregational
initiatives encourage women to
choose projects that do not rely
on outside materials and that
promote traditional crafts.
Group projects also address
clean water and health-care
needs, like digging a well and
discussing health problems.
Each congregation chooses
one man and one woman to be
district development coordina-
tors on the Congregational
Development Department. The
volunteers visit congregations
and encourage them in their
projects. Without encourage-
ment and close contact the
groups "easily fall apart."
Congregations are struggling
to keep their projects alive as
the economy becomes worse.
"There is a new spirit in the
church of self-confidence and
of willingness to take things in
their own hands instead of
waiting for outside help," say
the Shetlers. Young people
call for a say not only in their
local affairs but in the workings
of the larger church. Authori-
tarian rule and secrecy in the
church are no longer tolerated.
Women are being recognized
more for their gifts and abilities.
"Because we are concerned
with a spiritual transformation,
the program must be part of the
church and the local body of
the church, the congregation,"
the Shetlers say.
298 JULY 10, 1990
Gary Whiteford, professor of Geography
at the University of New Brunswick,
Fredericton, N.B., has done a study of the
relationship between earthquakes and
nuclear testing. His findings suggest a sig-
nificant correlation between testing and
earthquakes. For copies of his paper,
"Earthquakes and Nuclear Weapons
Testing: Dangerous Patterns and Trends,"
write to the author at University of New
Brunswick, #45333, Fredericton, NB E3B
8E3. {Desert Voices)
On the second Saturday of each month a
number of people usually meet at the gate
of North Point weapons depot near
Kriegsfeld, Federal Republic of Germany,
or at the site of the Patriot-Missiles base
near Quirnheim to pray together. Members
of the Mennonite congregation of Weierhof
began the meetings, which now include
people from towns and villages close to the
military installations who belong to various
Christian churches. "We want to make it
clear that God alone is our protection and
shelter at the very site where death-
bringing weapons pretend to offer us
security," writes Helga Driedger, a member
of the Mennonite congregation of Weierhof.
Newly organized Madison (Wis.) Menno-
nite Church has begun using Orchard
Ridge United Church of Christ's building
Sunday evenings for its worship and
Christian education. MMC began as a
house fellowship, then decided two years
ago to organize into a church-planting
congregation. It has grown to include 25
households with 40-50 regular participants
in worship.
NEWS
GC African-American
leaders told to 'go home1
Chicago (GCMC)— "Effective
evangelism and leadership
development must begin at
home," exhorted Ed Taylor.
Taylor, a member of Lee
Heights Community Church in
Cleveland, was the keynote
speaker for the annual (May)
meeting of leaders of African-
American churches in the
General Conference Mennonite
Church.
The four churches are First
Mennonite Church, Chicago;
Second Mennonite Church,
Philadelphia; Community
Mennonite Church, Markham,
III.; and Joy Fellowship, Peoria,
III.
The leaders reflected on the
confusion and loss of identity
among many African-American
young people. Hope Lee, a
counselor for minority students
at Bethel College, North
Newton, Kan., said, "We must
tell our young people the truth."
Les Tolbert, staff person for
African-American Church
Leadership Development
(under the Commission on
Home Ministries), unfolded a
strategy to communicate
Anabaptist faith in minority
contexts. "With this model we
can confidently communicate
who we are to any cultural
group and they can own it," he
said. The group encouraged
Tolbert to share this with the
larger church.
Ivory Lowe, member of the
Commission on Home Minis-
tries and the General Board,
led the group in prayer and
Les Tolbert asks, "What is your
plan?" at the annual conference
of leaders in African-American
congregations of the General
Conference.
singing. She reminded the
group of how much God had
done since last year.
Stan Maclin of Joy Fellow-
ship Church, president of Afro-
American Mennonite Associa-
tion, gave the group an update
on AAMA activity this past year.
He articulated a goal for AAMA
to be financially stable in order
to be a resource for African-
American congregations.
"I'm glad we endured our 19-
hour train ride," said Carlton
Minnis of Second Mennonite
Church. "We've been well
resourced, and next year we
hope to bring even more
people."
John Burke, First Mennonite
Church, Chicago, concluded
the full weekend with an
inspiring exhortation to "go
home and tell your friends."
Tolbert plans to expand next
year's conference to include
more lay leaders and spouses.
Youth discover
Central
America
Akron, Pa. (MCC)— Brenda
Briseho, Middlebury, Ind., spent
six weeks in Costa Rica and six
weeks in Nicaragua as part of
the Mennonite Central Commit-
tee Central America Youth
Discovery Team. She and two
other North Americans, five
Costa Rican Mennonites and
five Nicaraguan Mennonites
formed the first such team.
Briseho also spent two weeks
at the Urban Life Center in
Chicago and two months in
Guatemala studying Spanish
and the issues of the region.
"My Guatemalan family
became my heroes," says
Briseho. The family's oldest
daughter, a university student,
was "disappeared," taken and
never heard from again,
several years ago. Three of
the family's other children had
left the country for safety.
Briseho's final two months
were spent in Chicago with a
program that serves Latinos.
Another Youth Discovery
Team participant was Andy
Dick of Kitchener-Waterloo
United Mennonite Church. At
the close of his experience he
wrote, "What good is our
pacifism if it is not active,
Brenda Briseno picks coffee
during a Youth Discovery Team
service project in Nicaragua.
challenging the violence all
around us? People of my
generation have become arm-
chair pacifists, with no need or
desire to assert ourselves. The
Mennonites of Central America
are faced daily with the
violence of war, poverty and
oppression. Like the Anabap-
tists, I feel an urgent calling to
address the injustice of both
the world and of my own
community. ...Central America
taught me a lot about being
Mennonite."
Celebration of Conscience — A
gathering commemorating 50
years of continuing witness against
war, at Bryn Mawr, Pa.. Aug. 3-5,
1990. Dave Dellinger, Eva Michel,
Parren Mitchell speaking, Holly
Near singing. Free info and
registration materials. Contact
Celebration of Conscience. Suite
750, 1601 Connecticut Ave. NW,
Washington, DC 20009-1035,
(202) 483-4514.
THE MENNONITE 299
Two leading Christian activists from the United States have
enlisted the cooperation of evangelist Billy Graham and a
variety of local church groups to support their upcoming visit
in Calgary to promote both evangelism and social action. Jim
Wallis, founder of the Sojourners Community in Washington
and editor of Sojourners magazine, and Ken Medema, singer,
composer and keyboard artist, will begin a 10-day North
American tour in Calgary Nov. 1 called Let Justice Roll.
Wallis and Medema say that the tour "seeks to build on the
best of the renewal/revival tradition, focusing on the essential
gospel call to social justice and peace." An informal planning
organization includes members of at least 10 groups,
including Mennonites. (Religious News Service)
"We've had enough," said members of Fourth Presbyterian Church in
Pittsburgh one day. In the congregation's neighborhood, unemploy-
ment is double the national average, and crime is high. But members
decided that God wanted them to face squarely the evils in their
neighborhood, no matter how paltry their resources. With several other
churches, they started a drop-in center for the homeless; now home-
less people make up 8 percent of the congregation. They developed a
Christmas store to provide quality toys at low prices; neighborhood
people have the dignity of buying toys for their children. They opened
the church to a chapter of Narcotics Anonymous, and today it is the
largest chapter east of the Mississippi River. Fourth Presbyterian still
has fewer than 1 00 people and never has enough money. The leak
over the front door has not been fixed. "Yet this unpretentious church
is replicated all over America and represents the best our society has
to offer," writes James P. Stobaugh in What's Right with the Church.
NEWS
LA may be a new
Mennonite center
Downey, Calif. (CAL) — Jemaat
Kristen Indonesia Immanuel
and Faith Community Church
here hosted this year's (fourth)
annual Council of Anabaptists
in Los Angeles. Thirty-five
delegates came from 15
churches. Stanley Green,
pastor at Faith Community
Church and CAL vice presi-
dent, moderated the sessions.
Samuel Murti, associate pastor
at Jemaat Kristen Indonesia
Immanuel , and James Isaacs
and Roger Culberson, pastors
at Calvary Christian Fellowship
church, led in worship.
Paul Hiebert, professor at
Fuller Theological Seminary
and member of City Terrace
Bible Church, spoke on the
"Uniqueness of Anabaptism"
and how it fits an urban
context.
Hiebert noted stereotypes of
Anabaptists that no longer hold
true in the Los Angeles area.
One is that Anabaptists are
rural. "We need to think and
love urban," he said. Another
is that Anabaptists are defined
ethnically as German and
Dutch. Now those "teutonic"
Mennonites are a minority.
Hiebert referred to the
change that occurred in Acts
1 3 when the center of the
church moved from Jerusalem
to Antioch. Jerusalem, the
ethnically Jewish center, was
incapable of further expansion.
He noted similarities with the
Anabaptist movement.
Hiebert said that when God
chose a new center, expansion
was again possible. Leader-
ship included people from a
variety of backgrounds. They
had to work at getting along.
Hiebert said God may raise up
a new Mennonite center, such
as Los Angeles.
Hiebert compared two types
of leadership. One is like the
banyan tree. Nothing grows
under the banyan tree. When it
dies it leaves nothing, but while
it is growing it is big and
beautiful. The other type of
leadership is like the banana
tree, which sends up many
shoots. When it dies, it is
replaced by more and more
fruit-bearing trees — a better
model for Anabaptist leaders.
Jeff Wright, executive
committee member, moderated
CAL ministry reports. Juan
Martinez distributed the annual
financial report. Martinez high-
lighted the newly developing
Seminary Extension. The
Floyd Lichti Memorial fund is
allowing CAL to initiate a
seminary extension, now in its
first year of operation.
Stuart Mallory presented the
report on Shalom Homes, Inc.,
a group home for girls. CAL
congregations are the ex-
tended family for Shalom
Homes. An idea being
explored is to initiate a foster-
finding agency. Barbara
Besson, executive director of
Shalom Ministries, reported the
growth of the lawn route (lawn
services to the elderly and/or
handicapped) to 151 custom-
ers. Profits for the year were
approximately $5,000, funds
that will be used for new
equipment.
Rebeca Jimenez Yoder, CAL
immigration consultant,
presented the immigration
report. Jimenez Yoder
reminded the delegates that
immigration is a live issue in
many of our sisters churches,
some composed mainly of
recently arrived refugees.
The CAL executive commit-
tee is made up of Allan Yoder,
Pasadena, president; Stanley
Green, Downey, vice president;
Jonas Miller, Upland, secretary;
Barbara Besson, Los Angeles,
treasurer.
Three members-at-large are
Juan Martinez, Downey; Sara
Sairsingh, Upland; and Jeff
Wright, Rancho Cucamonga.
Allan Yoder
"Paula Diller Lehman has provided the kind of devotional
material that is very much needed by people who want to
link reflection with action." Tony Campolo, Eastern College
"I was inspired and energized by this vision and was offered
many practical steps in living it out in every aspect of my
life. This whole book is quite an accomplishment. I highly
recommend it." Dr. James McGinnis,
Institute for Peace and Justice
In 13 thought-provoking and action-packed sessions, journey With Justice
leads individuals and groups to explore and do justice. The companion
cassette tape features original music by Road Less Travelled created to
complement each lesson. Leader's Guide included.
Book-$7.95 US, $9.95 CAN; Cassette-$9.98 US, $11.98 CAN
Available at your local bookstore or
Faith and Life Press Faith and Life Press
718 Main, Box 347 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.
Newton, KS 67114-0347 Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4
316/283-5100 204/888-6781
300 JULY 10, 1990
\
"Participating in the Work of Christ" will
be the theme of the General Assembly of
Asia Mennonite Conference, to be held at
Yogyakarta, Indonesia, July 24-27, 1992. If
the government denies permission to hold
the conference in Indonesia, the first
alternate choice will be Hong Kong. A
peace seminar, with support from the
Council of International Ministries and the
European Mennonite Missions Committee,
is scheduled for July or August 1 991 in
either the Philippines or South Korea. The
theme will be "The Role of the Church in
Social Justice."
With more than 40 percent of Indians on
reserves in Canada living on social
assistance, Indian chiefs have decided
there are better uses for welfare money
than simple handouts, a national aboriginal
spokesperson told the Senate Committee
on social affairs, science and technology
during its first day of hearings on child
poverty. The Canadian government must
allow Indian bands to use welfare money
"in more creative ways" to break their
dependence on social assistance, said
Ovide Mercredi, representing the Assembly
of First Nations. For example, this money
could be used for wages for work on
community projects or participation in
training programs. (Globe and Mai!)
The White River Cheyenne Mennonite
Church, Busby, Mont., received $992 from
the Mennonite Indian Leaders Council to
help with its work with alcohol rehabilitation,
education and prevention. The funds were
made possible through A Call to Kingdom
Commitments, the General Conference
Mennonite Church development plan.
NEWS
Friesens: a listening post
for refugees in Munich
Munich, Federal Republic of
Germany (MCC)— "If Mr. Henry
and Miss June weren't here, I
would have destroyed myself
by now," says Farhad, an Iraqi,
in halting English, over coffee,
bread and cheese. "When I
come to their house, I feel I'm
at home. Nobody in Germany
cares about refugees; Friesens
care."
Henry and June Friesen,
Winnipeg, are in their fifth year
working with 3,000 to 6,000
asylum seekers. Volunteers
assist them, and many of the
most committed are spouses of
U.S. military service personnel
Farhad (left) with MCC worker June Friesen
stationed on the base in
Munich.
People with darker skin have
a harder time than Umsiedler,
immigrants of German descent
coming to West Germany from
Eastern Europe.
June spends
hours helping
refugees put their
stories on paper
clearly and
concisely. Most
asylum seekers
are young single
men who are
escaping either
mandatory military
service or a bleak
economic future. "I
do not want to
participate in
military or spying activities,"
wrote one young Afghan with
June's help.
1970-1990
TOURMAGINATION invites all 3,000 of you who
have traveled with us since 1970 to our 20th
anniversary celebration. It will be held during
Mennonite World Conference in Winnipeg, July
27, 2-4 p.m. in the Marlborough Inn. Renew
friendships and memories!
All others (and TM alumni) are invited to join us
on a tour in 1 991 :
Jamaica
91A
Jan. 18-25
Jan Gleysteen
Jamaica
91 B
Jan. 25-Feb. 1
Wilmer Martin
Europe
91 A
June 10-30
Jan Gleysteen, Fern Yoder
Europe
91 B
July 1-19
Wilmer Martin, John Ruth
Eastern
Canada 91
July 12-25
Hubert Schwartzentruber,
Henry Landes
Europe
91 C
July 20-Aug. 3
Arnold Cressman, J. Denny Weaver
Europe
91 D
Aug. 29-Sept. 18
Jan Gleysteen, Henry Landes
TOUR-
IMAGINATION
1 210 Loucks Ave.
Scottdale, PA 1 5683
41 2-887-5440
412-887-9436
131 Erb St. West
Waterloo, ONT N2L 1T7
519-747-0517
519-745-7433
569 Yoder Road, P.O. Box 376
Harleysville, PA 1 9438
215-256-3011
215-723-8413
Wildwood Mennonite Church of
Saskatoon invites applications for
the position of full-time pastor.
Send inquiries or resumes to
Pastoral Search Committee.
Wildwood Mennonite Church, 1502
Acadia Drive, Saskatoon, S7H
5H8.
Menno Simons Christian School
is actively seeking to fill teaching
positions in its junior high
program. Teaching openings are
in French, the humanities, math
and science.
Interested applicants should
forward pertinent information and
resume to the Principal. Menno
Simons Christian School, 2445-23
Ave. S.W.. Calgary. AB T2T 0W3,
(403) 249-9944.
Goshen College seeks faculty for
a full-time, long-term position in the
Division of Teacher Education.
with emphasis on curriculum and
educational foundations. Position
open August 1 990 or August 1 991 .
Qualifications include Ph.D. or
Ed.D. Candidates with dissertation
in progress may be considered.
Teaching experience in elementary
school preferred. Commitment to
integrating Christian faith and the
principles of peacemaking with
teaching is important. Minority
persons are encouraged to apply.
Send resume and three profes-
sional references to John W. Eby.
Academic Dean, Goshen College.
Goshen. IN 46526. Applications
will be received until the position is
filled. If you have further ques-
tions, call John Eby (219) 535-
7503 or John J. Smith, Director of
Teacher Education, (219) 535-
7439.
THE MENNONITE 301
Baseballs used in the big leagues are all
made in Haiti, one of the poorest nations in
the Western Hemisphere. Each one is
handstitched for Rawlings Sporting Goods
Co. by women who make 10-13 cents for a
baseball that retails for $1 0 in the United
States. The "all-American sport is no
game" for more than 1 ,000 women making
the baseballs, charges Sister Mary Lou
Kownacki of Pax Christi, a Roman Catholic
peace and justice group.
Ethiopian Mennonites are singing again,
reports Eastern Mennonite Board overseas
director David Shenk, who visited that
country in May. Shenk led a seminar for
Meserete Kristos Church leaders in the first
public gathering of the church since its
closure in 1982. MKC leader Kassa
Agafari, who spent the month of May on a
visit to Pennsylvania, has asked the church
in America to raise $200,000 for three new
worship centers. Because the freedom to
build places of worship developed so
suddenly, such funds are not within
Eastern Board's budget. The mission
agency has opened an account to receive
contributions for church buildings in
Ethiopia.
Biblical fundamentalism gives "a false
certitude," says Raymond E. Brown,
professor of biblical studies at Union
Seminary, New York, a noted Catholic
scholar. "The message of the incarnation
is that there is no way to avoid the interplay
of the divine and the human in approaching
God," he says. "Biblical literalism, since it
makes all divine, supplies a false
certitude. ..and destroys the very nature of
the Bible as a human expression of divine
revelation." (Religious News Service)
NEWS
The quilt that is
Mennonites in Canada
Winnipeg (MWC) — Canada's
Mennonites have been
described as a quilt. The
colors and shapes represent,
most noticably, differing
degrees of assimilation to the
surrounding society.
Mennonites first came to
Canada from the United States
in 1786. The second wave of
Mennonite immigration took
place a century later, when
around 7,000 Russian Menno-
nites, sensing threats to their
freedoms in that country, came
to Canada. During and after
the two world wars about
45,000 more Russian Menno-
nites came.
Today there are 108,000
baptized church members
belonging to 25 different
conferences or groups. These
range from single, independent
congregations that are not
affiliated with any larger body to
highly organized conference
structures with thousands of
members. Six hundred
Mennonite meetingplaces in
Rosthern Junior College invites
applications for the position of
male residence dean beginning
September 1990. Rosthern Junior
College is a private Mennonite
residential school offering aca-
demic and residence programs for
grades 10-12.
Send inquiries and resumes to
Erwin Tiessen, Principal, Rosthern
Junior College, Rosthern, SK S0K
3R0.
Canada range from small
buildings to sanctuaries that
hold 1 ,000 people.
Most Canadian Mennonites
live in Ontario, Manitoba,
Saskatchewan, Alberta and
British Columbia, with the
largest concentration —
60,000— in Manitoba. More
than 20,000 Mennonites live in
Winnipeg.
The three largest groups of
Mennonites are the Mennonite
Brethren, with approximately
26,000 members, the Confer-
ence of Mennonites in Canada
(also called General Confer-
ence Mennonites), with 28,000
members, plus the Mennonite
Conference of Eastern Canada,
about 14,000 members. In
terms of lifestyle, occupations
and outward appearance,
Mennonites belonging to these
groups cannot be distinguished
from most other Canadians.
The remaining Mennonite
groups fall somewhere along a
continuum of assimilation to
surrounding society, from
conservative to liberal, in both
lifestyle and doctrine.
Canadian Mennonites used
to be mainly Swiss/South
German and Dutch/North
German. But now most
Canadian Mennonite congrega-
tions have members from many
different ethnic backgrounds.
Chinese, Spanish, Vietnamese,
Hmong, Laotian and Native
congregations are also
Mennonite.
For over 150 years Canadian
Mennonites were predomi-
nantly rural. In 1941, 91
percent of Mennonites in
Canada were rural. Today
around 85 percent live in cities.
Mennonites in Canada
support six prisoner visitation
programs, eight victim/offender
reconciliation and mediation
programs and two residential
programs for offenders in
Canada. Around 1,200
volunteers serve these
programs.
Canadian Mennonite interest
in education is evidenced by
the presence of 19 schools —
two elementary schools, eight
high schools, three Bible
schools and six postsecondary
colleges.
Canadian Mennonites have
established four medical
institutions, including Win-
nipeg's Concordia Hospital, 49
senior citizens' homes and a
number of other rehabilitation
centers. It is estimated that 5-
1 0 percent of Canada's
108,000 Mennonite church
members are involved in health
care and related services.
Nine periodicals are pro-
duced by Mennonites in
Canada. The Mennonite
Brethren Herald has 13,000
subscribers, Mennonite
Reporter, an inter-Mennonite
paper, has 12,000. Others
include the Evangelical
Mennonite Conference
Messenger and the Evangelical
Mennonite Mission Conference
Recorder. Three are German-
language publications: Der
Bote (an official publication of
the General Conference
Mennonite Church), Die
Mennonitische Rundschau and
Die Mennonitische Post.
Marketplace, for Mennonite
business people, is produced
by Mennonite Economic
Development Associates.
Mennonites in Manitoba have
their own regional publication,
called Mennonite Mirror.
Although Mennonites have
historically shunned political
office, eighteen Mennonites ran
for office in the last federal
election, with four of them
being elected.
Thirty-one Mennonite-related
camps in Canada offer summer
programs for children as well
as year-round retreats. John
Longhurst, who works for Men-
nonite Central Committee
Canada at 134 Plaza Drive,
Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9
Canadian Mennonites are demographically more at the center
of Canadian life, while American Mennonites remain more on
the margins of American life. More specifically, Mennonites in
Canada are comparatively more numerous, geographically
more concentrated and in membership more urban than are
their American counterparts. While about one of every 288
Canadians is a Mennonite, one of every 1 ,1 50 Americans is a
Mennonite. Rodney Sawatzky, from "Ten Things American
Mennonites Should Understand About Canadian Mennonites, "
Festival Quarterly, Winter/Spring 1989
302 JULY 10, 1990
Entry deadline for the 13th annual Indiana
Mennonite slo-pitch tourney has been set
for Aug. 1 . A tourney for men and women
will be held. The men's tourney will be
limited to 64 teams. The event will be
played over the Labor Day weekend, Sept.
1-3, in Fort Wayne, Ind. Entry fee for the
double-elimination tournament is $90 per
team, with all profits going to Mennonite
Central Committee. Contact Roger or Brad
Miller, Box 165, Huntertown, IN 46748,
(219) 637-3523.
Toronto novelist James Bacque, in his
non-fiction best-seller Other Losses
contends that Gen. Dwight Eisenhower
was the architect of "slow deaths" from
starvation, exposure and disease of "quite
likely over a million" German POWs who
lived in the filth and squalor of Allied
prisoner of war camps in France and
Germany. Bacque charges that Eisen-
hower changed the status of German
POWs to deny them rights granted under
the Geneva Convention. The book was
first published in Canada and Germany but
now is being published in France, Britain,
Japan, Holland and Turkey. It is not
available in the United States.
The Bangladesh Bible Society has
announced that the ban on the importation
of the " I nj.il Sharif" (New Testament) by the
Bangladesh government was lifted April 9
by the country's home ministry. The ban,
invoked Jan. 31 , applied to copies of the
Bengali-language version of the New
Testament imported from Hong Kong. At
that time Bangladesh newspapers reported
that the government said there were
objectionable statements in the book.
Assembly 12 Program
Mennonite World Conference
Winnipeg, Manitoba
July 24-29, 1990
Tuesday, July 24
20:00
Opening Worship Service
Witnessing to Christ in Today's World
Speaker: Ross T. Bender, USA
Canadian Mass Choir
Indonesian Choir
©12
1990 Winnipeg
Wednesday, July 25
Thursday, July 26
Friday, July 27
Saturday, July 28 j
Christ, the Light of the World
Living Christ as Community
Following Christ as Disciples
Proclaiming Christ as Witnesses
9:00
Singing
Singing
Singing
Singing
9:30
Morning Session
Washington Brun, Uruguay
Rosedale Choir
Hands for Jesus Choir
Morning Session
Gayle Gerber Koontz, USA
Mexico Choir
JViorning session
Nzash U. Lumeya, Cen. African Rep.
Christopher Dock Handbell Choir
Indonesia Choir
Moming Session
Alle Hoekema, The Netherlands
Celebration Choir
Youth Session (European emphasis)
Youth Session (African emphasis)
Youth Session (Latin Am. emphasis)
Youth Session (Asian emphasis)
11:30
Response to Speaker
Bible Studies
Life Centres
Response to Speaker
Bible Studies
Life Centres
Response to Speaker
Bible Studies
Life Centres
Response to Speaker
Bible Studies
Life Centres
Mealtime
13:00
Workshops
Workshops
Workshops
Workshops
13:30
Faith & Life Forum
Working Groups
Music & Drama
Youth Concerts
Faith & Life Forum
Working Groups
Music & Drama
Youth Concerts
Faith & Life Forum
Working Groups
Music & Drama
Youth Concerts
Faith & Life Forum
Working Groups
Music & Drama
Youth Concerts
14:30
Workshops
Workshops
Workshops
Workshops
15:30
Concerts
Concerts
Concerts
Concerts
16:00
Justice, Peace and the Integrity
of Creation (Worship)
Workshops
Faith & Life Round Table
Independent Meetings
Solidarity with Women (Worship)
Workshops
Faith & Life Round Table
Independent Meetings
World Mission (Worship)
Workshops
Faith & Life Round Table
Independent Meetings
Christian Unity (Worship)
Workshops
Independent Meetings
Mealtime
20:00
Evening Worship
Toshiko Aratani, Japan
Zaire Choir
Oratorio Choir
Stephen Shank, Drama
Evening Worship
James Pankratz, Canada
Mass Children's Choir
Menno Singers
Evening Worship
Leonor de Mendez. Guatemala
Mass Male Choir
Guatemala Children's Choir
Sauf qui veut. Drama
Evening Worship
Philip C. Mudenda. Zambia
Lee Heights Choir
Danny Plett, Music
LOGOS Choir
22:00
Late Night Activities
Late Night Activities
Late Night Activities
Late Night Activities
j Sunday, July 29 j
9:30 Winnipeg Stadium
Empowered by the Holy Spirit
Closing Worship Service/Communion
Witnesses from Africa, Asia, Latin America; Youth Mass Choir;
Youth Discovery Team; Swiss Brass Ensemble
Notes:
There will be film showings daily from 8:30 to 21:00.
Children 3-12: Activities from 8:45 to 16:30, Wed.-Sat.
Ages 13-14: Afternoon recreational activities.
Life Centres: Five different locations providing for illustrative displays, visiting,
interaction, workshops. Visiting/display areas open at 1 1:30, workshops begin at 13:00.
Buses for the Christian Peacemaker Teams action at a North Dakota missile site will leave at 11:30 a.m. on Friday and return in time for the
evening session. Go to the east side of Memorial Boulevard between Broadway and York, about a five-minute walk from the Convention Center.
THE MENNONITE 303
Achildren'schoirfrom Guatemala
will visit the Lancaster, Pa., area July
14-20 in route to Mennonite World
Conference July 24-29 in Winnipeg.
Traveling with the 16-member choir
are seven church leaders from the
Spanish Mennonite Church in
Guatemala.
RECORd
Parents and family members from Mennonite,
Church of the Brethren and other churches asked
their lesbian and gay children and siblings to join
them in a "Connecting Families" retreat at Laurel-
ville Mennonite Church Center near Mt. Pleasant,
Pa. Families shared histories of how they worked
to accept each other through the process of
"coming out of the closet." Parents and family
members have gathered previously in two retreats
sponsored by the Mennonite Church's Listening
Committee on Homosexuality Concerns. Gay and
Lesbian Mennonites and Brethren have gathered in
conferences sponsored by the Brethren Mennonite
Council for Lesbian and Gay Concerns. This was
the first time both groups met together. A similar
conference is planned for April 1 991 .
Rejoice!, an inter-Mennonite devotional
ministry to individuals and families, is
looking for additional writers. The kind of
writer the publication wants should have
an ongoing relationship with God in Christ
Jesus, support the Anabaptist under-
standing of conversion, the church and
discipleship and have a deep concern
that faith become a strengthening factor
in the individual and the family. For more
information and payment scale write Katie
Funk Wiebe, Editor, 103 East B, Hillsboro,
KS 67063.
WOltliERS
Chris Arney will begin as
conference minister for the
Conference of Mennonites in
British Columbia in September.
He succeeds Peter Kehler.
Larry Bartel, First Church,
Newton, Kan., has been
appointed to a six-month term
as director of public information
and news service at Bethel
College, North Newton, Kan.
He replaces Beth Hege, who is
now news service editor for the
General Conference Mennonite
Church.
Peter Bartel will begin as
pastor at Bethel Church,
Aldergrove, B.C., this summer.
Curt Bechler, executive
director at Camp Friedenswald,
Cassopolis, Mich., has re-
signed, effective July 31 . He
will study at Bowling Green
(Ohio) State University.
John Bender has been
appointed communications
director of the Mennonite
Church, with offices in Elkhart,
Ind. This is a new position,
described as 60 percent for
one year. Bender is also
information officer at Associ-
ated Mennonite Biblical Semi-
naries, Elkhart.
Dave Bergen, associate
pastor at Bethel Church,
Winnipeg, was ordained on
June 17.
Abe Buhler has resigned as
pastor at Carrot River (Sask.)
Church.
Verda Deckert, Faith Church,
Newton, Kan., has been
D. Epp E. Epp
appointed assistant professor
of nursing at Bethel College,
North Newton, Kan.
Tim Detweiler, pastor at
Mountain Community Church,
Palmer Lake, Colo., has
resigned effective Aug. 1 .
Paul Dueck resigned as
instructor of music at Canadian
Mennonite Biblic College,
Winnipeg, effective June 30.
He and his wife, Linda Winter
Dueck, will begin teaching
music and religion at United
Mennonite Educational
Institute, Leamington, Ont.,
in September.
Mary Dyck, Sargent Avenue
Church, Winnipeg, was
ordained to the chaplaincy
ministry on June 1 7.
Delmer and Elsie Epp will
begin as conference ministers
for the Conference of Menno-
nites of Saskatchewan in
August.
Doug Epp, associate pastor
at Kelowna (B.C.) Gospel
Fellowship, was ordained on
April 29.
Arnold Fast was ordained
June 10. He is lay minister at
St. Catharines (Ont.) United
Mennonite Church.
Reta Halteman Finger, Jan
Lugibihl and Barbara Graber
will lead workshops at the
conference of the Evangelical
Women's Caucus, North Park
College, Chicago, July 19-22.
David Friesen will begin as
senior pastor at West Ab-
botsford (B.C.) Church in
September.
Diane Fulkerson, First
Church, Newton, Kan., began
June 18 as administrative
assistant for Mennonite
Voluntary Service, part of the
Commission on Home Minis-
tries of the General Conference
Mennonite Church.
Preston Goering has
resigned as pastor at Beatrice
(Neb.) Church, effective Sept.
1 . He will continue graduate
studies at Union Theological
Seminary, Richmond, Va.
Rhonda L. Good, North
Danvers (III.) Church, will serve
with a Youth Evangelism
Service team, sponsored by
the Eastern Mennonite Board
of Missions, Salunga, Pa. After
discipleship training from May
28 to Aug. 9 in Philadelphia,
she will assist in church-
planting efforts by the San
Juan Mennonite Church in
Mexico City.
Judy Prieb Harder, First
Church, Hillsboro, Kan., will
teach drama at Tabor College,
Hillsboro, beginning this fall.
Ernie Hildebrand begins as
pastor at Springstein (Man.)
Church in fall.
Clair Hochstetler began June
21 as pastor at North Danvers
(III.) Church.
Marvin Hoick, Peabody,
Kan., began June 18 as
admissions counselor at Bethel
College, North Newton, Kan.
John Hua is summer intern
pastor at Saskatoon Chinese
Church.
Lubin Jantzen, associate
pastor at First Church, Newton,
Kan., has resigned, effective
Aug. 30.
Edna Ramseyer Kaufman,
Bethel College Church, North
Newton, Kan., has completed
nine years as a columnist
writing twice a month for
"Homemaker's Notebook" in
Mennonite Weekly Review.
Her last column appeared
June 7.
Nathan Kaufman and J. Elliot
Regier, both of Bethel College
Church, North Newton, Kan.,
were honored as volunteers of
the year by the governor of
Kansas. Nathan is the son of
Donald D. and Eleanor W.
Kaufman, and Elliot is the son
of Hans E. Regier.
Chris Keller, Deep Run
Mennonite West, Quakertown,
Pa., has begun a one-year
Mennonite Voluntary Service
assignment in Wichita, Kan.,
with Mennonite Housing
Rehabilitation. He is the son of
304 JULY 10, 1990
Following an April 24 speech by Presi-
dent Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire in which
he announced major reforms over the next
two years, students there demonstrated,
demanding immediate change and
Mobutu's resignation. Student clashes with
security forces resulted in widespread
demonstrations and some deaths. Mis-
sionaries of Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission
were able to continue their ministries
without interference or danger. The church
in Zaire requests prayer, writes Earl Roth,
AIMM executive secretary.
About 20 participants from the Soviet
Union plan to attend Assembly 12 of
Mennonite World Conference July 24-29 in
Winnipeg. Viktor Fast of Karaganda has
organized a singing and evangelism group
of 12 that will come to Winnipeg and give
its witness, says MWC vice president Jake
F. Pauls. Four Soviet Mennonite delegates
are invited to the General Council sessions
in Winnipeg, coming from both the Kirchli-
che and Mennonite Brethren congregations
of the Soviet Union. And three Baptist
delegates are invited to the assembly. The
projected group of Soviet visitors is by far
the largest delegation ever to attend a
Mennonite event outside the country.
Buhler (Kan.) Mennonite Church has
joined the increasing number of congrega-
tions that are making their places of
worship accessible to people with physical
handicaps. The price tag for an elevator at
the church building was $54,730. The
congregation raised the money in a variety
of ways, including a noodle soup supper.
recoimJ
E. Kaufman Neufeld
Mabel and Robert Keller,
Plumsteadville, Pa.
Dennis Masser has been
called as assistant pastor/youth
leader at Zion Church, Swift
Current, Sask.
Lewis McDorman, former
pastor at Austin (Texas)
Fellowship, has begun as
pastor at Mathias (W.V.)
Church.
Silke Mohr, Neuwied,
Federal Republic of Germany,
is the first peace volunteer to
South Africa from the German
Mennonite churches. She
serves in a clinic and health
program serving young children
of black townships in the Cape
Town area.
Joel Moss has been serving
as a volunteer pastor at
Moenkopi Mennonite Mission,
Tuba City, Ariz., since last
December.
Adolf Neufeld, Bethel
Church, Inman, Kan., is the
appointee from the Western
District Conference to work with
Warren Miller, pastor at Crystal
Spring Church, Harper, to give
coordination to Living In
Faithful Evangelism (LIFE).
Don Rheinheimer was
ordained on June 17 at San
Antonio (Texas) Fellowship.
Roger Schmell, Deep Run
Church West, Quakertown, Pa.,
Schrock Slough
was commissioned by the
congregation for voluntary
service at Crossroads Ministry,
Philadelphia. His parents are
Arthur and Shirley Ann
Schmell, Silverdale, Pa.
Lori Schmidt, assistant
director of admissions and
admissions counselor for three
years at Bethel College, North
Newton, Kan., has been named
director of admissions. She
succeeds Jim Huxman.
Stan Schrock, M eta mora
Church, Roanoke, III., has been
named vice president of
marketing for Mennonite Mutual
Aid, Goshen, Ind. He suc-
ceeds Laban Peachey, who is
retiring.
Rebecca Slough, First
Church, San Francisco, was
licensed to the ministry at
Easter.
Galen R. Snell has been
named executive director of
Glencroft Retirement Commu-
nities in Arizona. Mennonite
congregations work with other
churches to sponsor this
retirement community.
Merlin L. Stauffer begin
as pastor at Tofield (Alta.)
Church this summer.
Steve Steiner, Bluffton (Ohio)
College associate professor of
chemistry, has been awarded a
$10,500 research grant from
Witmer Zuercher
the American Heart Association
to continue his study of the
process that causes protein C
to cancel out two proteins
designed for clotting.
Bryan Suderman is serving
as summer pastoral intern at
Toronto United Mennonite
Church.
John Thiesen, Bethel College
Church, North Newton, Kan.,
will be the archivist for the
Mennonite Library and Archives
at Bethel College.
Nancy Witmer, Hernley
Church, Manheim, Pa., won an
award of outstanding merit and
$1 ,000 from the AMY Founda-
tion for her article "Is Biblical
Morality Obsolete Today?"
published in the Lancaster
(Pa.) Sunday News. She will
lead workshops at the Menno-
nite Writers' Conference in
September in Hesston, Kan.
Brian Wong is serving as
summer pastoral intern at
Peace Chinese Church,
Richmond, B.C.
Raymond and Vindy Wong
are serving as an intern
pastoral couple at Coaldale
(Alta.) Church.
William Zuercher, Whitestone
Church, Hesston, Kan., has
been named interim half-time
conference administrator for
the Western District Confer-
ence. He will continue serving
half time as administrator for
the South Central Conference
of the Mennonite Church.
— compiled by Angela Rempel
Women's varsity volleyball
coach needed. Part-time position
(September-October). Experience
required.
Contact Phil Osborne, (316) 327-
8449 or Kathy Goering, (316) 327-
8205, or write Academic Dean's
Office, Hesston College, Box 3000,
Hesston. KS 67062.
Akron Mennonite Church is
seeking a music leader on a one-
fourth- to one-third-time basis to
resource their music ministry. This
person will provide leadership in
music for children, youth and
adults. The applicant should be
proficient in choral directing and in
a keyboard instrument. The
position is open August 1990.
Applications may be sent to
Chairperson, Music Committee,
Akron Mennonite Church, Box 208,
Akron, PA 17501.
Are you lonely? Maybe Cross-
roads can help you, too. Some of
the couples who have met their
mates through us include a nurse
and a minister, a teacher and a
carpenter, and a widow and a
farmer. Other clients are meeting
friends who share their interests.
Some are still waiting to meet the
right one. Perhaps they are
looking for you. How will you find
out if you don't join?
For information write to Cross-
roads, Box 32, North Tonawanda,
NY 14120.
THE MENNONITE 305
Letters
Just how are we?
"Are You Still a Mennonite" [May 22]
spoke to me clearly. I needed this
editorial to point out our choice position
and our urgent opportunities. Yesterday
I asked a friend how her Alzheimer-
afflicted husband was. She said with a
smile, "When I saw him yesterday he
asked, 'How are the Mennonites?"' I am
afraid that your words tell how we are.
Elda Bachman, 1104 W. Broadway,
Newton, KS 67114
Be cautious but cooperate
We in Central District have completed a
series of nine regional "hearings" across
the conference. Ruth Naylor, conference
president, and I were joined by other
staff and elected people along the way as
we listened to some 300 people who par-
ticipated in the two-hour evenings. We
wanted to hear what people were
thinking and feeling about our current
district ministries and about General
Conference/Mennonite Church integra-
tion. It turned out that the integration
question was the consuming issue people
wanted to talk about. We scarcely got a
word on current ministries as the energy
to discuss integration carried the day.
If I had to summarize in one word
what people were saying about integra-
tion it would be "caution." There was
also an expressed desire to affirm
cooperation with our MC brothers and
sisters as we share much in common. It
appeared that these hearings were a
first-time opportunity for many to openly
talk about the whole matter of integra-
tion. I also sensed that people were ex-
pressing a deep-felt appreciation for our
heritage in the General Conference
Mennonite Church, however imperfect it
may be. Mark Weidner, Central District
Conference Minister, 103 W. Elm St.,
Bluffton, OH 45817
Three trusts
What has God entrusted to us (Matthew
25)? God has entrusted many of us with
a life's partner. This partner has the po-
tential to grow spiritually, depending on
the way one treats and handles one's
partner.
God has entrusted many of with a
child or children. They too will grow
spiritually by the way we treat and
handle them.
God has entrusted us with money. It
can help God's kingdom to grow (or cause
no growth) depending on the way we
handle it. Willard Becker, Box 462,
Freeman, SD 57029
Learn about South America
The Mennonite is a much appreciated
paper (by Clara and me). Editorials are
usually one of the first things I look at.
The last one, March 27, was so special I
wanted to tell you so. South America is
much aware of the way the United States
is trying to dominate countries through
the dollar. It is so important to get
people to see what is going on, which is
so different from what people get from
the official news. John R. Schmidt,
Casilla 883, Asuncion, Paraguay
Open letter to the
Sioux Falls Argus Leader
"It's a rough business. It's not a pacifist-
type occupation as a fighter pilot."
This statement by Capt. Reid Chris-
topherson in the May 31 Argus Leader
reveals a misunderstanding. Capt.
Christopherson apparently assumes that
a "pacifist-type occupation" is one that
seeks to avoid all dangerous circum-
stances. He implies that a non-violent
person is a coward, certainly not as
courageous as the fighter pilots. Three
courageous pacifists come to mind.
Martin Luther King Jr. boldly and
non-violently confronted a bigoted and
hardened society with the truth. He
said, "I would rather be slain on the
highways of Alabama than commit
butchery of my conscience." His blood
was shed in 1968 at age 39.
Mahatma Gandhi ( 1869-1948) had as
his guiding principle, "Return good for
evil." He also said, "In non-violence,
bravery consists in dying, not in killing."
He, too, was assassinated as he worked
for truth and reconciliation.
Jesus Christ was described by Gandhi
as "the most active resister known
perhaps to history, non-violence par
excellence." Jesus, like King and
Gandhi, faced people of his day non-
violently and truthfully. His blood was
shed at age 33. At the cross the Roman
soldiers mocked Jesus, a pacifist of the
first century, and today American
soldiers mock pacifists of our century.
Hundreds of other Christian and non-
violent workers have been slain as they
have worked non-violently in places of
intense violence. To understand a
pacifist as a coward who simply seeks to
avoid danger is indeed a superficial
concept. These three pacifists were slain
in the line of duty. Dave Waldowski,
6613 W. 46th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57106
Church is family
I appreciate your attention to people and
family in The Mennonite. We here at
First Mennonite Church work hard at
being family — defining a strong sense of
community in ways appropriate to our
surroundings. Recently I attended
Hyattsville (Md. ) Mennonite Church and
ran into some former "First" people.
They said that they now consider San
Francisco "home," even though they
didn't realize it during the two years
they lived there.
A suggestion for The Mennonite:
include stories about congregations. For
those of us whose local congregations
don't go back far, it's encouraging to hear
what old-timer congregations and newer
ones like ourselves are doing. How do
they respond to the situations they find
themselves in? How do they incorporate
new people? How do they intentionally
work at being family/community to each
other? What are their dreams? Since
Mennonites practice a congregation-
based faith, amidst much popular
religion to be individuals, it may be
instructive to us all to keep reminding
ourselves of that fact. I know it would
take some work, but a regular "congrega-
tional profile" column/page would be a
useful addition. Doug Basinger, 311
Valley St., San Francisco, CA 94131
Editor's note: People interested in
writing a profile of their congregation
may write Box 347, Newton, KS 67114.
Titus on baptism
These verses, Titus 3:4-5 (NRSV), will be
on the Christmas church bulletin:
"When the goodness and loving kindness
of God our Savior appeared, he saved us,
not because of any works of righteous-
ness that we had done, but according to
his mercy, through the water of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit." I
observe that they have a certain support
for the salvific power of baptismal
water — a footnote to the current discus-
sion on baptism. Maynard Shelly, 624
Westchester Lane, Newton, KS 67114
An open letter to the U.S.
House of Representatives
I thank [the U.S. Congress] for reviewing
the work of the Selective Service System.
I write on behalf of Mennonite Central
Committee, an agency that works with
306 JULY 10, 1990
Letters
Mennonite churches around the world to
alleviate human suffering. The motiva-
tion for our work stems from our commit-
ment to God, the creator and sustainer of
life, and from our commitment to the
teaching of Jesus. Jesus upheld the
dignity and worth of all human beings
and demonstrated in his life the way of
peace and suffering love, even for the
enemy.
Due to these religious commitments,
we as a people have always sought
exemption from participation in warfare.
Fifty years ago, at the onset of World
War II, we were grateful for the legal
provisions for alternative service (Burke-
Wads worth Act) granted to many con-
scientious objectors to war. Thousands
of our young men served in Civilian
Public Service camps during the war.
Since then, thousands of our young
people have chosen service opportunities
with a church-related agency as an
expression of their commitment to God
and to the way of peace. This continues
to be the case, even in the absence of a
military draft.
Despite the legal acknowledgement
and respect for conscience against war as
initiated in the Burke-Wadsworth Act
and expressed in the Selective Service
Code, we find that the law continues to
place a difficult burden on many consci-
entious objectors.
Some of our young people find that the
same conscience that forbids them to
enter the military also forbids them to
register with Selective Service, the
system whose sole purpose is to produce
military inductees. Several of the
Mennonite church bodies have officially
acknowledged conscientious objection to
military registration as a valid expres-
sion of the teaching of Jesus and the
tradition of the church.
The law thus fails to recognize a
legitimate, church-supported group of
conscientious objectors to war. In this
sense it is discriminatory, for it provides
federal student aid and other benefits to
some conscientious objectors while
denying the same benefits to others....
We view military registration as a
violation of our most profound commit-
ments. We cannot support any system
that prepares young people to kill other
human beings, no matter how noble the
cause. There is greater strength,
meaning and wholeness in the way
shown to us by Jesus. We intend to
follow that way, even in the midst of a
violent and fragmented world.
For these reasons, we urge you to end
military registration. It is, in our view, a
necessary completion of the work begun
50 years ago, when conscientious objec-
tion to war first gained legal status.
Titus Peachey, co-executive secretary,
U.S. Peace Section, Mennonite Central
Committee, Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-
0500
What's in a name?
The editorial in the June 12 issue of The
Mennonite articulated concerns I've had
for a long time. Being Mennonite has
nothing to do with ethnicity. When I
cook an ethnic meal it may be curry or
opor or borscht or fry bread. These
things are cooked and eaten by Menno-
nites, but they are also cooked by other
religious groups. Besides food, names
often indicate ethnicity, but they do not
indicate a person's faith. Several years
ago, when I was working on this sort of
identity problem, I wrote the following:
Just who am I?
All the antecedents are correct./ The
Balzers, Reimers, Duerksens/ or the
Friesens, Quirings, Harders;/ They are
the names/ from which my genes have
come./ Yet, I was born/ where these
names were not heard./ My ears were
tuned/ to Baksh, Kumar, Dayal,/ or Nand,
Sonwani, Sharma;/ and in those names/ 1
hear my spirit singing. Lois Deckert, Box
475, North Newton, KS 67117
God works through us
Christ had unlimited power. Why didn't
he use this power to spread the gospel
miraculously? It would have been much
easier. Paul went through opposition,
persecution. Couldn't this have been
done miraculously? God depends on
people to do his work. Trust in God that
his Spirit will help us to do what we
should do. E.R. Moser, 410 W. Elm,
Bluffton, OH 45817
Editor's note: All letters are
welcome. They must be signed, but
names of writers may be withheld
upon request. We reserve the right to
edit for clarity and brevity.
87% of General Conference delegates at Normal '89
voted to explore integration of the General Conference
Mennonite Church and the Mennonite Church.
Read Gospel Herald and learn about your
Mennonite Church brothers and sisters.
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Attn: Dotty Anderson
Scottdale, PA 15683
THE MENNONITE 307
spEAkiNq
OUT
Choices, the pledge and the Nicolaitans
J. Denny Weaver
With Canada Day and the
Fourth of July just past, what
does it mean to be a citizen
and a faithful Christian without
worshiping the state?
Several months ago our local school
system passed a rule that requires
all students to recite the pledge of
allegiance to the American flag every
day. Students who wish to abstain
officially from the pledge must get
special permission from the principal.
Young musicians in the high school
band perform in concerts, at halftime
shows of football games and at the
county fair. They are also expected to
march in the town's Memorial Day
parade and to play "The Star-Spangled
Banner," the national anthem, before
football games while the flag is raised,
sometimes by members of the local
American Legion post.
Seeing our young people in such
situations brings to mind the Nico-
laitans, whom John, the author of
Revelation, mentioned in his messages to
Ephesus and Pergamun (Revelation 2:1-
7, 12-17). He described the same
phenomena in the message to Thyatira
•(2:18-29) but without referring to the
Nicolaitans by name.
As described by Elisabeth Schiissler
Fiorenza in The Book of Revelation:
Justice and Judgment, the Nicolaitans
claimed to possess knowledge of the true
being of God (or of Satan in another
interpretation). This knowledge freed
them from the world and its powers and
assured them of final salvation. Freed
from contamination by the world, the
Nicolaitans could then practice immoral-
ity or eat meat sacrificed to idols without
endangering their salvation. As
Fiorenza puts it, "Their understanding of
freedom allowed [them] to live in
peaceful coexistence with the pagan
society. Since loyalty to the Roman civil
religion did not necessarily involve
creedal statements but mainly required
participation in certain cultic acts and
ceremonies, it was possible to conform to
the pagan cult without giving up faith in
the one true God and Jesus Christ."
That theology posed a tempting solution
for Christians in Asia Minor, since eating
meat previously sacrificed to pagan gods
or participating in the religious ceremo-
nies of the trade guilds were necessary
parts of the social, commercial and
political life of that society. In effect, the
Nicolaitans said, "we can be part of the
church — confess loyalty to Christ — and
participate in Roman, pagan society,
too."
John the Revelator sharply condemned
the Nicolaitans. For John the practices
in which one joined revealed one's
loyalties. The Nicolaitans actually put
pagan gods over Christ. One reason
John wrote Revelation was to encourage
Christians to resist the solution of the
Nicolaitans. John wrote to underscore
the foundation of their resistance. Since
the resurrection of Jesus Christ certified
the kingdom of God as victorious over the
powers of the world, loyalty to Christ
was worth the financial and political
risks that might result from refusing to
participate in the pagan acts and
ceremonies.
Ultimate allegiance: The current con-
troversy surrounding the American flag
makes me think of John's objection to the
Nicolaitans in Revelation because of the
power of the symbol. In American civil
religion the flag symbolizes America and
is accorded sacred treatment. In the
secular, civil realm, the flag demands
people's ultimate loyalty as well as their
lives. Americans die for the flag.
Similarly John the Revelator encouraged
the early Christians to accept death in
the name of Christ.
The church in the first century faced a
choice between Christ and Caesar,
between the kingdom of God and the
Roman empire. John encouraged his
readers to reject the symbols and
practices of the empire and to remain
loyal to their Lord, Jesus Christ.
Today Christians face a choice between
Christ and any rival to Christ. We must
choose between ultimate loyalty to Christ
and his church and loyalty to flag and
nation. One place we see that choice
presented is in terms of reverence for the
flag. While we respect the nation in
which we live, it should not receive our
ultimate allegiance. At some point it
seems that Christians need to choose
between Christ and flag f^^H^H^H
as the source of ultimate k»
meaning in life. wSSSSL
Continuum of choices: m^^j?^m
At some point we need to ^H^^^^C
make a choice. Precisely -r^Kf^|
where and when that cn^^BL^B^M
choice occurs or should occur remains
unclear. In fact, we have many options
that range along a continuum which has
radical rejection of culture and society at
one end and complete acceptance of
society and culture at the other end.
Living at the end of the spectrum
characterized by radical rejection —
perhaps like a hermit in the desert —
leaves us out of contact with society,
unable either to be influenced by or to
witness to it. Living at the other end of
the spectrum simply means to become
like, to identify with, the host society —
which is the abandonment of a unique
Christian identity. We all make choices
and accommodate ourselves to the
culture around us, and our lives as
Christians are lived somewhere between
the ends of that continuum.
We accept certain things so that we
can make use of the educational system.
I have talked to some young people about
the new requirement to say the pledge.
They all say they do not want to become
a public spectacle by asking for specific
permission not to say the pledge. They
will refuse to say the pledge but will
stand by their desks quietly as the
teacher leads it. That kind of decision
places them somewhere near the center
of the continuum of choices.
At football or basketball or baseball
games, one has the right to silent protest
during the national anthem. Instead of
validating the symbol by giving the flag
one's undivided attention, one can focus
on other activity.
As a member of the high school band
my daughter plays the anthem at games
( which can be interpreted as a general
show of respect to the country in which
we have citizenship). But she resolved
not to march in the annual Memorial
Day parade. The parade focuses our
attention on past wars and celebrates
our involvements. Such celebration
teaches that war is ultimately the most
effective way to handle international
conflict.
308 JULY 10, 1990
spEAkiNq OUT
These two choices are neither a sharp
rejection of nor a complete conformity to
patriotic expectations. Such accommoda-
tions allow us to maintain a sense of
being different from the world but also
enable us to function in our society and
be perceived as respectable people
without upsetting the majority of
patriotic citizenry.
However, it is not clear when our
accommodations in order to use the
educational system and to keep good
community relations cross the line into
the territory of the Nicolaitans. If I
withhold my reverence for the flag
quietly so that few understand what I
am doing, am I really demonstrating that
my ultimate loyalty is placed in Christ
rather than the flag and nation? Per-
haps I should refuse to stand for the
national anthem or arrive late for every
event, after it has been played. Or
should I refuse to attend any event
where it is played, even publicly lobby to
halt its performance before games?
The previous band director disagreed
with but respected and accepted the
desire of my daughter and her friends
not to march and play on Memorial Day.
What if the new director does not and
gives my daughter a failing grade for her
refusal or even expels her from the band?
Should she conform to patriotic expecta-
tions for the sake of being a musician?
Should we forbid our children from
playing instruments in the band? At
what point does playing in the band
connote acceptance of allegiance to the
flag?
The reverence shown to the flag
represents the proverbial tip of the
iceberg. After all, every public school
history class that explains how a war in
1776 freed the American colonies from
an oppressive King George is teaching
our children that freedom was gained by
violence. The flag symbolizes that
violence.
Reciting the pledge socializes young
people toward nationalism. Such
socialization helps youngsters in the
United States to believe, for example,
that the only effective way to deal with
General Manuel Noriega was an armed
invasion of Panama. How much alterna-
tive socialization are we giving our young
people? Where are we teaching alterna-
tive views of history?
Instead of discussing how to remain
well-thought-of in the public mind while
not saying the pledge, perhaps we should
be talking about how to fund more
private schools, as Christian groups have
done for other reasons. Then we could
also forthrightly teach an alternative
view of history that shows that conflict
need not inevitably result in war and
J. Denny Weaver is
professor of religion at
Bluffton (Ohio) College.
Next year he will teach
at Canadian Mennonite
Bible College, Winnipeg.
that there are non-violent ways to solve
problems.
I am not sure where the line is be-
tween acceptable accommodation and the
territory of the Nicolaitans. I am sure,
however, that if we are uncomfortable
posing the question, then we have
already adopted the U.S. society's
patriotism as our own framework. And
that, I am afraid, would make us Nico-
laitans.
I draw a line between 'dear' and 'sacred'
Nancy J. Myers
On the Fourth of July I feel the way many Jews must feel at Christmas: it's
a nice holiday, and I can enjoy the trappings, but it's not my religion.
I enjoy being an American. If you don't know how American (or Canadian)
you are, try living in another country for awhile. I would have trouble spending
the rest of my life in a group-oriented society like Japan or under severe political
oppression. I appreciate many things about American society and American
values. I feel at home here. The United States is part of me.
But I draw a line between holding my country dear and holding it sacred. I
draw a line between recognition of my identity as an American and making it
my primary identity. Mennonites past and present have helped me draw those
lines.
By drawing the line against participation in war, Mennonites have had to part
from the mainstream of American society. And in doing that, in stepping
outside of society a bit, we have gotten a different view. We have put ourselves
in a position where we have had to say forthrightly that our ultimate allegiance
is to God and not to country, even if we practice that imperfectly. And from this
stance just off the mainstream, we begin to see the false allegiances that patriot-
ism demands.
We can see patriotism, in fact, as a kind of idolatry. It is a false religion,
whose god is country, whose symbol is the flag, whose creed is "America first"
and the pledge of allegiance. Patriotism's bible is supposedly the Constitution of
the United States — although the followers of this creed, like other believers,
ignore their bible when it suits them. The highest sacrament of this religion is
war. Its shrines are the monuments to war.
So I don't wave the flag. I don't own one. I wouldn't burn it either, in the
spirit of tolerance, just as I don't like to see crosses burned. I haven't been
called upon to repeat the pledge of allegiance since I was too young to know
better. I do stand for the national anthem, because I'd rather not stir up wrath
in a baseball stadium. I generally stay away from war memorials. The excep-
tion is the Vietnam memorial, which demonstrates so vividly the enormity of
loss that war imposes. I don't "buy American" unless the price is right.
Yet I do pay taxes — all of them — with much chagrin, hoping that in some
small way in my work I can turn my beloved country away from militarism. I
vote, usually for the lesser of two evils. I believe more good people, including
Christians, should run for office, but when they do they seldom get elected or
last long. I love my neighbors, but Jesus told us who my neighbors are, and
they are not just those next door. I try to be a good citizen of this earth. My
country is sometimes right and sometimes appallingly wrong. I try to do my
part to right the wrongs.
Maybe someday in the far distant future we will study war no more, and the
American flag will stand for what I love about this country: the Constitution,
baseball, Iowa skies, gospel music, immigrants. But when President George
Bush declared that the flag must not be "desecrated," he stood in front of a
memorial to a brutal battle. I'm sorry, but that battle was not sacred to me, and
so the flag is not sacred to me. That's not my religion.
Nancy J. Meyers, a member of First Mennonite Church, Oak Park, III., is manag-
ing editor of Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
THE MENNONITE 309
REVIEWS
* ssbooks
No other name
The Gospel in a Pluralist Society by
Lesslie Newbigin (Eerdmans, 1989, 244
pages)
Reviewed by Erwin Rempel, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114
Lesslie Newbigin at the age of 80 contin-
ues to have enormous influence in
mission circles, based on a lifetime of
service as a missionary in India for
nearly 40 years.
He served as the
first director of the
Division of World
Mission and
Evangelism imme-
diately following
the integration of
the International
Missionary Council
into the World
Council of
Churches, as editor
of the International
Review of Missions and now in a catalytic
role exploring how the West can be
converted.
The Gospel in a Pluralist Society is "a
call to renewed confidence in the gospel
of Jesus Christ" in "the midst of the con-
temporary society marked by religious
pluralism, ethnic diversity and cultural
relativism."
Chapter 13 alone, "No Other Name,"
is worth the price of the book. In it
Newbigin responds to contemporary
pleas that Christians abandon a commit-
ment to the exclusive claim of the
uniqueness of Jesus Christ. Newbigin
admits that "it is not easy to resist the
contemporary tide of thinking and
feeling that seems to sweep us irresisti-
bly in the direction of an acceptance of
religious pluralism and away from any
confident affirmation of the absolute
sovereignty of Jesus Christ." Neverthe-
less, Newbigin is clear: There is no other
name.
However, such a ringing affirmation
seems muted by his claim in Chapter 14:
"...to make that confession does not
mean, as critics seem to assume, that we
belive that God's saving mercy is limited
to Christians and that the rest of the
world is lost." Chapter 14 explores "The
Gospel and the Religions," in which
Newbigin expands on the apparent
contradiction.
I heartily recommend this book for
students, pastors and other Christian
leaders who wrestle with how the gospel
relates to our pluralist society.
Radical Reformer
Thomas Miintzer: A Tragedy of
Errors by Eric Gritsch (Fortress Press,
1989, 157 pages)
Reviewed by Walter Klaassen, Site 12A,
C. 23, Route 7, Vernon, BC V1T 7Z3
There are many books about Thomas
Miintzer written in German, but there
are few in English. Eric Gritsch has
updated the extensive research on
Miintzer done since his 1967 interpreta-
tion of Miintzer, Reformer Without a
Church. This new book is an excellent
presentation of what is now known about
this man.
Who was Thomas Miintzer? He was
one of a crowd of young intellectuals
agitating publicly for reform of the
church by preaching and writing after
Martin Luther had begun the process in
1517. Many, like Miintzer, were not
Lutherans, since they turned out not to
share Luther's views after all, but
"Martinians," because they thought
themselves to belong to the movement
begun by him.
Miintzer was a reformer in his own
right, and, as Gritsch clearly says, can no
longer be studied simply as an opponent
of the great Reformer. He began his
preaching and agitating against the old
church in 1520 and before long also
began to attack Luther. He held to a
view of faith like that of medieval
mysticism and argued that the works of
faith are absolutely essential to salva-
tion. He touched on most of the themes
that a few years later came to character-
ize Anabaptism. He championed the role
of lay people, to whom, he said, God
revealed himself by his Spirit even when
they could not read the Bible. He
dismissed the idea that God revealed
himself to the clergy and the scholars
because of their sacramental ordination
and education as idolatry. He linked the
inner liberation of the soul from sin to
the liberation of the body from oppres-
sion by church and nobility and so joined
the peasant uprising of 1525, in which he
lost his life.
While the Anabaptists for the most
part rejected Miintzer's recourse to
violence, he was one of the two fathers of
the Radical Reformation. Gritsch
hesitates to say this too loudly, perhaps
because in the past Miintzer's links with
Anabaptism were used to discredit
Anabaptism.
The book does not make clear whose
errors made the tragedy of Thomas
Miintzer. Perhaps they were Miintzer's
own and those of Luther and others.
This is a good book for anyone wishing to
understand the Radical Reformation
better. It is concise, clearly written and
graced by careful and sympathetic
scholarship.
A guide to Kraus
A Disciple's Christology: Appraisals
of Kraus's Jesus Christ Our Lord
edited by Richard A. Kauffman (Occa-
sional Papers No. 13, Institute ofMen-
nonite Studies, 1989)
Reviewed by Carol Penner, Box 245,
Jordan Station, ON LOR ISO
For many people C. Norman Kraus' 1987
book Jesus Christ Our Lord: Christology
from a Disciple's Perspective proved to be
a starting point for discussion about the
whole issue of Christology. One focal
point for this discussion was a consulta-
tion held at Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries in October 1988.
The papers presented at this conference
have been made available in a small
paperback book through the Institute of
Mennonite Studies.
The book is a useful companion volume
to Kraus' Jesus Christ Our Lord, particu-
larly due to the opening essay, written by
Kraus himself. He briefly outlines in an
autobiographical way the reasons for
writing his book. This sort of informa-
tion is invaluable to understanding the
context out of which Kraus originally
wrote, and I wonder why such clear
writing was not included in the original
text.
Other essays look at Kraus' work from
pastoral, theological, missiological and
historical perspectives. Several of the
essays are written by scholars from
outside the Mennonite world, and these
perhaps prove to be the most interesting.
Kraus is given the opportunity to
respond to his critics at the end of the
book. A compilation of reviews that have
appeared in the Mennonite press is a
helpful appendix.
Kraus' book itself was not easily acces-
sible to those who are not trained in
theology, and the same is true of these
collected essays. For those who embrace
the challenge of Kraus' book, this volume
will undoubtedly prove helpful in under-
standing it.
310 JULY 10, 1990
MEdiTATiON — — -
A prayer for Assembly 1 2 in Winnipeg
May we share the 'fellowship of Christ's sufferings1
Claude Baecher
Jesus is at work in many parts of the world. Already
many brothers and sisters are rejoicing in anticipation of
the gathering in Winnipeg.
An even greater number await the fruit to be born from the
blessings of Assembly 12. It would be unthinkable to have
reflected on the theme "Witnessing to Christ in Today's World"
without receiving a new call from the Lord.
With all the disciples of Jesus who have preceded us, with
our brothers and sisters from other Christian families, we
affirm that the answer to the problem of sin and human misery
is the Christian community fulfilling its mission and yearning
for the full coming of the kingdom of God.
At Winnipeg, in our Mennonite World Conference gathering,
we will no doubt hear surprising and unforgettable testimonies
illustrating the character and action of God in our decade.
Discovering anew what it means to be faithful: As all
denominations in the world that are founded on the Bible and
on Jesus, we need renewal — renewal, even it it means admit-
ting our shortcomings and redefining our objectives, restating
our trust. Renewal is an expected process for a people on the
move. Each generation of disciples must rediscover for itself
what faithfulness means. Winnipeg will be (or should we say
might be?) an instrument the Lord will use to this end.
May we be focused more on Christ than on ourselves. Inde-
pendent of Jesus Christ, human values and accomplishments
have no worth in God's eyes. Here we have an opportunity to
identify with the struggle of today's church in this part of the
world and to be in solidarity with the struggle, the sufferings,
and the joys of that part. ..for the kingdom of God is coming!
Let's tune up our instruments and make music together:
A gathering must be prepared. Many people, for the past
several months, have been harnessed to its practical organiza-
tion, but all the participants should prepare themselves for the
gathering in another way.
May Winnipeg be as little as possible a place of voyeurism for
those who like good stories and fairy tales; as little as possible
a gathering of the staid, the opinionated, the assimilated, the
bored; a sort of grand fair for cousins.
We don't want to peddle dreams and religious idealism. May
Winnipeg, because of Christ and because of his Word, be first of
all a place of encounter for brothers and sisters in the same
God and Father, a place where Jesus our Lord is adored,
sought, heard, prayed to.
Winnipeg and our gathering places remind us that we need
to say yes again each day to a certain conflict with our own
tranquility.
As long as the kingdom of God has not come in its fullness, as
long as hearts and kingdoms of this world manifest in one way
or another their revolt against God, Christ Jesus, and his
teaching, may we all be among those who share the "fellowship
of Christ's sufferings" (Philippians 3"10).
May the spirit of the fear of the Lord reign: Certainly
Winnipeg will be a celebration of fellowship and adoration, but
this gathering needs to be also a great sign of the Spirit (a sort
of prayer without a great liturgy) born out of immense need.
For Winnipeg should identify with those from all continents
who experience physically a sense of God's apparent absence, a
loneliness, rejection, isolation because of Jesus, as if in echo of
the Savior's experience at Gethsemene.
There is a saving source of life in that anguish, for the
church and for the world.
The Holy Spirit compelled George Blaurock, Conrad Grebel
and their brothers and sisters in Switzerland in 1525 to
discover believer's baptism in obedience to Jesus and to his
Word. May the same Spirit enliven our congregations and
bring us to our knees to bow and cry out to God our need for
God's presence.
Then we will discover, in a totally different spirit, African,
American, Asian, European, modern versions of the story.
We all, without exception, know what it is to be concerned
with our legitimate interests: eating, drinking, rest, dialogue,
housing. But we must also rediscover the need of the kingdom
of God to be concerned for the salvation of people, whomever
they may be or where they may be — concerned for their
welfare.
A French poet has said (he voices our prayer): "May the
blood of God run through our veins," in spirit and in action. We
will then do no other than that which we are commanded to do.
The Eternal One welcomes us, awaits us and is near to those
who love God.
Taking part in this holy concern will best prepare us for the
gathering in Winnipeg and for hearing God. Let us share a bit
of the vision of sacrificial love the apostle Paul had for his
brothers and sisters, for whom he felt "the pain of giving birth
all over again, until Christ" was formed in them" (Galatians
4:19).
See you soon in Winnipeg.
The writer, from France, is now living in Switzerland. He is a
member of the Faith and Life Committee of Mennonite World
Conference. This was translated by Sylvia Shirk Charles.
THE MENNONITE 311
NEWS
LI3fM3Y
ASSOC MENN BIBLICAL ^ EM
3003 BSNWAM A VP
ELKHART IN 46517
ecHtoriaI —
MWC: Who needs it?
We do, that's who. We need Mennonite World
Conference to remember, in or out of Winnipeg
July 24-29, that we are a world community of
believers. We reflect the limitless creativity of God, who
was in Christ, reconciling the world.
But mark the day. Assembly 12 may well be the last
of its kind for a while. Much as North Americans and
Europeans need and welcome a world conference every
six years, other countries need it more.
First-world folks, with multiple layers of conferences
and congresses and dialogues and symposia, simply add
Assembly 12 to their list of opportunities to get together.
Developing-world folks, with fewer chances to travel and
meet, with less money to spend on travel, treasure such
gatherings as rare chances-of-a-lifetime that most never
have access to.
Picture this for 1996: India. (There is at least a 50-50
chance that Assembly 13 will convene in India.) Let
your imagination run. Look at a map of India. Where
would you like to meet? How about Raipur, down in
Madhya Pradesh? That's within a stone's throw of
former Mennonite Church and General Conference Men-
nonite Church mission fields, which are now church
conferences in their own right.
Choose a time. June? It'll be hot. July or August?
It'll be probably be rainy. Is there an alternative?
Continuing the scenario, some spaces would be avail-
able in hotels. Some spaces would be available in homes
in the Christian community. But I can visualize a
mighty campground outside of town: tents, sleeping
bags, mosquito repellent, comfortable clothing, treas-
ured amounts of water, a dish-and-cup bag brought by
each participant. I can almost smell the huge vats of
steaming rice, spicy curry and fluffy fried bread. Cook-
ing fires might be in trenches in the ground.
We might sit on mats on the ground in the shade
during the day. We would look for trees to lean against.
Sure, some folding chairs would be available. We would
listen and worship, far into the night.
Bicycles would be the order of the day. We would
walk a lot. Yes, we could have a Mennonite World Con-
ference in India. We could accomplish the mission of
such an assembly:
•Experience the joy of worship as a global Mennonite
community, praising our Lord Jesus Christ;
•Talk about our faith experiences;
•Deepen our understanding of Christ and our mission
in the world;
•Be renewed in our commitment to a radical obedi-
ence that authenticates our witness to a needy world
(articulated by the Assembly 12 program committee,
chaired by our own Jake F. Pauls, pastor at Bethel Men-
nonite Church, Winnipeg).
The original Mennonite World Conference dream-
ers would affirm such a scenario. One was Chris-
tian Neff, a German pastor and conference
leader, generally considered the pioneer of the Menno-
nite World Conference movement. He suggested an
international gathering in 1925 to mark the 400th anni-
versary of Anabaptism. He invited Mennonites to Basel,
Switzerland, and they were together June 13-16. One
delegate came from North America. A few came from
Holland, France and Germany. The Swiss government
denied entrance to those from Russia.
But 13 years before that, H. H. Regier, an elder at
Bethel Mennonite Church, Mountain Lake, Minn., was
in Russia for speaking engagements. He suggested to
Heinrich Pauls of Lemberg, Poland, that there should be
"an international Mennonite gathering."
Also Jacob A. Rempel, an elder in Gruenfeld, south
Russia, spoke with P. H. Unruh (from Kansas) in 1923
about celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Menno-
nite church. Two years later Rempel was one refused an
entry visa into Switzerland. But he sent a statement:
"Our fellowship must become real, not only in material
matters but in the spiritual realm as well." By "mate-
rial matters" he meant the relief assistance sent to the
Russian Mennonites by the then fledgling Mennonite
Central Committee.
I think that Neff, Regier and Rempel would approve of
an Assembly 13 in India. I can imagine them, a digni-
fied but approachable trio, riding on bicycles to a camp-
ground outside Raipur, each with his week's necessities
in a tidy bundle strapped on behind, dish bags dangling
from their handlebars. Muriel T. Stackley
THE MENNONiTE
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
105:14 JULY 24, 1990
Inside:
Sadako's cranes
of hope
Children
The peace comforter
project
Notes from an
Ontario jail
pnoloquE
CONTENTS
E
very summer this magazine stops to
remember the beginning of the nu-
clear age in August 1945 with the
bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
(Nagasaki, by the way, had at that time the
highest concentration of Christians in Japan.
The Roman Catholic cathedral was at ground
zero of the explosion.) In a sense "we are all
hibakusha," people from the Nevada Desert
Experience remind us, including our poor and
homeless. (See the following article for more
about hibakusha, the Japanese word for
atomic bomb survivors.)
A year ago, on Aug. 8, the cover of The
Mennonite carried a photo of the sculpture
that the Soviet Union had given to the United
Nations in New York. It depicts "they shall
beat their swords into plowshares." One of
our readers, Victor Sawatzky, North Newton,
Kan., "was so impressed that a nation that
professed to be atheistic would use a portion of
Scripture... that I was inspired to make a
carving of the sculpture based on the entire
verse, Isaiah
2:4." Below is
Victor's carving.
As the politics
of the world
change, an
informed public
can insist that
"plowshares
economics"
follow. Lorraine
Snyder (page
320) is one who
knows that top-
level decisions
(like NATO's
decision not to
build a major
air base among
the Innu people of Labrador) do not immedi-
ately affect policy (like continuing the deafen-
ing low-level flights). If we can risk nuclear
war, we can risk disarmament.
And don't miss John Stoner's long-needed
explanation of Jesus' reference to "the sign of
Jonah" (page 335).
The next issue (Aug. 14)
will focus on the creativity
of our constituency. After
that (Aug. 28) we will offer
reports of Assembly 12 of
Mennonite World
Conference. Muriel T.
Stackley
LonsHabegger
321
Sadako's cranes of hope / 315
Hiroshima / 317
These comforters reached from the United States
to the Soviet Union / 318
Half a world / 318
Notes from an Ontario jail / 320
Prayer to the Peace Keeper / 320
Practice peace church evangelism / 321
Fresno church reaches out to the Hmong /
News / 322
Northern District Conference report / 322
Where is the alternative to armed struggle? /
Record / 328
Resources / 330
How to keep peace in your congregation / 331
Three responses to 'How Much Land Is Enough?
Letters / 333
Reviews / 334
Restorative justice / 334
Life in the Chaco / 334
Listen to Jonah and Jesus / 335
Can the 'activists' and 'conservatives' be friends?
Cover: Photo by Strix Pix
327
/ 332
/ 336
W THE MENNONITE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14, (316) 283-5100. Editor:
Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant: Angela Rempel;
art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the Associated Church Press,
Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a Mennnonite and Brethren in Christ
editors' group). It is an associate member of the Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretaries: Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14, and Rose Retzlaff, 600
Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4. Business manager: Dietrich Rempel. Special
editions editors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North Newton, KS 67117;
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Biblical Seminaries, Richard A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1, Carstairs, AB TOM 0N0, (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2S 1V7; (Central District)
Lynn Liechty, 666 Columbus St., Berne, IN 4671 1 ; (Eastern District) Curtis Bauman, 429
N. Second St., Emmaus, PA 18049; (Manitoba) in process; (Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada) Margo Fieguth, 99 Veronica Drive, Mississauga, ON L5G 2B1 ; (Northern
District) Winifred Wall, Box 67, Freeman, SD 57029; (Pacific District) Clare Ann Ruth-
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Newton, KS 67117.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 14 years of The Mennonite are also
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Circulation:10,221
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build the
Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the guidance of
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TER: Send Form 3579 to The Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. ©1990
314 JULY 24, 1990
Sadak
1990 is the 45th year since
the United States dropped
nuclear bombs on Hiroshima
and Nagasaki.
Sadako was just a little girl, two
years old, when the U.S. Air Force
dropped an atomic bomb over
Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945. It
didn't seem to make much difference in
her life. Although her family lived two
miles from the center of Hiroshima and
their house was badly damaged, no one
was hurt. Her parents saw to it that she
had enough food and gave her the love
that a child deserves. She felt safe.
They knew nothing about the after-
effects of radiation.
The story Sadako and the 1,000
Cranes is now well known. Sadako
developed leukemia at age 12. It was
called the "Atom Bomb Disease."
An old Japanese legend says that if a
sick person folds 1,000 paper cranes, the
illness will go away. Sadako began
folding brightly colored paper cranes. As
she made them, she became sicker and
sicker. Finally, after folding 644 cranes,
she died. Her friends finished folding
cranes to complete the 1,000 and buried
them with Sadako. Because of Sadako,
strings of folded paper cranes can be
found in many places in Hiroshima, since
paper colored cranes have become
symbols of peace.
American Quaker: Another place
where strings of rainbow colored paper
cranes are hanging is in the World
Friendship Center in Hiroshima. Sadako
had been dead for 10 years when Bar-
bara Reynolds, an American Quaker
living in Hiroshima, founded the World
Friendship Center, a place where
survivors, many disfigured or weak
because of the effects of the atomic bomb,
could tell their stories to foreigners.
They hoped, and still hope, that one day
all the world will know that there should
never be another atomic bomb dropped
anywhere on this earth.
The World Friendship Center contin-
ues to operate for the same purpose for
which it began 25 years ago on Aug. 7.
It is a hostel where thousands of travel-
ers, writers, film producers, peace
activists and others have stayed. Many
of these will return to the center this
year to help celebrate its anniversary.
The world has come a long way since
1965, when the World Friendship Center
began. The threat of a nuclear war has
diminished. Governments are changing.
People are talking. The effects of pluto-
nium, uranium and nuclear wastes are
being discussed. As schoolchildren from
all over the world complete a string of
1,000 brightly colored paper cranes and
send them to the World Friendship
Center, those children are promising
that the world they will live in when they
grow up will be a world free of the terror
of a nuclear war.
Hiroshima has also come a long way.
Survivors are no longer treated as low-
A place to tell their stories to foreigners: At a rest home for atomic bomb survivors, residents
applaud a woman doing an ancient Japanese dance. The directors of World Friendship Center
visit here monthly, this time to teach English.
THE MENNONITE 315
Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945
Thirty years after the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, survivors were asked
to sketch their memories of that day. Of the top picture the artist said, "The
corpse of a child. Its hands and fingers pointing to the sky. It was difficult to
tell whether it was a boy or a girl." The man who drew the lower picture said,
"I tried desperately to rescue my baby daughter trapped inside the collapsed
house. I scratched at the clay walls with my fingernails, but when I finally
succeeded in opening a hole, flames had enveloped the scene." These were
published by the Atomic Bomb Material Preservation Society.
Sadako memorial at Hiroshima Peace Park
class people or animals, as they once
were. The survivors no longer have to
make small crafts at the World Friend-
ship Center in order to eat, to have a
place to sleep or to save money for a
place to live in their old age. However,
their physical illnesses and mental
anguish continue.
In the early days of World Friendship
Center, the A-bomb survivors spent a lot
of time creating crafts to sell. Now many
people, both survivors and their friends
who are interested in peace, spend many
hours at the center. They listen to
lectures on current problems around the
world. They fold paper cranes and make
"paper dolls for peace" to be sent or given
to visitors. They visit the survivors in a
rest home. They translate articles and
books. They guide visitors around Peace
Park. Survivors tell their stories of Aug.
6, 1945, to visitors.
We are the current directors of World
Friendship Center. Although we belong
to the Church of the Brethren, past
directors have also come from the Men-
nonite and Quaker faiths. Orlando and
Violet Goering, who worked under the
Commission on Overseas Mission of the
General Conference Mennonite Church,
preceded us.
The focus of the activities at the center
has changed slightly over the years.
New programs such as Coffee House and
Cross-Cultural Experience are aimed at
creating friendships with people of other
nationalities. On a Cross-Cultural
Experience day, 2- to 4-year-old Japa-
nese children may play with a child from
Tanzania or Vietnam, "Aunt Jeanne and
Uncle Bill" from the United States or
with another helper from Lebanon.
Japanese children do not see many
foreigners, so the opportunity to play at
316 JULY 24, 1990
The entrance to World Friendship Center in Hiroshima
L.M. Klassen
World Friendship Center is a great way
to learn to be friends.
A quarterly newspaper, published by
the center in Japanese and in English, is
sent to over 1,000 friends. Many Ameri-
can people have met, hosted and listened
to a group of four Japanese as they travel
across the United States every other
summer. These are part of the Teacher
Exchange Program. American TEPers
visit Japan on the alternate years. They
are ambassadors of goodwill.
An American committee procures
directors, helps with the financing and
assists with the publicity. Currently this
committee operates from the areas of
northern Indiana and around Dayton,
Ohio. (Interested people may contact
John Sommer, Commission on Overseas
Mission, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114.)
A rainbow of folded paper cranes
hangs in each room at the World Friend-
ship Center. They symbolize hope to
survivors that never again will a nuclear
bomb be dropped anywhere in this world.
They symbolize help to those suffering
from a nuclear disease. They remind us
to stop radiation pollution so that our
children will be healthy. May the World
Friendship Center enjoy another 25
years of caring, sharing and working for
peace and friendship.
Bill and Jeanne Chappell have been on the
World Friendship Center staff for four years.
Mennonites who have staffed the center
include Eva Harshbarger, Goessel, Kan.; Stan
Butler, Boston; and Orlando and Violet
Goering, Vermillion, S.D. The center's
address is 3-3-16 Minimi-machi, Minami-ku,
Hiroshima-shi, 774 Japan.
A flicker of hope
arises from the ashes
of this living crematorium
and the rubble of homes
and schools of enlightenment.
The laughter of children
caught by the cranes
folded by fingers, enfolded
by mothers. Love,
seeking to transform
the horrors of war
to something of beauty
while children are dying.
Rainbows of cranes
lengthening the short lives,
caught in our memories,
teaching peace
and not vengeance.
A land non-Christian
with a tongue of fire
proclaiming peace in a victory symbol.
Let us unite it with the victory symbol
of an empty cross proclaiming peace.
With the flame of the Spirit
let it melt us, unite us,
until the dream of world peace
burns brightly, a vision.
Let the doves and the cranes
descend with their power,
transforming the horrors
of war and destruction
into wings of beauty soaring above us.
L.M. Klassen, Kelowna, B.C., was a
member of the Commission on Overseas
Mission tour to Asia last year led by Peter
and Susan Kehler, Abbotsford, B.C.
Until membership in the church means that a Christian chooses not to
engage in violence for any reason and instead chooses to love, pray for,
help and forgive all enemies; until membership in the church means that Chris-
tians may not be members of any military...; until membership in the church
means that Christians cannot pay taxes for others to kill others; and until the
church says these things in a fashion that the simplest soul can understand —
until that time humanity can only look forward to more dark nights of slaugh-
ter on a scale unknown in history. Unless the church unswervingly and
unambiguously teaches what Jesus teaches on this matter, it will not be the
divine leaven in the human dough that it was meant to be. George Zabelka,
who served as a Roman Catholic chaplain for those who dropped the atomic
bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945
THE MENNONITE 317
created by Kids atwns.
Prairie bt'eet
-arhed from the
Linsenmeyer
The Peace Comforter Project began as
a positive response to the negative
1986 television miniseries "Amerika,"
filmed outside my hometown, Lincoln,
Neb. I had no idea then of what we were
getting into. (That TV series depicted an
unopposed Russian takeover of the
United States.)
With the encouragement of my
husband, Dean, and my small group at
First Mennonite Church, I wrote a
proposal. I suggested that children's art,
Half a world
Steve Pauls
I live in a land of freedom,
yet have never known bondage.
I dwell on a continent of wealth,
yet have not felt the hand of poverty.
I abide in a community of peace,
yet know not the touch of war.
In the light of freedom, wealth and peace I bathe,
and do not travel where the light does not reach.
There is always more shadow than light,
while the division is frail yet unyielding.
I live in a world of contradiction.
I live in half a world.
Steve Pauls' address is 1600 N. Willis #160,
Bloomington, IN 47404.
the kinds of pictures they would draw for
a friend, be transferred to fabric, sewn
into comforters and be presented to
children in the Soviet Union as gifts of
peace and friendship.
The proposal, along with a letter of
endorsement from our church, went to all
the Nebraska Mennonite churches, to
many conference pastors and to church
publications. We trusted that some
would feel called to join us.
An article about the project appeared
in our Lincoln newspaper. Without our
knowledge, Novosti Press Agency (which
releases news to over 500 papers in the
Soviet Union) reprinted that article with
an invitation for people to write to me.
Some weeks later the Lincoln newspaper
learned that hundreds of letters were
coming from the Soviet Union. This
resulted in more newspaper articles, TV
and radio interviews.
The letters came for several months
via the Soviet Embassy in Washington.
Many people in the Soviet Union were
grateful for this small gesture of peace on
our part. Before a comforter had ever
been presented, the "enemy" was already
thanking us.
By May 1987 people had completed a
number of comforters. We displayed the
comforters and the letters and children's
artwork received from the Soviet Union
in a shopping mall. We heard few
negative comments. Most people
indicated they hadn't known the Soviets
also wanted peace.
The Franconia Singers from Pennsyl-
vania took the first comforters to the
318 JULY 24, 1990
Soviet Union. People there received
them graciously and enthusiastically.
Comforters continued to come in.
Whenever we read in a church publica-
tion that someone or a group was going
to the Soviet Union, we asked them to
take a comforter. Thankfully, many did.
We had hoped originally for at least 15
comforters. We thought we would be
finished with the project by the fall of
1987.
In May of this year we presented a
peace comforter to three women from the
Soviet Union who visited Elkhart, Ind.,
through the League of Women Voters.
This was the 65th comforter.
We had also wondered about the Soviet
government allowing us to bring comfort-
ers in. In 1987 a man taking a youth
group to the Soviet Union refused any
comforters that might have religious
symbols. From past experience he felt
they would threaten future opportuni-
ties. In contrast, when I made the
presentation this past May, Valentina
Matvienko, a member of the Supreme
Soviet and one of the highest-ranking
women in the Soviet Union, said it was
fitting that the comforter was presented
in a church because churches have never
given up the quest for peace.
Government or television: I don't
think we can totally understand how the
recent changes in East- West relations
have come about. But I am thankful that
I did not let my government or the
television decide who my enemy is. I am
thankful to be in the company of the
many who desire to build bridges.
The Peace Comforter Project wasn't as
hard as we expected. It took many hours
and we met resistance, but the process
was not as difficult as anticipated.
Should we have had to struggle more for
it to be "real peacemaking"? This time
that wasn't the way it developed. We
committed ourselves early on to go
through whatever doors opened, and
remain thankful and amazed for all that
has meant. Perhaps on another part of
the journey the demands will be more
costly. Perhaps we have been prepared
to say yes to other new doors.
Bek Linsenmeyer, 1610
Stevens Ave., Elkhart,
IN 46516, is a student
at Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries.
A peace comforter arrives at School #157. The address is International Friendship Club, 1,
Proletarskaya Diktatura Ulitsa, Leningrad, USSR.
Excerpts of translated letters from the Soviet Union
Your work deserves thanks and respect. Even though the distance between us is
great, I shake your motherly, honest hand and send in my letter greetings from
all mothers and fathers from the land of Tambov. Kolmakova Lubov
Don't have any doubts; everyone in the Soviet Union is for peace and friendship
with the American people. Thank you for your bravery in the name of happiness
for all people. Mirny Gregory, Stavropol, (a journalist who participated in World
War II)
I give a big thank you to your peace-loving idea. I am a student of the second
course at the Medical Institute of Sverdlovsk. Tanja Lenchevskaja
I am thankful that you understand that the Russians are the same people as you
are, only we speak a different language. Thank you for your sober understand-
ing and good heart. Ann Naumova, Krasnodar
Thanks to you and your children. I am 13, but I do understand what war means.
I don't want war, because in a war people would perish. We have bazaars of
solidarity and the money from the bazaar we send to the Peace Funds. We par-
ticipate in different pioneer actions: "Amigo," "Companiero," "I Vote for Peace"
and so on. Yanna Movgan, 6th grade student, Nikovaev
We sincerely wish to receive from America many accomplishments, but not by
war, rather by the way of honest partnership. Do send your children to us, and
they will understand the Soviet children, and together they will start building a
house where all children will live together. Vladimir Jacenko, Tallin
We have to stretch the paths of peace and friendship between our people,
between our families. Friends never wish bad things to their friends. Olga
Tomina, Sverdlovsk, Ural Mountains
You started a business of big importance. You are a mother, one who can under-
stand. We can understand you. If all the mothers of the world hold their hands
together, death will step back. Anatoly Vachrushev, Irkutsk, Siberia
THE MENNONITE 319
PERSONAL
Notes from an Ontario jail
Lorraine Snyder
Lorraine Snyder, 94 Duchess Ave.,
Kitchener, ON N2M 2K3, was arrested
and charged with mischief after she
blocked the entrance of the Canadian
National Defense Building. During her
six-hour prison stay she spent her time on
a cement floor under a bunk bed because
there was no other space. Lorraine and
her husband, Fred, both retired, are
members of the Olive Branch Mennonite
Church in Waterloo, Ont., and partici-
pate in house churches of the area.
Are you a nun?" asked the police
officer in a corridor of the Ottawa
city jail as I waited my turn to be
fingerprinted and photographed. The
gray wool dress I had deliberately chosen
to wear that day contrasted sharply with
the attire of most of my jailed compan-
ions. Regrettably, many people with
On the line: Lorraine Snyder (right) and
Elizabeth Penashue, a member of the Innu
nation threatened by military flights
authority do not respect young protest-
ers, especially if they are dressed for the
discomforts of prison. My clothing and
my white hair had conveyed a message to
my guard and, I hope, to the public.
I had joined a group of 30 young people
from Waterloo in a non-violent protest
outside the Department of National
Defense in our nation's capital, Ottawa,
in November 1989. This event, spon-
sored by the Alliance for Non- Violent
Action in Toronto, drew over 200 people
(120 were arrested) from across Eastern
Canada to focus attention on the plight
of the Innu, the Native people of North-
ern Canada. For the past 9,000 years
the Innu have lived in parts of Labrador
and Quebec. I had been
drawn to this event because of
Innu friends who described
for me the crisis in their
community.
A Tactical Fighter and
Weapons Training Center
was being planned for the
region in which they live. It
would serve North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO)
countries. Military planes
from West Germany, the
Netherlands, Britain and the
United States were already
flying 100 feet above the
ground at supersonic speeds.
Some of this flight training
had already begun at Goose
Bay. If the NATO base were
established, there would be
40,000 flights per year, de-
molishing the life of the
10,000 Innu who live in the
area. To fight this plan the
Innu asked for support from
non-Native Canadians.
As a member of the Ontario
chapter of Christian Peace-
maker Teams I welcomed the
opportunity to put my body on
the line for a cause I believe
in. Being held in a crowded
cell for six hours was not a
traumatic experience, but it
gave me a slight taste of what
Christian peacemaking might
involve, and it certainly
heightened my respect for
friends who have served
long terms as prisoners of
conscience.
Epilogue: Although plans to
build the NATO base have
been scrapped, the situation
has not changed. The low-
level flights continue. The
Innu continue to suffer.
Lorraine's (and others')
trial is scheduled for this
September.
Prayer to the
Peace Keeper
Claude Boyer
"You will keep in perfect peace, those
whose trust and mind are in You"
(Isaiah 26:3)
Lord of keeping:
Not of hoarding
Nor of hiding
But of providing
For my "abiding."
Lord of peace:
Not only of "keeping"
But also of "making"
For patterns of living
And of serving.
Lord of peacemaking:
Help my mind in thinking
Let my spirit be trusting
Let my life be living
A witness to your keeping.
Lord of oneness:
creator of unity
molder of diversity
forgive our separation
that results in alienation.
Lord of unity:
I give myself to thee, and
to my sister
to my brother
In you, we love each other. Amen.
Claude Boyer is pastor at Grace Mennonite
Church, Box 387, Pandora, OH 45877.
320 JULY 24, 1990
TOqEThER
How to practice peace church evangelism
Marilyn Miller
After 400 years of misrepresenta-
tion, Anabaptist thought is not
only getting a new hearing but
also winning converts," writes Charles
Scriven in Christianity Today (March 5).
One of the reasons Scriven gives for this
new interest in Anabaptist thought is
that "...the horror of nuclear war has
heightened people's sense of moral
urgency and has focused attention on
peacemaking and non-violence — two
central Anabaptist themes."
Many people in our world today would
like to belong to a community that gives
them spiritual backing and personal
support for being peacemakers.
However, many do not know about the
peace emphasis that has historically
been a part of the Mennonite community.
Others know that Mennonite congrega-
tions are peace oriented, but they do not
know they are welcome there.
The time is ripe for Mennonite congre-
gations to let people who are searching
for peace know that they are welcome
and that we want to share with them the
ways of peace we see in the life of Jesus.
Following are a few suggestions for
practicing peace church evangelism:
1. Develop a peace library in your
church. Put a paragraph in your local
newspaper saying that your church will
loan books to the public. This is a good
way to welcome peace-oriented people to
your church and to encourage dialogue.
2. Attend peace activities in your
community. Learn to know the active
peace people and invite the unchurched
to attend your church services.
3. Plan a community peace event at
your church. Each year Boulder (Colo.)
Mennonite Church invites various com-
munity organizations to sponsor a peace
institute in its building. This event has
resulted in a good number of people
linking up with the church. A brochure
describing this annual event may be
obtained from Boulder Peace Institute,
1520 Euclid Ave., Boulder, CO 80302.
4. Order the pamphlet "Questions
About Peace" and give a copy to inquir-
ing people. These conversation starters
will pave the way for dialogue about how
faith and peace go together. The pam-
phlet comes with excellent suggestions
on how to use it effectively. The pam-
phlet may be ordered from Faith and
Life Bookstore, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114, (316) 283-2210.
In a recent visit with a military career
man who had been converted to pacifism
through a non-denominational church, I
was asked, "Where are you Mennonites?
With your strong history of peacemaking,
shouldn't you be leaders in peace
evangelism?"
Those are important questions facing
Mennonites today. How will yow and
your church respond?
Marilyn Miller is
secretary for evangel-
ism and church
development for the
Commission on Home
Ministries of the
General Conference
Mennonite Church.
Fresno church reaches out to the Hmong
Five years ago, Mennonite Commu-
nity Church, Fresno, Calif, where
James Wenger is a pastor, first had
contact with some of the 27,000 Hmong
people in Fresno. The church's initial
contact was with Hmong children who
were attending its boys and girls clubs.
"Soon the parents of the children
were asking me to help them with their
landlord problems and other advocacy
issues," says Wenger. Realizing he
could not handle their
requests alone, Wenger
asked church members for
advice. They agreed to ask
Mennonite Voluntary
Service to send a volunteer
to help work with the
Hmong.
The church also agreed to
start an English language
program for the Hmong.
"The Hmong are largely
illiterate. They move into
metropolitan areas with no
marketable job skills. As a
result, more than 50 percent
of their population in
Fresno receives public assis-
tance. We decided that teaching them
English would be one of the best things
we could do," says Wenger.
Today the English language program
at Mennonite Community Church
instructs 100 Hmong students per day
every Monday through Friday. The
teachers are paid by the school district,
since the program is officially approved
to teach English.
The Hmong are known as hard-
working, independent people. In
southeast Asia they practiced a simple
form of agriculture. The church has
seven garden plots available for
Hmong families to use.
"Their situation here is so different.
They are in an urban setting for the
first time. It has a tremendous impact
on their world view. They are open
and interested in Christianity," says
Wenger.
"In working with the Hmong, I've
Kindness and love: A student in Mennonite Community
Church's English program learns about measurements.
learned the importance of treating
people with kindness and love. ...That's
going to get more response than
theological discourse," says Wenger.
The congregation was instrumental
in sending Shoua Moua to Hesston
(Kan.) College's pastoral ministry
course the past two years. Moua is
now back to begin a Hmong Mennonite
Church in Fresno. Carla Reimer,
former news service editor for the
General Conference Mennonite Church
THE MENNONITE 321
Pontius' Puddle
EVEN THOO&tA TENSION BETWEEN
EAST AnIO VJEST ARE WE HOST
CONTINUE OOR (AlHTARY SoiLDOP TO
GrO&RD AGAINST A MEVJ ENEMV WE
MOW RAVEV.REASOKTO FEkR.
THE BILLIONS OF PEOPLE"
WORLDWIDE UOMG-ER
AMD POOR HE<U C.OOLD
WAVE BEEM PREVENTED
WAD WE NOT WASTED
RESOURCES WITH A
MILITARY BOILDOP iM
THE FIRST PLACE
NEWS
Hearing about the durable Anabaptist vision
NDC asks, What is recyclable?
Freeman, S.D. — The theme,
"Christ — the Anabaptist Vision,"
and speeches reminded
Northern District Conference
delegates of their heritage. But
a china mug, Styrofoam cups,
a toy train and the Cheyenne
peace pipe were the potent
symbols of the June 14-17
annual sessions hosted by the
Salem-Zion Mennonite Church
here.
Just as the peace pipe spoke
of relationships, so Dale
Schrag, Bethel College
librarian, North Newton, Kan.,
challenged the audience to use
the stories of Michael Sattler,
Hans Denk and Pilgram Mar-
peck carefully. Mennonites
who do not understand their
history either bend to every
trend or refuse to listen to any
new ideas.
If Mennonites are to recover
the evangelistic zeal of the
16th-century Anabaptists,
Schrag said, they need to be
thoroughly rooted in this history
and examine it honestly. To
hear those early leaders is to
understand that they followed
Jesus the Lord, not merely a
fine example of a human being.
Schrag said that the more he
learns about the 16th century
the more he respects other
traditions. "The more grounded
we are, the less judgmental we
are," he said.
Norma Johnson, Newton,
Kan., executive secretary of the
Commission on Education of
the General Conference
Mennonite Church, addressed
Mennonite Men and Women in
Mission. She also called for
right remembering. She used
slides of Anabaptist women to
invite the audience to reflec-
tion, repentance, rejoicing and
to a readiness to tell our story.
Michael Bogard, who has
resigned, was presented with a
mug in recognition of his work
in youth ministry and the years
he served at Swan Lake Camp
and as interim pastor in two of
the district churches.
The senior high campers at
Swan Lake [the district camp]
came to the opening session
on Thursday night. Abe
Bergen, [COE secretary for
youth education, Winnipeg] and
Jude and Doug Krehbiel [Road
Less Travelled singing group]
were resource leaders for the
week as well as participants at
the conference.
Alberto Quintela, St. Paul,
Minn., reported that he will end
his participation in the Many
Peoples program in January.
He emphasized the importance
of continuing to find ways to
share power and to nurture the
leadership skills of those now
deemed "minorities." Express-
ing appreciation for those who
had been generous to him
during the last years, he
presented Elmer Wall, presi-
dent of the district, a toy train.
Wall, who was ill for most of the
sessions, had shared his hobby
with Quintela.
The resolution from the
peace and social concerns
committee generating the most
discussion called for the use of
paper rather than Styrofoam at
all church functions and the
purchase of beverages in
recyclable containers. John
Tiessen of St. Paul, presented
a paper pointing out that
residual dioxins in paper
present a health problem.
Myron Schrag said the law in
Minnesota does not allow them
to use paper when they are
serving the public. The
audience laughed and ap-
plauded when Mike Bogard
revealed, "I wash dishes
sometimes and I would be glad
to do so at church functions if
time and efficiency is the
problem."
The committee acknowl-
edged that discussion on
Styrofoam vs. paper is in a
state of flux. Consequently
delegates tabled the resolution
for further study.
The committee also inaugu-
rated a Shalom Reading
Program for children 9-12.
Children will be encouraged to
read 1 2 books about peace-
makers; those who read all 12
will receive a book of their
choice.
The home missions commit-
tee asked that Associated
Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart,
Ind., create a curriculum
specifically designed for church
planters. Helen Quintela spoke
of beginning congregations
being "embattled saints."
Some delegates thought all
ministers need the training the
resolution specified, but others
did not want to "water down"
the need for church planters to
be specially trained.
Delegates approved the
proposed budget of $182,937.
First Mennonite Church of
Mountain Lake, Minn., will host
next year's sessions. Lois
Janzen Preheim
'The more grounded we
are in our history the
less judgmental we are."
Dale Sch rag
322 JULY 24, 1990
Approximately 400 people attended the
April 15 dedication service in Taichung,
Taiwan, for a $1 million building owned by
the Hsi Tun Mennonite Church. Fifty
percent of the cost of the building was
received through church offerings. The
other half was paid for with loans. The
second and third floors of the seven-story
building are used as the church's sanctu-
ary. The fourth floor is for housing pastoral
staff. The top two stories are rented to 30
college students, and the church rents the
first floor to a business.
"This was a missionary trip," said Herb
Minnich, pastor at Inter-Mennonite Fellow-
ship, Hesston, Kan., of his April trip to
Russia and Romania. Sponsored by
Eastern European Outreach, the tour group
Minnich traveled with covered 3,000 miles
in 12, 18-hour days. One of the group's
tour guides, after translating a sermonette
at an evangelistic service, looked shaken,
Minnich said. The woman beside her
asked if she would like to accept Jesus
Christ into her life, and prayed with her.
The next morning the tour guide addressed
the group. "Brothers and sisters, you have
touched my life in a way I have never
experienced. Christ is risen."
South Calgary Inter-Mennonite Church
confirmed triple affiliation on May 6. The
church began in 1976 as a Mennonite
Brethren congregation that desired a more
informal style of worship and a less leader-
centered method of church organization. It
was accepted as a member of Northwest
Conference (Mennonite Church) in 1989
and of the Conference of Mennonites in
Alberta (General Conference Mennonite
Church) in February.
NEWS
Stop violence against
Brazil's street children,
says community
Brazilian Mennonites
dedicate new offices
Akron, Pa. (MCC)— This spring
members and friends of the
Community of Small Prophets
in Recife, northeast Brazil,
formally denounced violence
against the estimated 7 to 12
million of Brazil's children who
live in the streets.
The Community of Small
Prophets attempts to address
Mark Miller with children at the Com
nity of Small Prophets in Recife
the needs of some of Recife's
16,000 street children by
providing a safe, loving home
and educating the community
about its responsibility for the
children, reports Mark Miller, a
Mennonite Central Committee
worker from Circle Pines,
Minn., who works part time
with the community there.
"Violence is a daily reality for
these children," says Miller, a
member of Faith Mennonite
Church in Minneapolis.
"Children are murdered daily,"
he says. "Many are victims of
'death squads' in a vengeful
society."
Motivation for the attacks is
uncertain, according to
Miller. Some speculate
that the children are seen
as a menace to society
and as useless vaga-
bonds who sometimes
steal.
Miller was part of the
spring meeting to de-
nounce recent attacks on
children. The meeting
came after March and
April incidents in which a
home for abandoned
t boys was broken into and
ransacked. Threatening
phone calls came later,
including death threats
against Demetrius
Demetrio, Community of
|f| Small Prophets founder.
nu_ "Demetrio's prophetic
nature has earned him
enemies," Miller reports.
"We believe someone wants
the work to be shut down, and
getting to Demetrio would be a
way to do that."
Sixty-three supporters of the
community, representing local
and international groups,
signed a document denouncing
the violence, Miller reports.
Campinas, Brazil (MBM/
GCMC)— The Association of
Evangelical Mennonite
Churches (AEM) in Brazil,
known as the Brazil Mennonite
Church, has completed its new
office headquarters here.
Over 100 participants from
across Brazil attended a
dedication ceremony and
reception. They represented
the Mennonite congregations
as well as other evangelical
churches.
The ceremony included
music by the Vila Guarani
Mennonite Church of Sao
Paulo and a message by Joao
Fernando de Andrade. Pastor
Joao spoke of the significance
of being people with vision and
encouraged a continued spirit
of giving to God's work through
the Brazilian church. Current
AEM president Hans G. Peters
gave the prayer of dedication
and cut the ceremonial ribbon.
Groundbreaking for the
building was in November 1988
under the direction of David
Gary Loewen (worker at the
time with the Commission on
Overseas Mission) and Gerald
Kaczor (former Mennonite
Board of Missions worker).
The primary inspiration came
from AEM's need for a central
location for its leadership
training program, CEMTE.
CEMTE (Mennonite Theo-
logical Center) began in 1984,
led first by Robert Gerber
(MBM worker at the time) and
later by Loewen. It functions
as an extension program, with
teaching handled primarily
through regional seminars and
independent study. Approxi-
mately 160 students and 15
teachers are involved with
CEMTE. The new building
provides a center to coordinate
the CEMTE program, housing
its library and the office and
residence of the director.
Current CEMTE director
Teodoro Penner explains that
this concentration of academic
materials is also intended to
function as an Anabaptist
resource center for the 30
churches in AEM plus other
churches and seminaries. The
center is to encourage further
study and understanding of the
distinctives of the Anabaptist
tradition and the ways those
beliefs are at work in Brazilian
evangelical churches.
The new building also holds
offices of the AEM executive
secretary and treasurer,
publishing activities of the
conference, and room for
storing published materials.
The building, costing
approximately $40,000, was
financed in large part by
matching $20,000 donations
from COM (General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church) and
MBM (Mennonite Church).
MBM's portion came from
Mennonites in Japan. Mem-
bers of the Brazilian churches
and 27 volunteers from the
United States and Canada
provided on-site labor. Laura
Schmidt, MBM mission intern in
Brazil
THE MENNONITE 323
British Columbia's first family and child
services unit for Native people has opened
in a Vancouver storefront office. The unit is
the latest development in the provincial
government's commitment to return control
of Indian children to Indian communities,
said Social Services Minister Peter Dueck.
Crime victims seek fairness, not revenge,
suggests a recent study by Mark S.
Umbreit of the University of Minnesota.
The study, which compared burglary
victims in Minneapolis who went through a
Victim Offender Reconciliation Program
with those who did not, was published in
Federal Probation, a national professional
journal sponsored by the U.S. government.
Umbreit's study disputes conventional
wisdom that contends victims are vindictive
and want to see offenders punished. Most
victims want to know that something will
happen to help offenders turn their lives
around, and they want to see offenders
made accountable for their actions, says
Umbreit.
"Shedding Light on Darkness: a Men-
nonite and Brethren in Christ response to
violence and sexual abuse in the family," a
conference for lay people, caregivers,
pastors and professionals, will be held Nov.
2-3 at the Upland (Calif.) Brethren in Christ
Church. Cost is $45, which includes
registration and two meals. For more
information contact West Coast MCC, 1010
G St., Reedley, CA 93654, (209) 638-691 1 ,
or MCC Domestic Violence Task Force,
Box 1292, Winkler, MB R6W 4B3, (204)
325-7514.
NEWS
Pastorate Project
'consultant-leaders'
meet for workshop
Elkhart, Ind. — The 10 "consult-
ant-leaders" for the Pastorate
Project met for the first time
here in May. Other participants
in the workshop included
project director Albert J. Meyer,
assistant director David L.
Sutter and resource person H.
Barry Evans, president of The
Grubb Institute USA.
The Pastorate Project of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church (GC) and the Menno-
nite Church (MC) is a three-
year joint project administered
for the two denominations by
the Mennonite Board of
Education. Its goals include
helping pastors and congrega-
tional leaders clarify their roles
and functions, improving the
process of congregational
discernment in pastor-congre-
gation relationships, and
strengthening conference
supervision and support of
pastors and congregations.
Fourteen pilot congregations
have been selected for
participation in the project, and
two more are considering
invitations to join. Consultant-
leaders have made initial visits
to eight of the congregations.
The congregations selected
came from a list of 70 recom-
mended by their conference
ministers in the United States
and Canada. They include
some that have shown interest
and have been affirmed by
their conference ministers.
The pilot congregations are
characterized by healthy
pastor-congregation relation-
ships, a willingness to work at
systemic change and a desire
to contribute to new learning
and directions for pastor-
congregation relationships
churchwide.
In the first phase of the
project (now completed) the
steering committee worked with
"leader-writers" Ardean
Goertzen and Duane Beck to
identify problems and possible
solutions. Now, in the second
phase, the 10 consultant-
leaders are working with 16
pilot congregations over an 18-
month period to test the ideas
developed in the first phase.
"We now have an excellent
corps of people committed to
the goals of the project," said
Albert Meyer.
The consultant-leader group
includes the following:
• Owen Burkholder, Harri-
sonburg, Va., originally from
Alberta and now pastor at
Parkview Mennonite Church,
Harrisonburg, and chair of the
Virginia Mennonite Conference
Council of Faith and Life (MC);
• James Gingerich , Moun-
dridge, Kan., pastor at First
Mennonite Church, affiliated
with the Western District (GC),
and recent member and vice
president of the GC General
Board;
•David L. Gustafson,
Langley, B.C., consultant to
congregations and workshop
Consultant-leaders and staff for the Pastorate Project: (front row)
David L. Suter, Albert J. Meyer, H. Barry Evans, (middle row) Marvin
Zehr, Larry Kehler, James C. Longacre, Dale Stoltzfus, Marlene
Kropf, (back row) Herbert Schultz, David L. Gustafson, James
Gingerich, Owen Burkholder, James H. Waltner.
leader in British Columbia and
earlier pastor of the Langley
Mennonite Fellowship;
• Larry Kehler, Winnipeg,
former pastor of the Charles-
wood Mennonite Church in
Winnipeg and currently general
secretary of the General Board
of the Conference of Menno-
nites in Canada (GC);
• Marlene Kropf, Elkhart,
Ind., staff person and workshop
leader with the Mennonite
Board of Congregational
Ministries and interim faculty
member at the Associated
Mennonite Biblical Seminaries;
• James C. Longacre, Barto,
Pa., conference coordinator for
the Franconia Conference
(MC), earlier pastor of the Bally
Mennonite Church;
• Herbert Schultz, Cam-
bridge, Ont., conference
minister for the Mennonite
Conference of Eastern Canada,
earlier pastor of the Poole and
Wanner Mennonite churches;
• Dale Stoltzfus, New Paris,
Pa., conference minister for
Allegheny Conference (MC),
earlier pastor of congregations
in New York City and Pennsyl-
vania and member of the
Mennonite Church Comprehen-
sive Leadership Development
Strategy Group;
• James H. Waltner, Goshen
Ind., lead minister of the
Goshen College Mennonite
Church, affiliated with the
Indiana-Michigan Conference
(MC), and earlier pastor of
congregations in Kansas,
California and Illinois and chair
of the Mennonite Biblical
Seminary board;
• Marvin Zehr, Wichita, Kan.,
pastor at Hope Mennonite
Church, Wichita, and recent
president of the Western
District (GC). David Sutter
324 JULY 24, 1990
Barbara Reber, executive
director for the Inter-Men-
nonite Council on Aging,
held workshops in Ontario
this spring. Events were
often family affairs,
involving young and old.
Gerhard Thiessen, lay
- minister and chaplain of
the Vineland Home for the Aged, organized
the workshops.
The Pembina Times, a regional weekly
newspaper in southern Manitoba, distrib-
uted its first issue with the Mennonite
column "Another Way" on April 30. "An-
other Way" is a motivating and inspiring
column with practical applications of
Christian truths written by Melodie Davis of
Mennonite Board of Missions Media
Ministries. A number of newspapers in
southern Manitoba recently decided to
sponsor the column's message to their
area. Chris Arnie, senior pastor at Grace
Mennonite Church, Winkler, Man., said,
"We got excited about outreach through the
local paper."
The Newton Region Mennonite and
Brethren Marriage Encounter turned over
program leadership to its six areas at the
end of May. The Newton (Kan.) Region
helped develop and guide the Marriage
Encounter in the six areas: eastern,
northwestern, midwestern and north central
United States, and eastern and western
Canada. The Newton Region served 2,969
couples since it began in 1979.
NEWS
Publishers
want Rejoice!
to grow
Hillsboro, Kan. — The publishers
of Rejoice! are looking for ways
to strengthen the devotional
ministry of the quarterly
devotional guide sponsored
jointly by the General Confer-
ence Menno-
nite Church,
the Mennonite
Church and
the Mennonite
Brethren
Church.
Rejoice! has a
y y circulation of
^■^Mpc^^ approximately
W » 17,000, with a
^^J^, possible
readership of
40,000 to 50,000. In Septem-
ber 1987 it changed from a
two-level format for younger
readers and older readers to a
single-level format suitable for
all ages.
The Uniform Series Scripture
outlines are the Scripture basis
for Rejoice! Each denomina-
tion provides its own prayer
reminders. The publishers rec-
ommended a more aggressive
promotion program.
The newly appointed editor is
Katie Funk Wiebe, Hillsboro,
Kan. Associate editors are
Marjorie Waybill, Scottdale,
Pa., for the Mennonite Church,
Mary Lou Cummings, Quaker-
town, Pa., for the General
Conference Mennonite Church,
and Malinda Nikkei, Newton,
Kan., for the Mennonite
Brethren Church.
Mennonites speak up
for Middle East peace
On May 14 and 15, three
Mennonites from Ohio and
Kansas went to Washington to
talk to members of the U.S.
Congress about peace in the
Middle East.
Marion Stroud and Jim Mohr,
First Mennonite Church,
joined more than 100 other
church leaders from 22 states
in visiting their senators and
representatives and meeting
with other key legislators on
Middle East Affairs.
The advocacy event was
planned by Churches for
From left: Marion Stroud (Wadsworth, Ohio), Hilda Nikkei (MCC
volunteer, Steinbach, Man.), Delton Franz (director, MCC Washing-
ton office), Greg Goering (MCC volunteer, Hillsboro, Kan.), Jim Mohr,
Patricia Shelly
Wadsworth, Ohio, and Patricia
Shelly, Bethel College Church,
North Newton, Kan., have all
made recent trips to the Middle
East. They have discussed the
conflict with Mennonite Central
Committee workers in the
region and with Israelis and
Palestinians. In May they
Middle East Peace. Mennonite
Central Committee is part of
this Washington-based
coalition of more than a dozen
Protestant and Catholic organ-
izations who maintain offices in
Washington. MCC participation
is coordinated through their
Washington office.
Churches for Middle East
Peace (C-MEP) actively
supports resolving the prob-
lems in the Middle East in ways
that assure security and justice
for all peoples and countries in
the region, increased emphasis
on human rights standards for
the Middle East, arms reduc-
tions throughout the region.
These Washington Advocacy
Days were the first such event
the C-MEP has sponsored.
Patricia Shelly
People with
disabilities hold
international
retreat
Akron, Pa. (MCC)— Members
of "Faith and Light," a group of
people from Harleysville, Pa.,
who have developmental
disabilities, their families and
friends are among the mem-
bers who traveled to Winnipeg,
July 21 - 23 for the first interna-
tional Mennonite retreat on
disability.
Mennonite Central Commit-
tee helped plan the retreat.
"Celebrating Differences," held
prior to Mennonite World
Conference. MCC also
provided travel stipends for
disabled delegates and their
attendants from developing
countries.
"For many international
visitors and North Americans
the trip is their first opportunity
to attend a meeting on spiritual-
ity, disability issues and the
church," says Henry Enns,
MCC disabilities coordinator.
THE MENNONITE 325
Nepal's king granted amnesty to all
religious prisoners June 12 and gave
instructions for dismissal of all cases
against people awaiting trial for religious
activities, according to Edgar Metzler,
executive director of United Mission to
Nepal. Nepal's constitution allows religious
freedom but forbids conversion from one
faith to another. The amnesty primarily
affects Christians who were jailed for
religious activities in the country.
Larry Graham of the llliff School of
Theology in Denver has been involved with
Arvada (Colo.) Mennonite Church to help
the congregation recover from its recent
experience of a pastor's crossing "the
boundaries of professionalism" into
"personal gratification." Graham, who has
received a Lilly Grant to study congrega-
tional response to pastoral abuse, is giving
his final report to the congregation in July.
It will then consider how it wants to act on
these findings and recommendations. The
congregation is also asking, Should the
larger conferences play a larger role in
crisis situations like this?
About 90 percent of the male-oriented
usages in the Bible would be eliminated if
translations adhered to the meaning in the
original manuscripts, says Joseph Arackal,
a Roman Catholic priest whose doctoral
studies were on original biblical texts.
Although the Hebrew word translated as
"man" often meant simply "human being,"
Arackal says, "English couldn't duplicate
that, so translators just went with 'man.'
When you compare it with the original,
most places where 'man' is used now can
be changed to 'human being.'"
NEWS
AMBS graduates 41 people
Elkhart, Ind. (AMBS)— As
recipients of the gift of hope,
"your life has been prepared to
know true priorities," Henry
Poettcker told the 41 graduates
of Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart,
Ind., in the commencement
service at College Mennonite
Church, Goshen, Ind., June 1 .
"You and I will see demon-
strated again and again what
hope means as we observe
how others live not under but
above the circumstances," he
said. The graduating class
chose Poettcker as commence-
ment speaker on his retirement
from 12 years as president of
Mennonite Biblical Seminary.
Poettcker said hope "is a gift
from God. In that sense it is
not from within us, as if we
were the source of it." He
added, "Hope is in Christ.
What in the Old Testament was
veiled, in the New Testament is
unveiled." A third characteristic
of hope, he said, "is that its
object is future, yet we already
have it."
Thirty-one candidates were
awarded the Master of Divinity
degree, a three-year program
designed to equip them for
such church ministries as
pastoring, teaching, counsel-
ing, evangelism and missions.
Seven candidates completed
the Master of Arts in Theologi-
cal Studies degree, a two-year
program to supplement other
professional training or to
strengthen participation in the
life and mission of the church.
One candidate completed
the two-year Master of Arts in
Peace Studies degree, a
program intended to deepen
the understanding of and
commitment to the biblical
vision of peace and justice and
dean Jacob Elias said that
most of the 24 men and seven
women graduating with the
M.Div. degree will be entering
pastoral ministry, with others
planning further study, church
planting, churchwide and
C.Th. recipient will continue in
business marketing and the
other will assume a team
pastoral ministry.
Poettcker and Marlin Miller,
president of Goshen Biblical
Seminary, conferred the
The 1990 graduating class includes (top left) David Rogalsky, Edward (Ike) Porter, Brenda Glanzer,
Timothy Weaver, Terry Shue, Jacob Tijerina, Gerald Schlabach, Richard Lougheed, (third row) Mathew
Swora, Mark Schlotterbeck, Ingrid Loepp Bev Suderman, Gordon Myers, Merritt Welty, Clair Hochstetler,
(second row) Ken Johnson Shenk, Daniel Foley, Denny Speas, Duncan Smith, Toshiro Tsubota, Gwen
Gustafson-Zook, Rodney Hollinger-Janzen, Karl Koop, Obed G.K. Dashan, (front row) Ruth Yoder, Gay
Kauffman, Pamela Tolmay, Lauren Martin, Tracey AugsWerner, Erica Thiessen, Jonathan Neufeld,
Doreen (Dueck) Neufeld, Hugo Neufeld. Not pictured: Lois Edmund, Winnipeg; John Hiebert, Delta,
B.C.; Randy Smith, Fort Worth, Texas; Stanley Shantz, Glendale, Ariz.
its embodiment in the world.
Two graduated with a Certifi-
cate in Theology, a two-year
curriculum for mature people
without a college degree.
In presenting the graduates,
conference ministries and
overseas mission.
The M.A. graduates will be
involved in reconciliation
counseling, college teaching
and graduate studies. One
degrees, assisted by Ruth Ann
Gardner, registrar. Poettcker
retired effective June 30, and
Miller became the first joint
president of the two schools on
July 1 . John M. Bender
326 JULY 24, 1990
John Howard Yoder, profes
sor of theology at the Univer-
sity of Notre Dame, South
Bend, Ind., will preach at a
special ecumenical Family
Peace Rally and worship
service focusing on a Christian
response to nuclear arms. His
sermon, "A Choice of Gods," is
planned for Sunday, Aug. 5, at Elmhurst (III.)
Presbyterian Church, following a potluck. The
Family Peace Rally is held on the first Sunday
of every August by Friends for Peace, an inter-
denominational network of 45 churches in the
western suburbs of Chicago.
3
The First Deaf Mennonite Church,
Lancaster, Pa., has established a fund
available for any deaf or hearing person
who is preparing to attend a seminary or
similar program for the purpose of becoming
a pastor or being involved in a deaf Anabap-
tist church or related ministry. Scholarship
recipients will be chosen based on their
interest in deaf pastoral ministry, leadership
or overseas ministry with deaf people;
evidence of financial need; their commit-
ment to ministry in an Anabaptist deaf
congregation and their current membership
in an Anabaptist congregation. Contribu-
tions may be sent to the treasurer of First
Deaf Mennonite Church, 2270 Old Philadel-
phia Pike, Lancaster, PA 17602.
Nine Goshen (Ind.) College
students who became ill in April
1989 with hepatitis A donated blood a
year later for medical research.
University of Notre Dame scientist
Elliot Rosen contacted campus
physician Willard Krabill about using
the students' blood for research. The
samples are helpful, said Rosen,
because the students' immune
systems successfully fought off the
disease.
NEWS COMMENTARY
Where is the alternative to armed struggle?
Ted Koontz
Problems in Burma have been
escalating since 1988, when
the Burmese army brutally
broke up a nationwide strike
and massive pro-democracy
demonstrations, killing thou-
sands of protesters (some
estimates are as high as
8,000). Between 5,000 and
10,000 people fled to border
areas to join forces with ethnic
insurgents who have been
waging wars of independence
against the military government
of Burma for more than 20
years.
I visited that border area. All
the time I was at the hot,
ramshackle camp, my mind
kept flashing back to two
images from my liberal arts
education. One was of Don
Quixote, the hopelessly
idealistic knight created by the
writer Cervantes. The other
was of the Children's Crusade.
The camp I visited was
"home" to 600 students who
had fled from Rangoon and
other sites after the military
repressed their demonstrations
for democracy in the spring,
summer and fall of 1988.
Buildings were mostly make-
shift bamboo structures, with
no sides and with roofs made
of thin blue plastic sheets, often
ripped. Even in the dry season
they were dangerously cold at
night.
More nightmarish than the
setting, however, were the
students. Ages 13-18, they
were out of place in the jungle.
They were city kids and
belonged in school.
Our translators were English
literature majors, more at home
discussing T.S. Eliot than
waging a revolution. Others
were medical students,
historians, biologists. Their
food was often inadequate.
Their blue roofs targeted them
for bombardment by the
Burmese Air Force. They were
subject to manipulation by
outside groups, on whom they
had to rely for survival.
Many were sick. Infirmaries,
one for males and one for
females, were staffed by
veterinarians and students with
a year or two of medical
training. Most patients had
stomach disorders and a
serious type of malaria that is
resistant to most anti-malarial
medicines.
None knew what they were
getting into when they came
here. They expected their stay
to be short. They had come to
escape the murder they had
seen wreaked upon their
friends. Their intent was to
overthrow the military dictator-
ship and build a new demo-
cratic Burma. As they told their
stories, their hardness made
them seem much older.
A Mennonite friend who visits
them regularly asked what he
could do for them when he
came again. After a long
silence a girl sick with malaria,
who looked no more than 15,
said, "Bring me an M-16 rifle."
He shrugged and laughed.
They knew he would not
provide arms.
When they spoke and cried
about the horrors they had
seen, they were school kids.
But when they put on their
uniforms, marched in units and
responded to orders, they were
revolutionaries.
We sat in a small snack shop
having soft drinks, while the
main military strategist in the
camp described his plan to
build a hang glider. He will, he
says, jump off a cliff and sail
over the Burmese military,
raining hand grenades on
them. Others laughed, helping
me keep my grip on reality, but
he was deadly serious.
We saw fewer than two
dozen weapons in camp. In a
few weeks the first group of
200 was to have completed
their military training and leave
to re-enter the main part of
Burma to overthrow the
government on the assumption
that the population wouls rise
up and support them.
I wonder why they think they
can survive in armed groups of
1 0 or so, when the military has
captured and killed a number of
their unarmed friends. Sad-
ness overwhelmed me: chil-
dren walking to the slaughter.
One morning I was asked to
speak to the students. I agreed
with the justice of their cause,
but I hate war. I thought they
were wrong morally and
strategically in undertaking a
guerrilla war. I feared that most
of them would die senselessly.
I searched for words.
I worry about the nightmare
that is bigger than that camp
and those student-soldiers.
The nightmare is regimes that
push students to make the
choices and face dangers. The
nightmare is a world that does
so little to force such regimes to
treat their citizens humanely.
The nightmare is those of us
who believe in, long for and
work for peace but who have
so little to offer to those
student-soldiers who desper-
ately seek an alternative to
armed struggle but see none.
Perhaps the nightmare does
not need to be. But to stop it,
we who have more options
than those students on the
border must rouse ourselves
and help create alternatives to
a slaughter already under way,
and to a bigger slaughter in the
making.
Ted Koontz worked for Menno-
nite Central Committee in the
Philippines 1987-1989.
THE MENNONITE 327
Honduran Mennonites have been
criticized as being "communist" because of
their peace and justice program, writes
Isaias Flores, pastor and president of the
Honduras Mennonite Church and a
member of the International Mennonite
Peace Committee. The Honduran govern-
ment has been upset by the church's work
with Salvadoran refugees. The church is
also forming a proposal for an alternative
service program, writes Flores.
The Immigration Reform and Control Act
of 1986, proclaimed as the instrument
through which the United States would at
last regain control of its southern border,
has failed, says Stephen G. Cary, chairper-
son of American Friends Service Commit-
tee. The General Accounting Office reports
that 19 percent of U.S. employers, repre-
senting nearly 900,000 enterprises, have
adopted discriminatory hiring policies as a
direct result of IRCA's employer sanctions.
Cary calls for supporting peace initiatives,
democracy and economic recovery in
Central America, easing Third World debt
burdens and addressing exploitation in the
U.S. labor market.
Eight national religious leaders recently
signed an appeal to the U.S. Congress to
raise the federal tax on alcoholic bever-
ages. The tax was set in 1951 . The move
would cut alcohol consumption and reduce
the federal budget deficit, the appeal said.
The signers represented the Southern
Baptist Christian Life Commission, the
National Association of Evangelicals,
Evangelicals for Social Action, the National
Council of Churches, the United Methodist
Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints and the Presbyterian
Church (USA).
RECORu
WORliERS
H. Dirks
Ediger
Henry and Tina Dirks, Bethany
Church, Virgil, Ont., began a
three-month NAA in May. They
are COM/AIMM missionaries in
Kinshasa, Zaire, where they
work with the Center of
Protestant Literature, Henry as
director and Tina with literature
production. During NAA they
will purchase printing supplies
and press parts.
Margaret Ediger, La
Comunidad de Esperanza,
Dallas, Texas, will be ordained
on Aug. 25. Former COM
missionaries in Colombia, she
and her and husband, George,
now serve as church planters in
East Dallas.
Susan Redding Emel,
Topeka, Kan., is serving as
transition pastor for Manhattan
(Kan.) Fellowship during July
and August.
Helen Ens, Blumenort
Church, Gretna, Man., mission-
ary to Mexico with COM,
returned to Canada on June 19
for a one-year NAA. She
began work in Mexico in 1955,
and has been teaching and
directing the Alvaro Obregon
Elementary School, Steinreich
branch, as well as teaching at
the Christian Training Bible
School for adults.
AIMM — Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission
AMBS — Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries
COM — Commission on Overseas Mission
NAA — North America Assignment
T. Dirks
Fransen
D. Friesen
J. Friesen
R. Friesen
Ens
Sharon Fransen, Mennonite
Church of Normal (III.), is
serving a summer voluntary
service assignment with
Mennonite Board of Missions
as a day-care teacher at La
Jara, Colo. Her parents are
Werner and Kay Ann Fransen.
Dorothy Friesen, Chicago,
will be the speaker for the
Central District Conference
women's retreat, Sept. 14-16,
at Camp Friedenswald. Her
topic is "Sisters of a Common
Thread."
June and Richard Friesen,
Wildwood Church, Saskatoon,
COM/AIMM missionaries,
returned
to Canada
for a one-
year NAA.
They
began
service in
1987 in Zaire, where Rick has
directed the construction
project for the Bible Institute at
Kalonda. June taught lan-
guage classes for student
wives and was involved in
medical ministries. The
Friesens have three children,
Christopher, Carinna
and Matthew.
Colin Hofer, senior at
Freeman (S.D.) Academy,
reached the status of finalist in
the 1990 National Merit
Scholarship Competiton. He is
the son of Vernon P. and Twyla
Hofer.
James Liu, 86, Hengyang,
Hunan Province, China, is in
Canada and the United States
July 10 to Aug. 18. He is
traveling with his son, Timothy.
and daughter-in-law, Edna.
They are scheduled to attend
Mennonite World Conference
and then travel in Kansas,
Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsyl-
vania, Massachusetts and
Ontario. James' grandson,
Paul Liu, attended Rockway
Mennonite High School in
Ontario last year and next year
will attend Canadian Mennonite
Bible College, Winnipeg.
Alison McDaniel and Jenny
Schumacher, Grace Church,
Pandora, Ohio, returned July
13 from three-week voluntary
service assignments in
Northern Ireland.
Wayne Northey, Port Moody,
B.C., has been appointed
Mennonite Central Committee
Canada's new Victim/Offender
Ministries program director. He
has been interim director for
the past year.
Eddy Paimoen, an Indone-
sian seminary student, and
Paul Wee, a retired business-
man, are leading a new
Mennonite fellowship in
Singapore. The work is related
to Mennonite churches in
Indonesia, and participants
come from Burma, Ethiopia and
New Zealand.
Helen Wells Quintela, pastor
at St. Paul (Minn.) Fellowship,
will be the featured speaker for
the women's retreat sponsored
by the Northern District Women
in Mission, Sept. 15-16 at
Swan Lake Christian Camp.
The topic is "Becoming
Sisters."
Rosemary Reschly began
July 1 as administrative
secretary for the AMBS
president. Bev Sawatzky
328 JULY 24, 1990
As of Feb. 1, South Africans conscientiously opposed to military service
and who perform alternative service were to have their length of service
cut in half. A similar reduction in the length of jail sentences is also
possible for conscientious objectors who do not qualify for alternative
service. South Africa has been known as one of the most punitive in its
treatment of COs. A spokesperson for the South African network of CO
Support Groups cautions that the change is at this point only a "policy
announcement." The laws that legislate for lengths of military service
and CO penalties remain unchanged. Those laws require all white males
to undergo a total of four years' military service, consisting of two years
of basic training and service followed by periodic shorter "camps." Up to
this point, people serving prison sentences for conscientious objection
have been ineligible for parole or any shortening of the sentence. Three
men are serving prison sentences of up to six years.
Gordon Cosby described the various dimensions of the
biblical call during the annual meeting of conference
mission leaders of the General Conference Mennonite
Church and the Mennonite Church. Cosby, pastor of
Church of the Saviour, Wash-
ington, said the biblical call "at
its deepest sense occurs in
community nurtured by prayer
in the context of pain and the
poor." He added that everyone
is called by God, a call that
continues throughout our lives.
"Hearing the Biblical Call" was
the theme of this year's
meeting, held April 22-25 in
Elkhart, Ind. About 50 people
attended.
RECORcJ
S. Sommer
S. Sprunger
began as administrative
secretary to the dean and
assistant. Virginia Nussbaum
began as administrative
secretary to the AMBS vice
president and director of field
education. She continues as
office coordinator. Karen
Weldy Kaufman is administra-
tive secretary to the Mennonite
Biblical Seminary development
office while continuing as ad-
ministrative secretary to faculty
with administrative portfolios.
Lisa Schirch-Elias, a 1 990
graduate in peace and conflict
studies at Conrad Grebel
College, Waterloo, Ont., has
received a $1 ,350 award from
the June Schwartzentruber
Fund to develop projects to
help Mennonites understand
the Innu, one of Canada's
Native peoples.
John and Sharon Sommer,
Faith Church, Newton, Kan.,
returned in late June from a
one-year assignment with COM
T. Sprunger Swartley
serving as host and hostess at
the Japan Anabaptist Center in
Tokyo. They have two
children, Michelle and Brian.
They have resumed their
employment at the General
Conference offices: John as
COM secretary for Asia and
Sharon as editorial assistant for
The Mennonite.
Suanne and Tim Sprunger,
First Church, Berne, Ind.,
missionaries with COM,
returned on June 27 for a one-
year NAA. They have served
in Hong Kong since 1981 in
church planting, evangelism
and leadership training. They
have two sons, Andrew and
Nathan. During NAA they will
make their home in Berne, and
Tim will itinerate for COM.
Willard M. Swartley, pro-
fessor of New Testament at
AMBS, has been named
interim dean at AMBS. Gayle
Gerber KoontzmW begin her
duties as dean Jan. 1 , 1 991 .
Andrew and Susan Wade,
Seattle Church, have com-
pleted their term in Taiwan as
Overseas Mission Volunteers
with COM. Susan served as
head teacher at Hualien
Christian School, a school for
missionary children in grades
K-8, and Andrew helped
produce a fund-raising video for
A. Wade
S. Wade
Mennonite Christian Hospital
and helped at the school. This
fall in Oregon Sue will teach
school and Andrew will begin
seminary studies.
— compiled by Angela Rempel
Mountain Community Mennonite
Church, Palmer Lake, Colo.,
welcomes applications for a
pastoral position (interim or full
time). Position available July
1990.
Direct applications to Sharon
Baker, Box 502, Palmer Lake, CO
80133.
Wildwood Mennonite Church of
Saskatoon invites applications for
the position of full-time pastor.
Send inquiries or resumes to
Pastoral Search Committee,
Wildwood Mennonite Church, 1502
Acadia Drive, Saskatoon, SK S7H
5H8.
Women's varsity volleyball
coach needed. Part-time position
(September-October). Experience
required.
Contact Phil Osborne, (316) 327-
8449 or Kathy Goering. (316) 327-
8205, or write Academic Dean's
Office, Hesston College, Box 3000,
Hesston, KS 67062.
Menno Simons Christian School
is actively seeking to fill teaching
positions in its junior high
program. Teaching openings are
in French, the humanities, math
and science.
Interested applicants should
forward pertinent information and
resume to the Principal. Menno
Simons Christian School, 2445-23
Ave. S.W., Calgary, AB T2T 0W3.
(403) 249-9944.
Canadian Mennonite Bible
College invites applications for a
two-year position (1991-93) in
theology. Applicants should be
committed to the Christian faith
and in sympathy with the goals of
the college.
Send inquiries and applications to
the Academic Dean, Canadian
Mennonite Bible College, 600
Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB
R3P 0M4, by Aug. 31.
Grace Mennonite Church.
Winkler. Man., is accepting
applicants for the position of
leading minister, with duties to
commence Sept. 1 .
Grace is a congregation of about
280 members, located in a growing
town of about 7,000 people.
Send letter of application and
resume to Don Dyck, Box 809,
Winkler, MB R6W 4A9, (204) 325-
8822.
THE MENNONITE 329
Bread for the World has called on U.S.
President George Bush and Soviet President
Mikhail Gorbachev to reverse the trillion-dollar
arms race and redirect resources toward aiding
the billion people worldwide who suffer from
chronic hunger. BFW is waging a campaign to
"Share the Harvest of Peace" in order to reduce
hunger and militarization in the world. The
Harvest of Peace Resolution introduced in the
U.S. Congress in February by Sen. Mark Hatfield
(R-Ore.) and Rep. Matt McHugh (D-N.Y.) calls
for the nations of the world to cut military
spending in half by the year 2000 and redirect
resources toward ending hunger. The resolution
also calls for reduced military assistance to de-
veloping nations, as regional conflicts are one of
the primary causes of hunger.
One of the Mennonite radio
programs beamed into the Soviet
Union and Eastern Europe will begin
offering J.C. Wenger's Mennonite
Faith Series booklet "The Way to New
Life" in August. Russian emigrant
Vassil Magal has been overwhelmed
with listener response to the "New
Way" and "Voice of a Friend" radio
programs since "perestroika" reforms
began easing restrictions on Soviet
citizens. Magal is speaker on the
programs produced by Mennonite
Board of Missions Media Ministries.
RESOURCES
Mennonite musician and songwriter Chuck Neufeld finishes record-
ing his fifth album, "Ease the Pain," at Alive Studios in Harri-
sonburg, Va. Neufeld, director of Mennonite Voluntary Service, a
program of the Commission on Home Ministries of the General
Conference Mennonite Church, says this album "reflects where I'm
at in wanting to participate in easing the pain of the world." The
cassette tape is available for $9 from MVS, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114.
I I I I I I Klivm
God's Creative Spirit in the
World (16-minute slide set)
surveys the way General Con-
ference Mennonite Church
mission involvement began in
1 6 countries around the world
during the past 90 years and
challenges viewers to look
forward to the coming decade.
Included is a script/guide for
use in building an entire
worship celebration around the
slide set. It is available for free
Covenant Mennonite Church,
Winkler, Man., invites applications
for a half-time pastor of a church
with 44 members. Applicant
should have Anabaptist orientation
Duties to include some preaching,
teaching, outreach and youth
ministry.
Send resume, including refer-
ences, to Search Committee, Box
29, Winkler, MB R6W 4A4, (204)
325-7575.
Performing arts technical
director. Has primary responsibil-
ity for the technical direction of
drama/fine arts productions and
supervises the use of the audito-
rium. Manages set design and
construction, lighting, box office
supervision and is responsible for
performance-related equipment.
Bachelor's degree and experience
in technical theater production
required.
Send resume to Personnel Office,
Eastern Mennonite College,
Harrisonburg, VA 22801.
loan from the Commission on
Overseas Mission, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114.
Another slide set from COM
for free loan is The Inner
Strength of Asia, which gives
an overview of recent changes
in Asia.
Everyday Life in the USSR:
The Story of Tanya, a Moscow
Teenager (VHS, 25 minutes,
$10 rental) and My Russian
Friends (VHS, 58 minutes, $10
rental) are new videos at the
Peace Resource Center at
RNs — here is an opportunity to be
part of the "caring team" in a 60-
bed intermediate-care facility.
Charge nurse position open.
Apply to Parkside Homes, Inc., 200
Willow Road, Hillsboro, KS 67063,
(316) 947-2301.
Philhaven Hospital, a 96-bed
psychiatric facility operating from a
Christian perspective to provide a
broad range of inpatient and out-
patient mental health services, is
looking to employ a half-time
psychiatric/mental health nurse
educator. Will be responsible to
develop and provide a psychiatric/
mental health education program
for nursing department and assist
in orienting new nursing staff.
M.S.N, required with two years
psychiatric nursing experience, at
least one post-master's.
For confidential consideration,
contact Cathy Dale, personnel,
Philhaven Hospital, Box 550,
Mount Gretna, PA 17064, (717)
270-2451 .
Wilmington College, Box 1183,
Wilmington, OH 45177, (513)
382-5338. The first shows the
daily life of 16-year-old Tanya.
In the second, filmmaker
Stephen Schecter, who lived in
the Soviet Union 20 years ago,
returns to explore with his
Russian friends the changes
taking place there. The
Hiroshima/Nagasaki Memorial
Collection at the college also
has new audiovisuals on
Japanese culture and on
environmental concerns.
The film series The Menno-
nite Brethren Church: A Mis-
sionary Movement (16mm, $75,
or VHS, $15 rental, $60
purchase) is available from the
Centre for Mennonite Brethren
Studies in Canada, 1-169
Riverton Ave., Winnipeg, MB
R2L 2E5, (204) 669-6575.
Community and student
response to a March 13
tornado is the focus of a video
produced by Hesston (Kan.)
College. Copies are available
for $10, plus $2.50 postage
and handling, from Tornado
Video, c/o Hesston College,
Box 3000, Hesston, KS 67062.
— compiled by Gordon Houser
330 JULY 24, 1990
How to keep
in your congregation
Joyce M. Shutt
Conflict is not only normal, it is in-
evitable. Conflict is the stuff of
life. The issue is learning how to
deal with it. We can't force others to
change, but we can open the doors to
change by examining ourselves.
One way to do that is to ask, What's it
like to live and work with me?
As a pastor I am frequently criticized.
My parishioners often differ with me. In
those situations I have two basic choices:
I can get defensive and insist that things
be done my way. When I do that, the
group usually breaks into two factions:
those who support me and those who
don't. However, when I hear criticism as
information I need about how certain
people feel, their needs and preferences,
I have gained information that helps me
decide on an appropriate response.
"What's it like to live and work with
me?" Ask yourself that question next
time you get angry about something.
"Am I openminded? Do I have to have
my own way? Am I willing to accept
others ideas? Am I easily offended? Am
I manipulative? Do I blame others for
what goes wrong? Do I always have to be
right? Do I feel insecure when others
don't share my ideas or beliefs? Do I try
to get out of work? Do I keep my
promises? Do I compliment others for
jobs well done? Do I look for the good in
others, or for their failures? Can I laugh
at myself? Am I patient? Do I try new
things? Am I afraid to fail? Do I take
direction well? Do I respect others?
Initiating change and healing in our
congregations and families by working
on ourselves is profoundly biblical.
Paul's writings are based on that
premise. Let's look at Romans 12.
With eyes wide open to the mercies of
God, I beg you as an act of intelligent
worship to give God your bodies as a
living sacrifice, consecrated and accept-
able to God.
We have this idea that we have to
defend ourselves, hang on to things, stick
up for ourselves. But Paul reminds us
that every time we give something away,
something new and different comes to
take its place. By giving our lives and
bodies to God, by taking others' needs
and ideas into consideration, we won't be
robbed of joy; instead we will find it.
Don't let the world squeeze you into its
own mold, but let God remold your minds
from within.
Learning to ask, What's it like to live
with me? becomes an act of worship. It
helps renew our minds. It opens the way
to discerning God's will instead of our
will. Anytime we get to thinking
Because our identity is rooted in
Christ, we don't have to have our way to
validate our sense of self-worth. Endur-
ing patiently means learning the lessons
God wants to teach us and using our
trials as opportunities for growth.
Give freely to fellow Christians in
want, never grudging a meal or a bed to
those who need them. And as for those
who try to make your life a misery, bless
them. Don't curse, bless.
This approach to conflict works. Focus
on the positive. Assume responsibility
for your happiness and actions. Refuse
to let another human being control your
life. When our identity is rooted in
Christ, God uses us to transform difficult
situations. We refuse to be affected by
meanness and spite.
Share the happiness of those who are
happy and the sorrow of those who are
sad.
Respect and value others. Don't tell
them what they should or should not
Ask yourself, What's it like to live and work with me?
something has to be done a certain way,
we are saying "my will" not "thy will."
As your spiritual teacher I give this
piece of advice to each one of you. Don't
cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or
your importance but try to have a sane
estimate of your capabilities by the light
of the faith that God has given you all.
Some of us have exaggerated ideas of
our importance. Others suffer from
feeling inferior, and we are afraid to say
our needs and wishes. In God's reign
everyone has a contribution to make.
For just as you have many members in
one physical body and those members
differ in their functions, so we, though
many in number, compose one body in
Christ and are all members of one
another.
Do what you do well. Don't get caught
up in what others are doing. It's inter-
esting that the more we try the more we
are able to do. But the more we see
ourselves as part of a larger body, the
easier it becomes to let others do things
and develop their gifts.
Let us have no imitation Christian
love, but let us have a genuine break with
evil and a real devotion to good. Let us
have a real warm affection for one
another and a willingness to let the other
have the credit.
What's it like to live with me? becomes
a discerning question. As we accept
ourselves with our strengths and
weaknesses, we accept others as well.
Base your happiness on your hope in
Christ. When trials come, endure them
patiently; steadfastly maintain the habit
of prayer.
feel. What we do or don't do with our
feelings is what matters.
Live in harmony with each other.
Don't be snobbish but take a real interest
in ordinary people. Don't become set in
your own opinions. Don't pay back a bad
turn by a bad turn, to anyone.
Take an interest in others, especially
when people's feelings are hurt and folks
have taken sides. One of the best ways
to dissipate trouble is by listening.
Listen for what isn't said as well as what
is. Beware of placing yourselves in the
center of things. Then you edge God out.
See that your public behavior is above
criticism. As far as your responsibility
goes, live at peace with everyone. Never
take vengeance into your own hands, my
dear friends. Take the offensive! Over-
power evil with good!
Love is a dynamic, innovative response
to conflict and evil because it moves past
the causes and focuses on the people
involved. Approach every conflict situ-
ation (in our churches, families, homes or
workplace ) with the question What's it
like to live with me? When we act on the
insights we gain, before we know it we'll
be taking our turns doing dishes in the
reign of God.
Joyce M. Shutt is pastor
of Fairfield (Pa.)
Mennonite Church.
Here, she used the J.B.
Phillips paraphrase of
the New Testament.
THE MENNONITE 331
spEAkiiNq OUT
Three responses to 'How Much Land Is Enough?1
by Ray Epp (June 12 issue)
Farming is a business, but...
I, too, am concerned about the Fort Riley
(Kan.) expansion as well as the ecological
damage being done by agriculture and
industry.
Indeed, technological advances in
agriculture have reduced the number of
farmers, putting a strain on rural com-
munities. But it has also given many
people, such as Mr. Epp and myself, the
opportunity to seek higher education and
careers outside farming. The important
point is that where we choose to organize
ourselves into communities is a social
issue, not a religious one.
Technological advances in agriculture,
not only in the United States but all over
the world, have allowed us to support a
human population of 5 billion. To aban-
don these technologies and return to an
agrarian society in which a large major-
ity of the people are involved in primary
agriculture would result in the starva-
tion of millions, perhaps billions of
people. While technological advances
have led to ecological problems, the
proper solution to those ecological
problems is not the abandonment of
technology. Unfortunately there are no
quick and easy solutions to ecological
problems. However, just as we have
relied on the creativity of the human
mind to relieve the problem of hunger,
we must also rely on the creativity of the
human mind to solve the problems of
ecological damage. After all, human
thought is a gift from God.
Healthy communities and a healthy
nation do not "depend on a large majority
of the people loving and caring for the
land" but rather on a large majority of
the people loving and caring for the Lord
and each other. Farming is a business.
It always has been and always will be.
To make farming a way of life is to make
farming a religion. I have been a farmer;
I am currently a student, and I will soon
be a market analyst for a major grain
marketing firm. These are all
occupations. Christianity has always
been and always will be my way of life.
Security does not come from belonging
to a place and a people. Security comes
from belonging to the Lord and a people,
a people who are dedicated to serving the
Lord, not a people dedicated to serving
the land. It is our responsibility as
Christians to love and take care of each
other. It is our responsibility as human
beings to take care of the land on which
we live. Dwayne Schmidt, 360 Redbud
Estates, Manhattan, KS 66502
Farmers are using talents
As farmers we are saddened by this
article. To equate our production of food
with the expansion of Fort Riley is an
insult. To give Mr. Epp a voice in our
church publication as an authority in the
field of agriculture does not seem
prudent.
Mr. Epp writes, "We need only to look
at agriculture as it is being practiced by
most North American farmers to see
another manifestation of its destructive
nature." In our community the farmers
who are successful are, by and large,
those who practice good conservation
techniques. On our own farm the soil is
more productive and has less erosion
than it had 35-40 years ago. This is
because of technology that has been
made available to us.
Mr. Epp writes, "Agribusiness (treat-
ing farming as a business, not as a way
of life) is just as guilty of displacing
people, destroying rural communities,
failing to protect the soil and polluting
the land as Fort Riley." Our grandpar-
ents and parents viewed farming as a
business just as much as we do. This is
evident as we look back on the way they,
too, used all the technology and mechani-
zation available to them.
We wish Mr. Epp could have traveled
with us last summer in Poland. We
visited four gentlemen who had worked
for us as Mennonite Central Committee
agricultural trainees several years ago.
They marveled at our American agricul-
tural productivity. The average size of a
Polish farm is seven hectar (15 acres).
Their land is rich and productive, but
most farms are too small to mechanize,
so most of the work is done by hand, and
production suffers. As a result there is
little incentive for young people to go into
farming. One man wept when he
explained to us that his wife was so thin
because she spent four to six hours each
day standing in line waiting to buy what
little food there was available for her
family of four.
Again Epp writes, "As in agriculture,
Fort Riley has been preoccupied with
progress." Is progress acceptable in
every other area of life and not in
agriculture? Progress has allowed us in
North America to have the cheapest and
safest food supply in the world. It allows
us to feed the poor and share our
technology with the rest of the world.
We need to view it as a gift from God.
In Matthew 25, Christ's parable about
the good servants and the talents is an
example. If Christ has called us to use
our talents in a particular vocation, it
behooves us as his followers to obey,
whether it be in agribusiness or any
other profession. Olin and Carol
Claassen, Route 1, Box 123, Whitewater,
KS 67154
Fuzzy thinking
This article represents a disturbing trend
in fuzzy thinking. By blaming technol-
ogy for the military and agribusiness
practices the author dislikes, means are
confused with ends. Although the
conclusions may be correct, the argu-
ments are flawed.
As Fort Riley expands to accommodate
larger weapons and farms grow to accom-
modate larger tractors, the article
protests that "Technology recognizes no
self-limiting principle." We are left to
infer that since this puts it outside the
natural realm, it is bad.
Since when is nature our God? Gene-
sis 3:14-24 makes it abundantly clear
that God has cursed the natural world on
account of human sin. Time and again
Scripture leaves no doubt that the
current order of things is not to God's
liking.
Technology is merely a reflection of the
human mind, itself a reflection of God.
Its dreams and possibilities are as
endless as those of our minds. To insist
that this is bad is to insist that the
ability of the human mind to transcend
existing reality is also bad. Shall we
really dream no dreams and see no
visions?
Creation is broken because of sin. It is
our duty to discern God's plan for both
the natural and metaphysical worlds,
and implement it. In our relations with
the natural world it may well be more
appropriate to use "small" science than
"big" science. But science it remains, and
its fruit will be technology.
Ray Epp concludes, "We have the
ability to choose our future" and our
332 JULY 24, 1990
choices will somehow save us from
destruction. This rests on especially
shaky ground. The Bible assures us time
and again (and Martin Luther made sure
we heard the message) that we cannot
save ourselves. Most of us accept this in
a spiritual sense without question. But
the physical life of the planet has also
Letters
War and peace justice?
The six-month prison sentence given to
John Poindexter for his role in the Iran-
contra affair is another dramatic sign of
the two-tiered justice system in the
United States. This I know from direct
experience. In January 1989 I received a
one-year prison sentence for five mis-
demeanor counts of trespassing. My
crime — praying for peace atop Minute-
man nuclear missile silos.
Mr. Poindexter claimed innocence
because he was following President
Ronald Reagan's order to protect na-
tional security. The 14 members of the
Missouri Peace Planting believed we
were acting out God's command to "beat
our swords into plowshares and our
spears into pruning hooks" and to "love
our enemies." Sitting on those warheads,
we pleaded that money being spent on
bombs be used to house, feed, educate
and provide health care for the 40
million Americans living in poverty.
Oliver North was sentenced to do com-
munity service for his crimes — all
felonies. John Poindexter — someday —
may serve three or four months for his
felony convictions. Each of the 14 Mis-
souri Peace Planters was sent to prison.
Sentences ranged from six months to two
years.
The lesson is clear. If you are wealthy,
white and powerful, you can expect
leniency from our [U.S] criminal justice
system. But God help you if you are
poor, a person of color or an opponent of
the U.S. government's war policies. I
pray that someday we will learn that
prisons ultimately solve no problems.
Until then peacemakers will be punished
with severe criminal sanctions while
warmakers receive wrist slaps. Duane
Bean, 1821 W. Cullerton, Chicago, IL
60608
A non-Christian 'Mennonite'
The term "Mennonite" was an embar-
rassment to me as I was growing up. I
been beset by numerous natural catas-
trophes that have wiped out life as we
know it. Our existence itself is but by
the grace of God.
Rather than adopt the neopagan
attitude that we can somehow save
ourselves from disaster by mollifying the
gods (or God) of nature with our good
didn't want to be from any ethnic back-
ground. I wanted to be "like everyone
else."
Thirty years later I am at peace with
my ethnic Mennonite background. I am
grateful that my extended family keeps
our cultural heritage alive. Gordon
Houser [Editorial, June 12], on the other
hand, finds this irritating. Even un-
christian. He is obviously a man not at
peace with himself.
Today the term "Mennonite" isn't
restricted to those of a particular ethnic
background. Gordon, with his German
Catholic heritage, is a prime example.
Although it was not always the case,
today's Mennonite church embraces
many cultures. These new members
bring their foods and customs with them
and incorporate them into the new
congregation. Is it fair to accept new
ways of doing things yet deny a cultural
heritage to those Mennonites who have
the ethnic background of their Dutch/
Russian ancestors?
When I think "Mennonite," my mouth
waters. I can taste rollkuchen [crullers]
and watermelon, verenika [dough
pockets filled with cottage cheese],
borscht [cabbage soup] and homemade
buns. The people that I love — some no
longer alive — are kept close to me when I
participate in the traditions that I
associate with being Mennonite.
When I think Mennonite, I am so glad
that I was raised that way. Although I
am not a Christian, the way I was
brought up within the Mennonite culture
has had a profound influence on my life
and has formed the foundation of my
family. I'll continue to call myself an
ethnic Mennonite even if it is irritating
to Mr. Houser. Linda Thiessen, 2170
Tower Court, Port Coquitlam, BC V3C
5E3
Efficiency, our best hope
Thomas Lehman has made an interest-
ing contribution to the energy debate in
his article "How Will We Make Electric-
deeds, it will be best if we concentrate
our efforts on doing rightly those things
we know we must do. The rest we can
safely entrust to God's care. It was
sufficient for our ancestors in the faith
who knew far less than we, and will
suffice for us, too. John Tiessen, 1470
Midway Parkway, St. Paul, MN 55108
ity?" [June 12]. Here in Ontario we
depend on nuclear power for over 60
percent of our electricity consumption,
and Ontario Hydro has announced plans
to continue that dependence by spending
$200 billion on new nuclear and fossil
fuel generating stations over the next
25 years.
Ontai-io Hydro claims that nuclear
power is cheaper despite construction
cost overruns, low reliability and the
unknown costs of decommissioning and
permanent waste disposal.
It also claims that nuclear is better for
the environment because of the absence
of "greenhouse gases." All the world's
fossil fuel power stations together
contribute to only 10 percent of the
global greenhouse effect. The rest comes
from deforestation, cars and heavy
industry. Exchanging greenhouse gases
for intractable radioactive wastes is no
bargain in the long run.
Our most exciting alternative to
nuclear power is improvement in the
efficiency in our use of current energy
resources. Much of what we use is
wasted. Reducing this waste through
improved efficiency is cheaper and
quicker than building new power plants.
Already in North America, between 1973
and 1985, the gross national product
grew 40 percent, while energy con-
sumption remained constant. Most
of this reduction in energy intensity
was achieved through increased
efficiency.
Great opportunities now exist with
proven technology to increase efficiency
in the use of electricity. Compact
fluorescent light bulbs use one-third the
power of incandescent bulbs. The best
refrigerators today use one-half the
power of older models. Lehman notes
rightly that "the research commitment to
nuclear energy has far surpassed our
commitment to alternative sources."
Emphasizing the alternative of improved
efficiency is our best hope for making
electricity in the future. Doug Prit chard,
99 Woodmount Ave., Toronto, ON M4C
THE MENNONITE 333
REVIEWS
Howard Zehr
M ssDooks
Restorative justice
Changing Lenses: A New Focus for
Crime and Justice by Howard Zehr
(Herald Press, 1990, 271 pages)
Reviewed bv Arthur P. Boers, 477 Lincoln
Road, Windsor, ON N8Y 2G6
Everyone agrees that the criminal justice
system does not work. Victims complain
about neglect. Non-violent offenders
become hardcore recidivists in prison.
The media is preoccupied with sensation-
ally senseless crimes. Meanwhile,
politicians exploit fear
. and uncertainty — em-
V^nuny Illy phasizing toughness
L©nS©S or leniency, depend-
ing on how the poll
winds blow. In the
midst of this morass,
Howard Zehr offers
his wisdom. Zehr has
been the director of
Mennonite Central
Committee's U.S.
Office of Criminal
Justice for over a
decade. He was instrumental in starting
Victim Offender Reconciliation Programs
(VORPs) in the United States.
If you read only one thing on crime and
justice issues, read this. If you plan to
read nothing on crime and justice. ..then
change your mind and read this. I have
a shelf of books on these issues, but this
is already my favorite.
Zehr notes that the criminal justice
system harms both victims and offend-
ers. Yet the Bible shows special concern
for both victims and for offenders. From
such concerns emerged the seemingly im-
possible Victim Offender Reconciliation
Program. VORPs bring together victims
and offenders, allowing them to become
acquainted, permitting the victim to
explain the effects of crime, encouraging
victim and offender to agree upon a
restitution process and hopefully moving
both toward reconciliation. There are
now 100 VORPs in the United States,
several dozen in Canada and similar
programs throughout Europe.
Our justice system is retributive: The
state inflicts pain on convicted criminals.
Yet crime is the breakdown of commu-
nity, harming victims, interpersonal re-
lationships, offenders and community.
But the criminal justice system concen-
trates on the state's extracting its pound
of flesh. Victims are frustrated, excluded
by legal processes and never experience
healing. And offenders often do not
change; never facing the victims, they do
not realize the results of their crimes and
have no chance to experience much-
needed repentance and restitution.
Zehr proposes that Christians work for
a different "lens," a restorative justice
that rebuilds broken relationships and
includes victims and offenders in the
process. This may sound naively unreal-
istic, except for the fact that VORP and
other alternative programs are so
successful.
Biblical justice "aims at liberating and
creating shalom. Biblical justice is
administered in a context of love.
Possibilities for forgiveness and reconcili-
ation are the light at the end of the
tunnel. Punishment is limited, while
love is unlimited. Redeeming love, not
punishment, is the primary human
responsibility."
Life in the Chaco
Under the Still Standing Sun by Dora
Dueck (Kindred Press, 1989, 293 pages)
Reviewed by Helen Lepp Friesen, 1128
Fisk, Grand Rapids, MI 49507
In this wholesome Christian and Men-
nonite novel the author, Dora Dueck,
opens a window to the past and allows
the reader to experience the beginning
and then the progress of the Mennonite
settlements in the Chaco of Paraguay.
With authentic descriptions of charac-
ters, settings and episodes, she portrays
the life of the Mennonite immigrants
through the eyes of a young girl, Anna
Sawatzky.
Anna sees the flight from an oppres-
sive regime in Russia in the late 1920s to
the unknown isolated wilderness in the
Chaco as an exciting adventure. This
adventure soon loses its novelty as she,
along with the other immigrants, faces
the harshness of the climate, the re-
peated crop failures due to drought,
grasshopper and insect plagues and the
typhoid epidemic that leaves the survi-
vors with subdued ambition. Daily
existence is hard.
Some of life's joy returns as Anna falls
in love with and marries Jacob Rempel.
The first few years of their marriage are
trying as they cope with the death of
their first child and, in the following
years, with the pain of infertility. God
eventually answers their prayers for a
family and blesses them with beautiful
and healthy children.
The years of motherhood slip by like
the ticking of a clock. The continuous
hard work at home, in the yard and in
the field, and the
exhaustion of it all
make time blurry
like a fast-moving
object. In the
autumn of Anna's
life she suffers the
loneliness of her
husband's death.
But through the
various trials of the
different stages of
her life she
remains faithful to God and retains a
vigorous spirit.
With the development of an electricity-
producing plant, profitable agricultural
crops, self-sufficient administrative and
education systems and churches, the
Mennonites, with the help of a gracious
God, conquer and learn to make their
existence in the Chaco home.
In a sensitive way and with eloquent
style Dora Dueck reveals the history and
the now prosperous and ordered lives of
the Mennonites in the Chaco. She paints
the stages of Anna's life and her place in
that society with authenticity and
realism.
UNDER THE
STILL
s u
The shame I felt was unlike anything I had known before, for it wasn't a rec-
ollection of adolescent naivete, nor the realization that innocence was
altered by enlarging experience, but rather an intimate knowledge of violence
and hatred within me. For months I battered the images of Maria and Mama
and Walde in my mind, carrying on angry conversations with them, lashing
them with my words. I was torn between the views of my mother and sister and
those of my husband. I was unhappy with them all. These emotions and
attitudes only washed away gradually; they wore away with time rather than
through any holiness or even graciousness on my part.
I was stripped of my boldness. For many years following I was more subdued
in my spirit, unable to trust myself. No longer did I see what I had been; I
looked fully at what I was.
From Under the Still Standing Sun
334 JULY 24, 1990
Listen to Jonah and Jesus
John K. Stoner
If we believe Jesus, we must see the connection
between evangelism and enemies.
Do you have any right to be angry?" God asked Jonah.
Jonah, "the reluctant prophet," should be called "the
reluctant evangelist." God's question to Jonah about
anger has more to do with evangelism than with prophecy.
The "evangel" is the good news through Jesus Christ, reveal-
ing that the heart of the Creator God is love. "Evangelism" is
helping people discover that the Creator God loves them.
Jonah, an Old Testament prophet, and Jesus, a prophet from
a later era, were both called by God to be messengers of God's
astonishing love. They were both evangelists. But Jonah and
Jesus give us two different models of evangelism. They
confront us. How should the church do evangelism in our time?
They tell us we can love our anger or our enemies, but not both.
The sign of Jonah: Jesus made a connection between himself
and Jonah. When the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus for a
sign, he said they would not receive any sign except the sign of
Jonah (Matthew 12 and Luke 11). What did Jesus mean?
Why did Jesus think of Jonah when the scribes and Phari-
sees asked him for a sign? Was there something about them
that reminded Jesus of Jonah? Something in Jonah's attitude
reflected Jesus' times.
If we compare the main themes of Jonah's story and the
interaction between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees, we do
find parallels. In the Jonah story, anger is the dominant
emotion. The story climaxes in a dialogue between God and
Jonah. The discussion is about Jonah's anger. God asks Jonah
why he is angry. Jonah seems reluctant to answer.
In the case of the scribes and Pharisees, anger is again the
dominant emotion. Matthew reports that certain teachers of
the law were upset with Jesus. They accused him of blas-
phemy. Shortly after the discussion about "the sign of Jonah,"
the Pharisees and scribes "began to oppose him fiercely and to
besiege him with questions, waiting to catch him in something
he might say" (Luke 11). Jesus must have been aware that the
people who asked him for a sign had a problem with anger.
But behind the anger that Jonah and the religious establish-
ment of Jesus' time held in common were similar forces that
gave rise to the anger. Evangelism always takes place in a
specific social and political context. For Jonah the context was
Israel and Nineveh. God called Jonah to go and preach "good
news" in Nineveh. But Jonah had a problem: The Ninevites
were mortal enemies of Jonah's people.
The problem of the enemy: In its irrepressible superficial-
ity, the church in our time has supposed that the problem of
enemies is political and the problem of sin spiritual. It sees no
connection between evangelism and enemies, between grace
and national security or between salvation and militarism.
God takes care of sin, and the defense department takes care of
enemies, says this line of thinking.
Jonah thought so, too, until God talked to him. Jonah was a
good, patriotic Israelite. Like his compatriots, he accepted the
national rhetoric that defined Nineveh as the enemy. The Nin-
evites were indeed hostile foes. So when God told Jonah to go
and preach to Nineveh, he was not of a mind to extend good
news to his enemies. They were the war department's busi-
ness. He went in the opposite direction, toward Tarshish.
God, however, was not finished with Jonah. A great storm
soon mirrored the monstrous turmoil in Jonah's soul, and
Jonah went into the depths of the sea. But God spared his life
and gave him another chance to go to Nineveh. This he did.
Upon arrival he delivered his message. The result was as-
tounding. The people repented, and God forgave them. Jonah,
however, was not happy. This outcome, which he had feared,
made him angry.
God noticed Jonah's anger and began asking questions.
"Do you have any right to be angry?" God asked.
Jonah did not answer. He fell silent, went out of the city,
sat down and watched. A vine grew, shaded Jonah for a while,
then withered and died. Jonah grew faint and said, "It would
be better for me to die than to live."
"Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?" asked God.
"I do," Jonah said. "I am angry enough to die."
But the Lord said, "You have been concerned about this vine,
though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up
overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than
120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from left
[children] and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned
about that great city?"
The Pharisees' anger: What was it about Jesus' ministry
that angered the scribes and Pharisees? It was Jesus' concern
about the blind and lame sinners, outcasts and Samaritans
whom the Pharisees considered enemies of God's people.
The religious establishment was angry because Jesus was
showing it that God loved its enemies. The scribes and Phari-
sees wanted to deal with those people by exclusion, law
enforcement, capital punishment and holy (just) war, if neces-
sary. They did not rejoice when the lost coin, the lost sheep
and the lost son were found. Jesus gave the sign of Jonah.
Evangelism and enemies: One meaning of Jonah's story
may be that God's sovereign love can leap over the walls we
build and the missiles we place between ourselves and our
national enemies. It is good to celebrate God's sovereign love
but not good to presume upon it. Would we not do better to
read the sign and take Jesus' way of loving our enemies?
Somewhere in all of this are the connections between
evangelism and enemies — between gospel on the one hand and
militarism on the other.
ygfa John Stoner, 728 Fulton St., Akron, PA 17501,
""^SB 's a Parent> writer, peace activist and spiritual
^Hpfc- M director. He serves on the outreach commission
K^flB^fcJuB of Lancaster Brethren in Christ Church. This
I article also appeared in "Shalom," a publication
aHUMpBZjl I of the Board for Brotherhood Concerns of the
jjgy ^BJ IP Brethren in Christ Church. John is currently
^^BJP**1^ writing materials for congregations to use in the
^S^W* Living m Faithful Evangelism < LIFE > program.
THE MENNONITE 335
NEWS
LIBRARY
SSSF BIBLICAL SFM
3003 BbMHAM AVE
ELKHART IN 46<U7
EdiTORiAl — — — ^— ^ —
Can the 'activists' and 'conservatives' be friends?
Mennonites are merely following the American
dream with a Jesus overlay. More books and
lectures won't do it. You need to use drama,
music, storytelling and videos. People need to be taken
to places of need to see the problems for themselves."
Tom Sine, Seattle Mennonite Church, said this to the
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Peace Section. It
had gathered for its Year 2000 Consultation, part of a
two-year evaluation process. The Peace Section was
figuring out its job description. Should it encourage
peace activism? Should it educate the constituency?
Both? How could it serve the whole constituency?
Living in and working for a diverse constituency is
never easy. Yes, we have to listen to both the "activists"
as well as the "conservatives." If this tension ever goes
away we may need to ask, Are we still alive? As long as
there is life there is struggle.
Activists are popularly described as folks who demon-
strate at military bases. Conservatives are popularly
described as opposing such "direct action." But activists
include people who base their activism on prayer and
Scripture. And conservatives include people who are
extremely active in stating and living out their beliefs.
The anti-abortion movement has made civil disobedi-
ence and non-violent direct action respectable in "con-
servative" circles. In some countries people are arrested
for preaching justice for the poor. And is not evangelism
the ultimate activism?
The struggle goes on. My desire and aim is to have
the diverse "sides" of our conference — however you
describe them — realize how much they have in common.
In a sense, activists are conservatives, promoting a
specific obedience to the gospel. And in a sense, conser-
vatives are activists, feeling definite about how to obey
the gospel. One thing is sure: Alienation between these
"camps" is not in keeping with Jesus' gospel.
Demilitarized zone: Where is our meeting ground? I
like to think that this magazine is such a place — a
demilitarized zone, as it were, where people with differ-
ing points of view can have equal time.
Tom Sine's idea of going to places of need may suggest
another meeting ground, where "activists" and "conser-
vatives" can be together, work together. For that reason
I applaud Women in Mission's learning tours (the
second one, to Canadian and U.S. urban centers, is
being organized) and our various service organizations.
Sweat or hunger or delight or a pain in common are
great reconciling agents. I have yet to hear of Menno-
nite Disaster Service workers who let activist/conserva-
tive differences hamper the cleaning up of a mess.
Another meeting place is our stories. Linda Falk
Suter, registrar at Bluffton College, Bluffton, OH 45817,
has done us a service by reviewing a body of Mennonite
literature, tracking, as she calls it, "Dogma and Deed."
( You can get a copy of her paper by sending her $5.)
Here are some kernels:
"To suffer wrong is better than to do wrong," says
Dietrich Neufeld in A Russian Dance of Death (p. 71).
"If you begin to kill, you become like those who are
trying to kill you," Barbara Claassen Smucker has one
of her characters say in Days of Terror (p. 85).
"Nothing matters except to forgive," says Johann
Klassen, in Ingrid Rimland's The Wanderers.
And Rudy Wiebe, author of Blue Mountains of China,
has his John Reimer say, "You show wisdom by trusting
people. You show leadership by serving. You handle
offenders by forgiving.... You handle enemies by loving.
And you handle violence by suffering."
Handcuffs: Our history continues to be written.
Activists and conservatives have stories to tell. I invite
you to come forward with yours. Here are samples:
At one demonstration, Phil Weaver's handcuffs came
undone, so he held his wrists together, turning them as
needed in front of the arresting officer so that the lock
could be refastened. Chuck Neufeld apologized to his
arresting officer for having made his usual work more
difficult. The guard replied, "It's no trouble at all,
compared to the good you're doing." After arrest, Bill
Tilghman was held for eight hours with three other men
in a six-by-eight-foot cell and then transferred to a
"holding tank" with 50.
Whatever the cause, "non-violence is normative," says
Germany's Hansulrich Gerber. "[It is] the way the
gospel is calling us to go." Muriel T. Stackley
T
HE MENNONiTE
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID. WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
105:15 AUGUST 14, 1990
5ft
Auete '90
Inside:
Now grace is
everywhere
A sampler of poems
Make a mustard
seed difference
ncarnation, evident
in God made
Christ, reappears
again and again in
the creative works of
the Holy Spirit, who is
hovering over the
world.
Elizabeth Wenger
Artist Elizabeth Wenger (left) in one of
her rare public appearances, and Marlin
Miller, president of Associated
Mennointe Biblical Seminaries. Behind
them is Liz's 1979 needlepoint
"Triumphal Entry."
pnoloquE
CONTENTS
eet Elizabeth Wenger of Goshen, Ind.
Look at her art. Some of it, like the one
of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem
shortly before his death, may not strike you as
particularly beautiful. Is that our Lord, with
a tortured look on his face? It reminds me of
the words in the book of Isaiah: We could
hardly look at him, he was so disfigured. Let
Elizabeth speak to you about her art, about
her faith.
The creative arts add many ways — to ever
important straight preaching — that we can
tell the story of Jesus. At the just-past As-
sembly 12 of Mennonite World Conference
(introduced in this issue, page 344, and
featured in the next issue), our international
community saw this graphically demon-
strated. Jesus' parables and the book of
Revelation were among the Scriptures that
came to life. Artful presentations captivated
people of all ages, including
the very young.
At least once a year The
Mennonite celebrates
artists (of all types) among
us. You may have sugges-
\ tions about who should be
k juL featured in the future.
■j^^^C^ Drop me a note with your
^HHHl ideas. Muriel T. Stackley
Now grace is everywhere / 339
Two water poems / 342
My created worlds / 342
To Daniel, on the shore of Lake Superior / 343
Coming together in Winnipeg / 344
Jacob Hutter (ca. 1506-1536) / 345
News / 346
Pacific District report / 346
CMC report / 348
Record / 352
Resources / 354
Call it a Holy Spirit breakthrough / 355
Letters / 356
Reviews / 358
Russian Mennonites / 358
God's grace / 358
Make a mustard-seed difference in the environment / 359
Sing to the Lord a new song or three / 360
Cover: Photo supplied by Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries
(lH) tUe mennonIte
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100. Editor:
Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant: Sharon
Sommer; art director: John Hiebert, The Mennonite is a member of the Associated
Church Press, Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a Mennnonite and
Brethren in Christ editors' group). It is an associate member of the Canadian Church
Press.
Circulation secretaries: Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, and Rose Retzlaff, 600
Shaftesbury Blvd.. Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4. Business manager: Dietrich Rempel. Special
editions editors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff. Box 306, North Newton, KS 671 17;
Window to Mission. Lois Deckert, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14; Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, Richard A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1 , Carstairs, AB TOM 0N0, (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2S 1V7; (Central District)
Lynn Liechty, 666 Columbus St., Berne, IN 4671 1 ; (Eastern District) Curtis Bauman, 429
N. Second St., Emmaus, PA 18049; (Manitoba) in process; (Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada) Margo Fieguth, 99 Veronica Drive, Mississauga, ON L5G 2B1 ; (Northern
District) Winifred Wall, Box 67, Freeman. SD 57029; (Pacific District) Clare Ann Ruth-
Heffelbower, 3198 E. Menlo Ave., Fresno, CA 93710; (Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger, 125
Rawlmson Bay, Regina, SK S4S 6M8; (Western District) Leland Harder, Box 363, North
Newton, KS67117.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 14 years of The Mennonite are also
available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College, North Newton, KS 67117, and
from University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106.
Circulation: 10,219
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build the
Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the guidance of
the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly by the General Conference
Mennonite Church, 722 Main St.. Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14. Subscription rates: one
year, $18 U.S., $21 Canada; two years, $32 U.S., $38 Canada; three years, $44 U.S., $52
Canada. Outside North America add $1 6 U.S. per year to U. S. rate for surface mail.
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postage paid at Newton, Kan., and additional mailing offices. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMAS-
TER: Send Form 3579 to The Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. £1990
338 AUGUST 14, 1990
Elizabeth Wenger
JSJOU)
gface
is
everywftffe
Elizabeth Wenger chose needlepoint
for its inherently time-consuming
nature that permitted a gradual ex-
ploration of visual imagery. The
first piece took a year to complete.
While hospitalized in 1977 she did
a series of 52 drawings. She began
to realize the potential of this
medium as a means of personal
artistic expression. Biblical stories
portrayed in new visual patterns
and arrangements expressed the
hope that some new meaning might
also occur. "Because I continued to
search in unbelief," she says, "God
honored me by giving me belief. "
'Draught of Fishes," 1979
Reminiscent of Vincent van Gogh's ''Starry Night." this piece is a tribute to another artist greatly
concerned with the search for God. Van Gogh began his life as a minister to miners, descending
into the mines with them. The fact that he identified so closely with the people disgraced the
church, and he was defrocked. Thus in his final years van Gogh turned elsewhere, painting
pictures that have spoken powerfully to many. The disciples whose nets cast in the blood-red sea
failed to gather any fish, found their nets were filled when they obeyed the absurd command of
Christ to "cast them on the other side." For van Gogh, that other side proved to be the starry sky,
where he finally found his God.
"For as the rain and the snow come down
from heaven and return not thither but
water the earth, making it bring forth
and sprout giving, feed to the store and
bread to the eater, so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth. It shall
not return to me empty but it shall
accomplish that for which I purpose and
prosper in the thing for which I sent it"
(Isaiah 55:10-11).
If I'm unable to say "by the will of God"
I do know that we're told that all good
gifts come from God, and with each life
situation we're given the promise of
deliverance. So I tell my story.
There was an obvious need for deliver-
ance and transcendence from the
moment of my birth. It was an overfocus
on first saving the life of the child and
then correcting impairments. You know
you are in trouble when even the
triumph over the smallest physical
impairments defy you.
My first societal experience was in
school. It taught me that my impair-
ments would restrict the kind of life I
wanted but that my deformities would
restrict me even more. I fought for
status immediately.
Through grade school again health
care, new doctors, strange and faraway
hospitals preoccupied me. Death was
nearby in those places. I have never
really felt well. The best I can describe
for you is that you always feel like you're
coming down with something.
Through elementary school, at church
the hymns sang of welcome, but the
sermons repeatedly told of how we do
not measure up to what God expects. I
found these to be opposing messages, and
all in the same hour. My fear deepened.
I said less and lived more in my own
world.
In high school I trusted few people. I
had poor reading skills. Today they call
it dyslexia. Back then they called it not
studying. In my struggle to be good, I
developed a great memory, which still
serves me well.
One class in high school pulled me
enough, just enough. It was a drawing
class with Ezra Hershberger. From the
first day he did not allow us to use
erasers. We had to either ignore our line
or make it work for us. I still draw
wicked lines rapidly on the page.
At Goshen (Ind.) College Nick Lindsey
taught me poetry — non-judgmental ways
to view human behavior. I joined the
human story with pride. Poetry writing
seemed easy. I found words for myself,
for my life, and I was respected. Mr.
Lindsey showed his classes a vast
universe in which to participate, and it
became mine, too.
I moved into an apartment, but
THE MENNONITE 339
overused my feet and developed deep
pressure sores. I dropped out term after
term. Finally, in 1972, I stopped attend-
ing college. No doors, no windows, no
next step. Had I maintained my health
at that point, my life would have been
different and, I believe, outside the
church.
Alone, I felt too betrayed to write. I
remember drawing. But even getting
supplies seemed overwhelming. It
embarrassed me. I got more sores and
was hospitalized again. I had outlived
my skin.
People had suggestions. Handwork?
Embroidery? No, I said, it made me
nervous. But there are unstoppable
saints who don't take our insults person-
ally. I have an aunt like this.
She gave me a needlepoint kit and
unwittingly gave me my first tools for
drawing. I flipped it over and drew my
own design to needlepoint. I drew the
way Nick Lindsey taught me to write.
I stitched needlepoint, preoccupied
with visual images that unite all human
experience and emotion with deity. It
was my only honest level of faith.
Because of my pain I identified myself
with the meaning of atonement.
Chronic physical discomfort brings on
morbid religious questions, unbearable
ones. I tugged the sleeves of every
churchman I could find on issues of faith.
How to internalize the love of God. I had
insight but no peace. They were running
out of patience with me as I had with
myself. But God, after all, is the Lord
and will have his way.
I prayed, but no answer came. God
was bringing about my way of escape.
He was acting. A young student with no
apparent trek to either the Mennonite
church or toward my part of the country
came to both, and I believe with all my
heart that God presented him to me.
In 1982, when I had given up, I lay in
bed, my pain unbearable. He came to
me, fresh in faith, not so much in a
concept of deity as in a living Lord. In
our first conversation he opened up
Romans 8 humbly, gently and said,
"There is now no condemnation for those
that are in Christ Jesus." It also said,
"In all things God works together for the
good to those who love him" and ended
with, "Nothing can separate us from the
love of God."
The Spirit is alive. I heard the Word
and saw that my guest knew how to
pray. I did not, but Romans 8 also
teaches us that the Spirit prays for us.
The next month we prayed, we remem-
bered, and there were tears. I prayed
that the waters would not overflow. But
in those next months I slowly began to
believe in the love of God.
It was the beginning of deliverance
into a large, transcending world, where I
am often afraid, though I believe it to be
The Triumphal Entry," 1979
Christ's entry into Jerusalem immediately preceded his betrayal and death, the final triumph
over evil. Seated here on the horizon between heaven and earth, he absorbs the anxiety that
surrounds him, caught as he is in the sound and fury of the moment. Behind him Mary
Magdalene wraps her arms around the flagellating pillar in tormented grief while a little child
dances with a palm leaf in the foreground. A grinning devil I dog peers on, holding his tongue
between his teeth as a cigar. The arm of Judas also waves a palm branch as th e parade moves
relentlessly forward. Each element expresses the taut emotion of that event, revealing the
darkness yet to come as well as the light.
profoundly safe. I was almost 40. I con-
tinued my designs, claiming their
message of faith for even me.
The gold ring given to the lost son
(Luke 15) appears everywhere in my
work. Now in my art I was giving
human shape to pain, failure, begging, to
those whom Christ called, to those for
whom the kingdom of God was estab-
lished, whose inclusion makes us the
faithful church.
I rejoice to share in declaring this
kingdom. It is all joy. The 12th-century
French monk Bernard of Clairvaux said,
"To them that seek thee thou art good, to
them that find thee, all in all."
And I believe. My images today are
more and more of a tender God with his
children, not only protecting them but
enjoying them. And God provides.
I stitich when I'm lying flat. I use my
work on a scroll frame. It takes a long
340 AUGUST 14, 1990
"God So Loved
the World," 1987
time to do and little energy. I control the
pain — physical pain — by listening to
music. We are told in Scripture that love
casts out fear, and I find that if I fill
myself with music there is no room for
pain. It is a reality for which there are
no words.
Many in my congregation are patient
with my phone calls and get me informa-
tion and leads. What a resource! I
belong here.
Today I have no special emotional
sense of the presence of God. He is not a
feeling. I have no holy vision. I'm still
plagued with nightmares of childhood
events. I have a smaller measure of
peace than I think I deserve. I'm short
on patience. I'm quick on the panic
button. Often I look around in my small
room and say, "I can't do it anymore."
And that feeling can be intense for weeks
and months.
I intercede daily for others in my
congregation who have chronic ailments.
Every now and then while making an
early breakfast I am surprised to realize
that I love life. It is for me. God is for
me. I'd do it all again just for this.
Grace is everywhere. Do not settle for
less.
Elizabeth Wenger is a member of College
Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind.
THE MENNONITE 341
Two Wafer poems
Louise Dueck
Rohn Engh
I watch with longing
the sea gull's graceful
glide and sudden soaring
and my spirit quickens
as I release its bonds
to seek new heights
while the water beneath
us gently washes away
that which pinned me down
II
Some mornings
the sunlight dances
on the moving water,
providing, with lapping waves,
a sound-and-light program.
As I watch
my spirit rises
to dance with the
sunbeams, joy fills my
soul, and I meet
the day with renewed
energy, confident
the Lord is there and
prompting me to repeat
his comforting "All is well."
Louise Dueck lives in Orillia, Out.
342 AUGUST 14, 1990
My (YeatedMorlcls
Paul D. Zehr
God created the world.
God created you.
God created me.
I thought,
I will create myself a world:
a world where I am God,
and where I am alone,
and where I am freed;
free to manipulate,
free to plan,
and free to control.
So,
I created myself a world,
in fact, many worlds,
on notebook margins,
and cardboard cutouts.
I drew a river,
the river of life
flowing to the sea.
I drank the living water
from the sparkling brook.
I created
spontaneous topographical features,
I climbed to the highest mountain.
I walked through the deepest valley,
and through the forest,
and the blooming meadow.
Then I built myself a city.
I drove down its streets,
and I strolled through City Park,
and I found myself very much alone,
and bound by my own freedom.
But then
my shackles were broken
and I came back home anew,
and I found myself once again
the created
rather than the creator.
And I found You there
waiting.
Paul D. Zehr is a member of Mennonite Church of
the Servant, Wichita, Kan.
To Dan let. on tlu slick ij la fit Superior
Helen Wells Quintela
Little one,
there you stand,
tossing rock after rock
into gentle waves.
You are golden.
Bathed in perfect light
and sparkling water,
bronzed by rays of sundown,
set aglow through glistening beads
of moisture.
Little one,
there you stand,
gold of God's bright promise,
child of a rainbow family
reflecting the glory of God's intention
that all the earth will be
one chosen and beloved people.
Helen Wells Quintela is pastor at St.
Paul (Minn.) Mennonite Fellowship.
I have heard that there is gold
at the end of every rainbow,
where colors of heaven
meet patterns of earthly radiance.
THE MENNONITE 343
TOqEThER
30,000 gather for closing worship at Assembly 12
Coming together in Winnipeg
ennonite World Con-
ference is interested
in removing the idea
of Western domination of the
world, said Paul Kraybill,
MWC's executive secretary of
the past 17 years. Assembly
12 was to help Mennonites
learn to cooperate.
In a show of coordination
and international cooperation,
about 30,000 (just over
13,000 of whom were regis-
tered) gathered in Winnipeg's
Blue Bomber Stadium July 29
for the closing worship of the
July 24-29 conference. It was
the city's largest convention
ever. (Winnipeg has a popula-
tion of about 600,000 and
claims the largest concentra- j§ rfl
tion of Mennonites— 60,000— £ m
in the world.)
Of the world Mennonite 'A willingness to sing each other's songs': The Chorale Inter --Mennonite from Zaire, one of many choirs to
community ot 800,000, halt live perform at Mennonite World Conference, sing "God's Word Is Like a Broom."
in Africa, Asia, Latin America
and Europe. To this conference came
(according to preregistration figures)
4,934 from Canada, 3,708 from the
United States, 719 from Europe, 404
from Latin America, 330 from Asia and
166 from Africa, or over 10,000 people
from 67 countries. Canadian Mennonites
raised $400,000 to help bring people from
developing countries.
The conference provided simultaneous
translation in five languages — Spanish,
German, French, Dutch and Japanese —
at the mass sessions. About 750 people
carried around the little radios (valued at
$250 each) that were needed for the
translation.
The Assembly 12 songbook is an
example of this international coopera-
tion. Songbook editor Doreen Klassen
said, "A willingness to sing each other's
songs symbolizes that we are a fellow-
ship of believers." People from 40
countries sent songs, and a team of 15
translators worked on the collection of 86
numbers. (Number 86 is our familiar
"606," "Praise God from Whom All
Blessings Flow." It erupted spontane-
ously at least twice: in the foyer of a
theater, where a capacity crowd waited
to see Stephen Shank's presentation of
"Revelation," and after the final worship
service.)
Earthquake: Louie Lumibao, 33, from
the Philippines should probably get the
prize for the most astonishing coming-to-
Winnipeg story. He had to walk 100
kilometers (62 miles) to catch a bus
because the July 15 earthquake closed
the roads from his northern mountain
city of Baguio. But before leaving for
Winnipeg, this Mennonite pastor (of the
year-old, 30-member, Manila Mennonite
Church) first helped dig survivors out of
ruined buildings. Two of his relatives, a
cousin and a niece, were killed in the
quake.
Ten people drove 5,300 kilometers
(3,286 miles) in a van from Guatemala.
They traveled 12 hours a day for a week
on a shoestring budget, Mennoniting
their way.
Cellular phone: Roses are due to John
Dyck, who master-minded the logistics of
Assembly 12, as well as the thousand
volunteers who got good marks for
efficiency and graciousness from all who
were hosted. John roamed with a 25-
page operational manual and a cellular
phone. He said his biggest thrill was
when he walked to the upper reaches of
Winnipeg Arena on opening night. "At
that moment," he said, "as I looked down
on the crowd, it hit me that this thing
was actually coming together." Muriel T.
Stackley, with reports from Steve Shenk,
John Longhurst, Gladys Terichow
Note: Our Aug. 28 issue will carry more
articles on Assembly 12 of Mennonite
World Conference.
New officers of
Mennonite World
Conference
President: Raul Garcia, Argentina
Vice president: Ed van Straten
Executive committee: Joram M.
Mbeba, Tanzania; Nkumbi Mudiayi
Shambuyi, Zaire; P.B. Arnold, India;
Mesach Krisetya, Indonesia; Louise
Nussbaumer, France; Samuel Gerber,
Switzerland; Han Gerhard Peters,
Brazil; Jose Chuquin, Colombia;
Phyllis Pellman Good, United States;
Vern Preheim, United States
344 AUGUST 14, 1990
Jacob Hutter (ca. 1 506-1 536)
Anabaptist
saints
with
feet
of clay
Fourth
in a
series
of six
Walter Klaassen
In the year 1526, Caspar Hutter, a hat-
maker in the village of Stegen, Tyrol,
took on an apprentice named Jacob. One
day, as they sat in the local inn, they
engaged in a bit of gambling. Caspar
won a "piece of eight" from Jacob.
Shocked by this turn of events and of no
mind to continue, Jacob ruefully accused
himself for gambling away the money he
had earned by long and hard work. "I
ought to hang myself," he lamented
bitterly. Caspar, shocked at his appren-
tice's depression, returned the money to
him and thus restored the young man to
his usual contented and happy self.
In fact, the young man, Jacob Hutter,
was interested in more than gambling.
Sometime that same year he attached
himself to a goatherd named Wolfl who
held some provocative views, namely
that people should follow Christ and
reject all human laws. He argued that
the rite of confirmation had no scriptural
base. All of this apparently prompted
Hutter to go and buy a New Testament
at a market in Bozen. He became so
excited by what he read that he immedi-
ately set about to share it with his
master Caspar and his household.
Caspar told him that this was not part of
his apprenticeship. Jacob was put out by
this and, after a month, left his appren-
ticeship indignantly and never returned.
The year 1526 was memorable in
Tyrol. Michael Gaismair, the brilliant
and popular peasant leader, came
through Stegen with an army that
summer, hoping to throw out the feudal
masters in his homeland and establish a
peasant republic. Young Jacob probably
became one of Gaismair's soldiers.
Gaismair, too, held views regarded as
heretical by the church. 1526 was also
the year when the first Anabaptists were
reported in the area where Wolfl was
preaching. Whether it is true that Wolfl
had promoted Jacob Hutter to leadership
among the Anabaptists, as the local
authorities reported, cannot be con-
firmed. However, by 1529 he had
become a leader in Welsberg, Austria,
when he was no older than 23.
When persecution set in, Hutter was
sent to Moravia, where, it appeared,
there was some toleration for Anabap-
tists. There he quickly became the most
important leader of the community that
took his name.
There was in Hutter that mixture of
eloquent and profound faith and a steely,
unemotional decisiveness approaching
ruthlessness and intolerance that often
characterizes outstanding church
leaders. One has only to read his letters
(Brotherly Faithfulness: Epistles from a
Time of Persecution) to be inspired and
strengthened by the soaring certainty of
his faith and his passionate love for his
people. The other side of him has to be
read from between the lines of the Great
Chronicle, which records what he was
and did between 1529 and 1536. We find
there no word of censure or any question-
ing of the rightness of his motives and
actions. On the other hand, each person
who could have been a rival for the
leadership is spoken of in negative
terms. Virtually every exclusion result-
ing from leadership conflict had to do
with the handling of money. It is easy to
convict a man of a fault involving gold
pieces under a mattress; it is much more
difficult to detect manipulation and
power ploys to get one's way. There is no
question that Hutter was a master in
knowing how to eliminate rivals and how
to get people to agree with him and to
reject others.
But it is almost embarrassing to
express such sentiments when one
considers Jacob Hutter's silent heroism
at his trial and execution by fire in
February 1536. Despite this*most atro-
cious torture, he never said a word,
betrayed no one and thus helped assure
the survival of his amazing community,
the Hutterites, into our time.
Walter Klaassen, Site
12A, C. 23, Route 7,
Vernon, BC V1T 7Z3,
looks everywhere,
probably even under
mattresses, for stories
about 16th-century
Anabaptists.
THE MENNONITE 345
While most adults are infected with the AIDS
virus through homosexual sex and IV drug use,
most teenagers are being infected heterosexu-
ally, according to the newsletter Looking
Forward, Box 16340, Alexandria, VA 22302.
Preliminary studies show that a higher percent-
age of adolescent girls are testing HIV positive
than their male peers. One program trying to
address this problem is Face To Face. In the
second session of the two-part program a
person who has AIDS talks to students and
gives them a chance to ask questions. For
more information contact Penny Lane at (703)
751-5520.
Representatives of Mennonite Economic
Development Associates attended a gathering
May 25-26 in Moscow at which 38 Christian-
owned private businesses decided to form a
national business association. Some 80 people
attended the event. MEDA representatives
included MEDA chairperson LeRoy Troyer; Neil
Janzen, MEDA president; Ron Braun, MEDA vice
president, international division; Art DeFehr,
Winnipeg; Jim and Bev Penner, Steinbach, Man.;
Fred Wall and Al Doerksen, both of Winnipeg.
The new Association of Christian Businessmen is
the first organization started by entrepreneurs in
the Soviet Union to represent the interests of
small private businesses.
NEWS
Pacific District and Southwest Conference meet together
Integration, family highlight PDC
Audrey Lowen, Clackamas, Ore., voices her concern on integration.
Reedley, Calif. (GCMC)— Over
230 people representing the
Pacific District Conference of
the General Conference
Mennonite Church and the
Southwest Conference of the
Mennonite Church met at First
Mennonite Church here June
22-24 to worship, conduct
business and discuss possible
integration of the two area
conferences as well as the two
denominations. Approximately
75 percent of the participants
were from PDC, which had met
with SWC once before.
In an opening dialogue, PDC
president Clayton Auernheimer,
Reedley, and SWC moderator
Vernon Schertz, Tucson, Ariz.,
commented on the differences
between the two groups, on
finances and integration. "It
seems to me we may be able
to move faster on the West
Coast than the General
Conference and the Mennonite
Church, who are looking to
1995," Auernheimer said. "The
theological differences, if any,
are minimal. The mechanics
can be worked out." Schertz,
who pastors a church that is a
member of both conferences,
agreed.
The Integration Exploration
Committee West Coast, com-
prised of representatives of
both area conferences,
reported that in the Western
United States there are
approximately 3,400 MCs in 38
churches, 2,400 GCs in 20
churches and 500 who are
members of eight dual-
conference churches. "We are
so alike in so many ways, and
we need each other. Our
differences confuse the people
we witness to," said Peter
Wiebe, Phoenix, the commit-
tee's chairperson.
Wiebe recommended that (1)
West Coast GCs and MCs
continue to hold joint confer-
ences, (2) established
churches that belong to only
one denomination consider
dual membership and (3) ail
local church boards actively
discuss integration concerns
during the next year. Re-
sponse from those present was
generally positive, though
some expressed concerns.
"I'm not sure that the churches
[in the Northwest United States]
are as far as the churches
down here," said Audrey
Lowen, Clackamas, Ore. "It
concerns me that we don't just
rush along and say [they] don't
have a choice."
Jeff Wright, Rancho
Cucamonga, Calif., proposed
that each congregation during
the next 12 months seriously
consider becoming a member
of both denominations and
asked that by May 1, 1991,
each church report to the
committee any decisions made.
Elmer Friesen, Milwaukie, Ore.,
suggested that the resolution
be amended to invite the
Pacific Coast Conference of
the Mennonite Church to join
the exploration. The resolution
and amendment were affirmed
by a strong majority.
In separate session, PDC
delegates heard reports from
seven committees and consid-
ered a proposed revision of the
district constitution that would
make people employed by the
district, churches or groups
receiving PDC funds ineligible
for service in elected positions
or on the home missions
committee. Currently Dennis
Rempel, a co-pastor at
Redlands Community Fellow-
ship, which receives PDC
funding, chairs the home
missions committee.
Wright opposed the pro-
posal. "I think this amendment
disqualifies some of the most
gifted people among us to
serve on the home missions
committee, and those are
church planters," he said.
Steve Ratzlaff, Seattle, agreed:
"If we're going to have a home
missions committee that has a
true understanding of what is
going on in the field, we have
to have the perspective of
those people who are out there
doing that." But Al Whaley,
Phoenix, noted that "the issue
needs to be resolved. In the
past we've not allowed a home
missions pastor to serve on the
board because of conflict of
interest. We're attempting to
write down what's been a long-
standing tradition." Delegates
tabled the proposal until next
year's session.
Clare Schumm, Elkhart, Ind.,
346 AUGUST 14, 1990
Trinity Chinese Mennonite Church of
Artesia, Calif., asks for prayer because the
congregation has to relocate to a new
place of worship. The church held a
Mother's Day picnic on May 14 that
included a panel discussion on parent-chiid
relationships. The goal was to have more
understanding relationships, especially
since Chinese children have generally
adapted more to a "Western style of living,"
says Mark Chen, pastor at the church.
During the 1989-90 school year the Lion
and the Lamb Peace Arts Center, Bluffton,
Ohio, sponsored on-campus activities for
approximately 2,000 children of all ages
and 650 adults. The center has also
presented programs to many others off
campus, including people from 11 elemen-
tary schools, seven churches, four college
classes and six civic organizations.
Programs have included such topics as
peaceful conflict management, using
literature for drama and peacemaking,
building relationships and the culture,
language and people of Japan, the Soviet
Union and Australia.
Barbara Bush hosted the annual Institute
of Museum Services 1990 General
Operating Support Award ceremony May
18 at the White House. She presented an
award to Rachel Pannabecker of Kauffman
Museum, North Newton, Kan. The IMS
awards, made through a peer process, are
highly competitive. Of the 1 .368 museums
that applied this year, 390 received a grant.
This was the fifth consecutive year that IMS
awarded Kauffman Museum a grant.
NEWS
family life staff person for both
the Commission on Education
of the General Conference and
Mennonite Board of Congrega-
tional Ministries of the Mennon-
ite Church, spoke on the
conference's theme, "God's
Family." He said that "family
connotes an experience. The
family of God is not a certain
constellation or group of
people. Family is where people
experience being valued,
respected, affirmed and
accepted for who and what and
where they are at any given
time and [where they] experi-
ence the grace of God."
In other business, PDC
delegates
• accepted into membership
Peace Mennonite Fellowship,
Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.,
and the Mennonite Fellowship
of San Diego (Calif.);
• re-elected Clayton Au-
ernheimer president and
elected Steve Ratzlaff vice
president;
• adopted a budget of
$178,840, a slight reduction
from last year's budget but a 4
percent increase over expendi-
tures. The budget includes
funding for a quarter-time
family life staff person for the
district and assistance for
churches implementing the
Living In Faithful Evangelism
program.
While delegates met in
Reedley, over 60 youth met at
Camp Keola, Huntington Lake,
Calif. Jerry Holsopple,
Harrisonburg, Va., spoke at the
youth conference on "Breaking
Away Without Breaking Apart."
Dave Linscheid, GCMC
communications director
Peace Section endorses bill
to curb racial bias
in capital sentencing
Washington (MCC U.S.)— The
Mennonite Central Committee
U.S. Peace Section has
endorsed the Racial Justice
Act, a measure designed to
prohibit racial discrimination in
the application of the death
penalty.
The endorsement supports a
1982 Peace Section statement
on the death penalty in which
the section acknowledged that
despite legal guidelines against
discrimination, "most of those
currently on death row are the
poor, the minorities and the
uneducated."
The new endorsement
comes on the heels of a study
completed by the U.S. General
Accounting Office that docu-
ments "a pattern of evidence
indicating racial disparities in
the charging, sentencing and
imposition of the death
penalty." This study consists of
a review and critique of 28
existing studies on race and
capital sentencing. It found
that "in 82 percent of the
studies, race of victim was
found to influence the likelihood
of being charged with capital
murder or receiving the death
penalty, i.e. those who mur-
dered whites were found to be
more likely to be sentenced to
death than those who mur-
dered blacks."
For example, the race of
victim influence was demon-
strated in a study by David
Baldus of the University of
Iowa. In the state of Colorado,
Baldus' study of capital murder
prosecutions since 1979
revealed that the killer of a
white is 20 times more likely to
get the death penalty than one
who has killed a black.
Judith Menadue, former
MCC U.S. worker and legal
coordinator for the Louisiana
Capital Defense Project, says,
"The death penalty is the most
inequitable manifestation of
justice in our country."
Senator Edward Kennedy
(D-Mass.) and Representative
John Conyers (D-Mich.) have
introduced the Racial Justice
Act to create a federal right to
have death sentences imposed
under procedures that are free
from the effects of racial bias.
The measure would prohibit a
state from imposing the death
penalty if a criminal defendant
could show, by using statistical
evidence, racial disparities in
the pattern of capital sentences
within that state.
The bill does not eliminate
the death penalty, only the
penalty of being black in a
white-biased judicial system.
Support for the Racial Justice
Act is in no way support for
capital punishment because
the bill is death-penalty neutral.
Its enactment would help
insure equal protection and due
process under law. Greg W.
Goering. MCC U.S. Washing-
ton Office
Silverwood accommodates growth
Silverwood Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind., dedicated a new
Christian education wing June 3. The new facility is 6,000 square
feet and contains three offices, several large classrooms, a library, a
lounge, a commons area, kitchenette and restroom facilities. The
new educational wing is attached to the principal building, which the
congregation dedicated in 1984. The increased growth of the
membership in recent years necessitated additional room for the
Christian education program of the church. Vyron Schmidt, former
pastor at Silverwood, delivered the dedicatory message during the
worship service. General Conference Mennonite Church representa-
tives Mark Weidner, Bluffton, Ohio, and Ted Stuckey, Hesston, Kan.,
spoke at the dedication ceremony.
THE MENNONITE 347
The final agreement on the largest land
claim in Canadian history was signed
recently in a tiny hamlet in the Eastern
Arctic, giving 17,000 Inuit ownership of an
area half the size of Alberta. The agree-
ment gives the Inuit 350,000 square
kilometers of land and $612 million in
compensation over the next 14 years.
( Toronto Globe and Mail
A pacifist Lutheran pastor, Rainer
Eppelmann, was named defense minister
recently by the new government of East
Germany. He was a longtime opponent of
the previous communist government and is
the leader of the Democratic Awakening
Party that helped form the new government
after elections in March. Eppelmann,
whose official title is "minister for disarma-
ment and defense," said he aspires to
make his country a "world champion in
disarming," and he intends to cut military
costs by as much as 50 percent. But his
new duties demand an intricate balancing
act. Military morale has nosedived, and
desertions are commonplace. (Gospel
Herald)
Tina Warkentin Bohn, missionary to
Lesotho, remained hospitalized in Pentic-
ton, B.C., July 31 from a head injury she
received from a bicycle accident on June
25. Her husband, John, reported that
"speaking and remembering are difficult,
but she is walking, usually without assis-
tance. She doesn't yet use her left eye."
Recovery was slowed by the onset of
pneumonia on July 13. The Bohns will
stay in Penticton at least until Tina is
dismissed from the hospital. They had
planned to return to Lesotho on July 29.
"The outpouring of love." said John, "has
been sustaining."
NEWS
CMC gives delegate status
to Native Ministries reps,
declines membership
in national religious groups
Edmonton — "Faithfulness is
hugging." "Faithfulness is
remembering to pray." "Faith-
fulness is God."
This is how the children par-
ticipating in the 88th annual
sessions of the Conference of
Mennonites in Canada here
defined the adult theme —
"Faithfulness in the '90s" — July
6-11. Delegates numbered
31 7, representing 1 1 3 (out of
158) congregations.
The delegate body, with just
over 100 guests, also worked
hard to define faithfulness for
the coming decade. Chairper-
son Walter Franz, Altona, Man.
(whose four-year term now
comes to a close), stated the
foundations of faithfulness: (1 )
renewed personal commitment
to Jesus Christ, (2) church as
community and (3) a deep
sense of compassion — tough
compassion — for the world.
"The call to faithfulness is the
call to be a biblical people,"
added Harry Huebner, Win-
nipeg, one of three major
speakers. That translated into
inclusiveness in the week's
business.
A recurring theme throughout
the six days became the
counsel that emerges from Acts
1 5, the account of the pivotal
Jerusalem conference: that
"circumcision" not be required
for membership. Just as that
radical consensus applied to
the first-century Christian
church, variations apply to the
last decade of the 20th century.
The delegates resolved to
extend "full delegate privileges
to representatives from the
churches/fellowships related to
CMC's Native Ministries
program."
Leadership had approached
this Edmonton gathering with
apprehension, having asked for
a vote (after a three-year study)
regarding associate member-
ship in both the Canadian
Council of Churches and the
Evangelical Fellowship of
Canada. The delegates were
given ample evidence of deep
division on this subject in the
constituency. While under-
standing that CMC could offer a
reconciling stance between the
two national groups and that
"our voice was needed," an
overwhelming majority voted
for a motion made by Harold
Peters Fransen, Mississauga,
Ont., to "direct the General
Board [of CMC] to continue
observer status with CCC and
EFC."
In obedience to a resolution
two years ago, the delegates
devoted major time to the
subject of women in leadership.
The Committee on Ministerial
Leadership developed study
materials for inclusion in the
delegate packet. Testimonies
about pastoral call came from
Mary Dyck, Winnipeg.; Peter
Zacharias, Rosetown, Man.;
and Karen Martens Zimmerly,
Abbotsford, B.C. In spite of
general affirmation for women
as pastors, Lois Edmund,
Winnipeg, said that women at
Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries "are afraid they
won't find a church."
Senior churchman Siegfried
Bartel, Agassiz, B.C., encour-
finance people "were pleased"
to again add to their reserves.
The delegates adopted a
proposed 1991 budget of
$3,831,932, a 3 percent
increase over 1990. Five per-
cent of the budget is raised by
direct fund raising. Dave
Tiessen, Guelph, Ont., cau-
tioned against approaching
individuals for funds. "Ultimate
accountability must stay with
"I hope to continue. ..working toward unity in
the Conference of Mennonites in Canada,
strengthening the participation of member
congregations and together exploring our
relationships with partner conferences.
'Faithfulness in the '90s' will continue to
guide our discussion." Menno Epp, new chair-
person of the Conference of Mennonites in Canada
aged inclusiveness: "The Holy
Spirit has a wide range and
doesn't speak only to graduate
students." And Jeannette
Bergen. Kelowna, B.C., made a
ringing case for women being
"helpmates."
The Mennonite Conference
of Eastern Canada expressed
caution for CMC's process for
establishing priorities and goals
for the 1990s. MCEC wants its
"congregations to be more ac-
quainted before proceeding
with full membership" in the
Conference of Mennonites in
Canada. Thus delegates voted
on (and accepted) only a
mission statement at this time.
Having received 97.6 percent
of the budget last year, CMC
the congregations," he said.
CMC now looks toward the
construction of a wheelchair-
accessible dormitory addition at
Canadian Mennonite Bible
College in Winnipeg. Outgoing
CMC treasurer Edgar Rempel
said that 98 percent of A Call to
Kingdom Commitments
pledges had come in, resulting
in $2.4 million (of the total
General Conference Mennonite
Church development plan)
being raised in Canada.
In other business, CMC
tabled a resolution about how
to mark the 500th anniversary
of Christopher Columbus
coming to the Americas. "Land
is only a symbol," said Lester
Kehl, Niagara-on-the-Lake,
348 AUGUST 14, 1990
ThE MENNONITE
Bulletin
Introducing the 1990 graduates
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries gradu-
ated 41 students in the 1990 commencement
service at College Mennonite Church, Goshen,
Ind., June 1. Henry Poettcker gave the message
on "Hope That Springs Eternal." The graduating class
chose Poettcker as speaker on his retirement as president of
Mennonite Biblical Seminary.
Introduction of the 1990 graduates begins with selected
quotes.
"I especially appreciated the love for scripture which I
encountered in the lives of the faculty." —Daniel Foley
"I value the friends that I have made, the opportunity to
have a spiritual director and be a pastoral intern at Belmont
Mennonite Church." —Brenda Glanzer
"AMBS has provided me with a unique opportunity to
intentionally reflect on past service experiences and to
prepare for future opportunities for service, all within the
context of a caring community." —Gwen Gustafson-Zook
"The semester at AMBS enabled me to look at some
issues I had ignored because of other preoccupations." —
John Heyerly
"I appreciated the increasing emphasis on integrating
personal spiritual growth with academic learning, so that
one's walk with Christ becomes relevant to every dimen-
sion of personal and corporate existence." —Rodney
Hollinger-Janzen
"In classes that pushed me to reflect on peace and mis-
sion, theology and ethics, spirituality and ministry, I have
been challenged to become all that God would want. In
friendships, I have found strength to go on." —Gay Kauf-
fman
"Some of the highlights have been the international com-
munity of students, staff and faculty, the chance for per-
sonal and spiritual growth through mentoring
relationships, and the challenge to reflect on issues facing
the church." —Ingrid Loepp
"I came to realize that half of me was already Anabaptist
and that the other half wanted to become truly Anabaptist.
I most value the many role models as Christ-centered
peacemakers among faculty, students, and missionaries on
furlough." —Richard Lougheed
"Since I am rooted in a tradition other than Mennonite, I
have found that the most challenging aspect of this institu-
tion is its unyielding emphasis on peace and justice. This
challenge freshly emphasized the 'doing' of God's work
and this was most helpful for me." —Cameron Marler
"My AMBS experience has been one of the most signifi-
cant times and places which has helped me commit my life
to the Anabaptist-Mennonite theological tradition." —
Lauren Martin
"This year at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries
has been a most wonderful retreat from the joys and pres-
sures of an intensive ministry." —Doreen Neufeld
"It has been exciting to be part of a discerning Christian
community where an integration of faith and life and mis-
sion is fostered." —Hugo Neufeld
"I appreciated the openness of the professors and the
other students. Education happened not only in the class-
room but also in the informal and sometimes spontaneous
sharing that occurred between persons." —Ike Porter
"I found excellent on-and-off -campus preparation for
urban ministry." —Mark Schlotterbeck
"Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries has not
taught me everything that I need to know about the minis-
try. However, they have given me many of the tools that I
will need for further growth and development." —Stanley
Shantz
"The relationship with fellow students who were re-
sponding to God's call to them gave me the courage and
motivation to accept my own calling into ministry.'' —Terry
Shue
"I value highly the many significant relationships
I have had here at Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries— new and old friends, K-groups, staff, profes-
sors in and out of the classroom, a spiritual director, etc.,
etc." —Bev Suderman
"I appreciated the sense of unity while working as
groups in specific assignments— and coffee breaks!" —Jacob
Tijerina
"AMBS provided an opportunity to realize long-
cherished hope for further education as well as confirma-
tion of a call to ministry felt nearly 20 years ago." —Pam
Tolmay
"It was at AMBS that my call into pastoral ministry was
confirmed." —Merritt Welty
"My experiences at AMBS have helped me to grow in
confidence and skills for preaching and worship leading."
— Ruth Yoder
2 ^ Bulletin August mo
Meet the graduates
Lillian Asoera, M.A. in Theological Studies (GBS). Lil-
lian is married to Petros Asoera, and is a member of Men-
nonite Fellowship of San Diego, Calif.
Tracey Augs Werner, M.Div. (MBS). Looking for a posi-
tion as a pastoral counselor in the Elkhart area. She is a
member of Hively Avenue Mennonite church, Elkhart, Ind.
Tracey is married to Brad AugsWerner. She is the daughter
of J. Mark and A. Marie Werner of Belleville, Pa.
Obed G. K. Dashan, M.Div. (MBS). Obed is married to
Tarphena Dashan and they have three children, Pankyes,
Fwangmun, and Nanshelmun Ruth. He is the son of Kut-
diyel and Kyeslong Dashan of Mushere, Plateau State,
Nigeria and is a member of The Church of Christ in Nige-
ria (COCIN).
Lois J. Edmund, Winnipeg, Man., M.A. in Theological
Studies (MBS). Assistant professor of Practical theology at
Canadian Mennonite Bible College. Lois is married to D.
Grant Klassen.
Delia M. Fahnestock, M.A. in Theological Studies
(MBS). Placement plans are in process. She is the daughter
of Dale B. and Elsie A. Fahnestock of York, Pa. and is a
member of Cumberland Valley Brethren in Christ Church
of Dillsburg, Pa.
Daniel Foley, M.Div. (GBS). Pastor of Benton Mennonite
Church, Goshen, Ind. Daniel is married to Jolene Foley
and they have two children, Matthew and Peter.
Brenda Glanzer, M.Div. (MBS). Brenda is candidating for
a pastoral position. She is a member of the Hutterthal
Mennonite Church, Freeman, S.D. She is the daughter of
Clarence and Shirley Glanzer of Dolton, South Dakota.
Gwen Ann Gustafson-Zook, M.Div. (GBS). After spend-
ing the summer working as resident musicians at Camp
Friedenswald, Cassopolis Mich., Gwen and her husband
Les Gustafson-Zook will be moving to the Pacific North-
west where they will be looking for employment. The
Gustafson-Zooks are members of the Assembly Mennonite
Church, Goshen, Ind. Gwen is the daughter of Nancy
Gustafson of Troutdale, Ore., and David Gustafson of
Portland, Ore.
John Heyerly, B.D. -M.Div. exchange (GBS). Director of
developmental disabilities for West Coast Mennonite Cen-
tral Committee. John is married to Jeanne Heyerly and they
have three sons, Dean, Mark, and Phillip. He is a member
of the Whitestone Mennonite Church, Hesston, Kan. He is
the son of Ernest and Mabel Heyerly of Albany, Ore.
John Hiebert, Delta, B.C., B.D. -M.Div. exchange (MBS).
John is married to Lydia Hiebert.
M. Clair Hochstetler, M.Div. (GBS). Senior pastor at
North Danvers Mennonite Church, Danvers, 111. Clair is
married to Patrice Mason Hochstetler and they have two
children, Megan and Jordan. He is the son of Dean and
Edna Hochstetler of Nappanee, Ind.
Rodney Hollinger-Janzen, M.Div. (MBS). He will be
working with the Interconfessional Council of Churches in
Cotonou, Benin (West Africa) with the Mennonite Board of
Missions, Elkhart, Ind. He is a member of Eigenheim Men-
nonite Church, Rosthern, Sask. Rodney is married to
Lynda Hollinger-Janzen and they have one child, Miriam
Ajoke. Rod is the son of William and Helen Janzen of Ros-
thern, Sask.
The Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries— Goshen Biblical Seminar},
included:
(top left) David Rogalsky, Edward (Ike) Porter, Brenda Glanzer, Timothy
(third row) Mathew Swora, Mark Schlotterbeck, Ingrid Loepp, Bev Sudev
(second row) Ken Johnson Shenk, Daniel Foley, Denny Speas, Duncan Sp
Koop, Obed G. K. Dashan
(front row) Ruth Yoder, Gay Kauffman, Pamela Tolmay, Lauren Martin,
Hugo Neufeld
Not pictured: Lillian Asoera, National City, Calif.; Lois Edmund, Winnij
Heyerly, Hesston, Kans.; Cameron Marler, Bristol, Ind.; Randy Smith, \
Gay Lee Kauffman, M.A. in Peace Studies (MBS). Gay is
married to Edward J. Kauffman and they have two chil-
dren, Joel and Sean. She is a member of Eighth Street
Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind. She is the daughter of
Roger W. and Carrie E. Geartz of Merritt Island, Fla.
Karl Koop, M.Div. (MBS). He will be a doctoral student
at the Toronto School of Theology, Toronto, Ont. Karl is
married to Kathy Koop and they have two children, Heidi
and Noelle. He is the son of Hilda and the late Jacob Koop
of Vineland, Ont. He is a member of St. Catherines United
Mennonite Church, St. Catherines, Ont.
Ingrid Loepp, M.Div. (MBS). She will do a unit of Clini-
cal Pastoral Education at Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne,
Ind., this fall. Ingrid was married in July to James Thies-
sen. She is the daughter of Henry and Anita Loepp of
Winnipeg, Man., and is a member of First Mennonite
Church, Winnipeg.
Richard Lougheed, M.A. in Theology (GBS). He was
pastor of All Saints Church (joint Anglican-United) of
Noranda, Quebec. Placement plans are in process. Richard
is married to Margaret Berry and they have four children,
Christopher, Joshua, Sarah, and Elizabeth. Richard is the
son of Jack and Mary Lougheed of Fitzroy Harbour, Ont.
Cameron Marler, M.Div. (MBS). Full-time youth pastor
at a Church of God congregation in Miamisburg, Ohio.
Cameron is married to Candi Marler and they have four
children, Erin, Lindsey, Carly and Kyle. He is the son of
Luther and Alice Marler of Orlando Park, HI.
Lauren R. Martin, M. Div. (GBS). Assignment pending.
Lauren is married to Kim S. W. Martin. He is the son of
Erwin G. and M. Arlene Martin of Terre Hill, Pa. He is a
member of Glennon Heights Mennonite Church, Lake-
wood, Colo.
Gordon Myers, M.Div. (MBS). Pastor of Bethel Menno-
nite Church, Ashley, Mich. Gordon has been pastor of First
An insert of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries— Goshen Biblical Seminary and Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Marlin E. Miller, president. For a copy of
the AMBS Catalog, write Admissions Counselor, AMBS, 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517-1999.
^Bulletin August 1990
id Mennonite Biblical Seminary (MBS)— 1990 graduating class
rry Shue, Jacob Tijerina, Gerald Schlabach, Richard Lougheed
ion Myers, Merritt Welty, Clair Hochstetler
iro Tsubota, Gwen Gustafson-Zook, Rodney Hollinger-]anzen, Karl
>sWerner, Erica Thiessen, Jonathan Neufeld, Doreen (Dueck) Neufeld,
; Delia Fahnestock, Grantham, Pa.; John Hiebert, Delta, B.C.; John
h, Tex.; Stanley Schantz, Glendale, Ariz.
Mennonite Church, Nappanee, Ind. He is married to
Kathryn Myers and they have three children, Ben, Joshua,
and Hannah. He is the son of Bill and Barsia Myers of
Jakarta, Indonesia.
Doreen (Dueck) Neufeld, M.Div. (MBS). Mission minis-
ter with Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada. She is
married to Hugo Neufeld. They have four children, Gerald,
Timothy, Sheldon, and Jonathan. She is a member of Wel-
come Inn Church, Hamilton, Ont. She is the daughter of
Abram A. and Maria (Martens Dueck) Olfert of Abbots-
ford, B.C.
Hugo Neufeld, M.Div. (MBS). Mission minister with the
Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada. Hugo is married
to Doreen (Dueck) Neufeld. He is the son of Margarete and
the late Cornelius K. Neufeld of Virgil, Ont.
Jonathan Neufeld, M.A. in Theology (MBS). Pursuing
graduate studies in psychology. Jonathan is married to Terri
Neufeld. The Neufelds live in Davis, Calif., where Terri is
working on her nursing degree. Jonathan is the son of
Roger and Carolyn Neufeld of Dinuba, Calif.
Edward (Ike) Porter, M.Div. (GBS). Pastor of South Co-
lon Mennonite Church, Burr Oak, Mich. Ike is married to
Joy E. Porter and they have two sons, Seth and Sean. He is
the son of Gladys Porter Moshier of Bath, N.Y. and the late
Edward Douglas Porter.
David Peter Rogalsky, M.Div. (MBS). Pastor of Poole
Mennonite Church, MUverton, Ontario. David is married to
Annemarie Rogalsky and they have two children, Allan
and Elizabeth. David is the son of Peter J. and Leona U.
Rogalsky of St. Catherines, Ont.
Gerald W. Schlabach, M.A. in Theology (GBS). Will
begin doctoral studies at the University of Notre Dame in
theology and ethics. Gerald is married to Joetta Handrich
Schlabach and they have two children, Gabriel and Jacob.
He is a member of the Michigan State University Fellow-
ship, East Lansing, Mich. He is the son of Theron F. and
Sara Schlabach of Goshen, Ind.
Mark Schlotterbeck, M.Div. (GBS). Pastor of Southside
Christian Fellowship, Springfield, Ohio. Mark is married to
Wendy Schlotterbeck and they have three children, Seth,
Hannah, and Markus.
Stanley R. Shantz, M.Div. (GBS). Associate pastor at
Trinity Mennonite Church, Glendale, Ariz. Stanley is mar-
ried to Kathy Keener Shantz. He is the son of Ralph and
Nelda Shantz of Cambridge, Ont.
Ken Johnson Shenk, M.Div. (GBS). Works with Japanese
Ministry within the Ohio Conference of the Mennonite
Church. Ken is married to Natalie Johnson Shenk and they
have two children, Jay and Allen. He is member of the
Shalom Mennonite Church, Sapporo, Japan. He is the son
of Charles and Ruth Shenk of Tokyo, Japan.
Terry Shue, M.Div. (GBS). Pastor of Pine Grove Menno-
nite Church, Stryker, Ohio. Terry is married to Kay Shue
and they have three children, Bethany, Krista, and Kelsey.
He is the son of Paul and Mary Shue of Harper, Kans.
Duncan J. Smith, M.Div. (MBS). Congregational assign-
ment in process. He is a member of the North Main Street
Mennonite Church, Nappanee, Ind. Duncan is married to
Charlene K. Epp. He is the son of Hazel L. Smith and the
late H. Irving Smith of Spokane, Wash.
Randy W. Smith, Fort Worth, Texas, M.Div. (MBS). Pas-
tor of Hope Mennonite Church, Ft. Worth, Texas. Randy is
married to Ann Smith.
Denny D. Speas, Certificate of Theology (GBS). Member
of St. John's United Church of Christ, Elkhart, Ind. Denny
is married to Marcia A. Speas and they have two children,
David and Gina. He is the son of the late Austin L. and
Peggy D. Speas.
Bev Suderman, M.Div. (MBS). Will begin an eight-month
congregational internship in the fall at Toronto United Men-
nonite Church, Toronto, Ont. Bev is a member of Vineland
United Mennonite Church, Vineland, Ont. She is the
daughter of Peter L. and Meg Suderman of Winkler, Man.
Mathew Swora, M.Div. (MBS). Assignment pending.
Mathew is married to Rebecca Swora and they have two
children, Claire and Emily. He is the son of Matthew J.
Swora of Liberty Center, Ohio and Shirley A. Leckie of
Winter Springs, Ha. Mathew is a member of the Faith Men-
nonite Church, Minneapolis, Minn.
Erica Thiessen, M.A. in Theology (MBS). Exploring an
assignment in missions. Erica is the daughter of Victor
Thiessen of Abbotsford, B.C.
Jacob Tijerina, M.Div. (GBS). Co-pastor at Good Shep-
herd Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind. Jacob is married to
Maria A. Tijerina and they have four children, Dorina,
Jacob Jr., Steven, Anita. He is the son of Guillermo and the
late Antonia Tijerina of Brownsville, Tex.
Pamela Tolmay, M.Div. (MBS). Associate pastor of Listo-
wel Mennonite Church, Listowel, Ont. Pam was associate
pastor of Walnut Hill Chapel, Goshen, Ind. while in semi-
nary. She is married to Peter Tolmay and they have three
children, Grant, Ian, and Thandi. She is the daughter of
Len and the late Ogla Ankiewicz of Pretoria, South Africa.
Toshiro Tsubota, M.Div. (GBS). Member of a church-
planting team in the Washington Gardens area of Elkhart,
Ind. Toshiro is a member of the Church Without Walls,
Elkhart. He is the son of Norihide and Shizuko Tsuboto of
Fukui-City, Fukui, Japan.
Timothy D. Weaver, M.Div. (GBS). Will remain in the
Elkhart area until his wife Juanita Weaver finishes her de-
gree program. They have two children, Rachel and Sara.
Tim is a member of the Pleasant Valley Mennonite Church,
Bath, N.Y. He is the son of Levi and Mildred Weaver, Bath,
N.Y.
Merritt L. Welty, M.Div. (GBS). Pastor of Emmanuel
Mennonite Church, Lajunta, Colo. Merritt is married to
Continued next page
Hope that springs eternal
A gift from God. The hope about which I speak is
a gift from God. In that sense it is not from
within us, as if we were the source of it. It is not
the power of positive thinking. Nor does it come
onto the scene because a person needs it— as if an immedi-
ate distress moves one to resort to hoping for something
better in the future. Hope as the Bible understands it does
not rest on our feelings of the moment. Hope, rather, is an
indispensable ingredient of our faith.
Hope is in Christ. In the New Testament the veil is re-
moved (2 Cor. 3). Whereas in the Old Testament people^
hope for the One to come, in the New the hope is in the
One who has come, and who is expected again. The Chris-
tian has the things hoped for because through faith, there
is the evidence of what is not seen. Paul makes this affir-
mation as well when he tells the Romans that in hope they
are saved (8:24), and thus at least in this context hope and
Jesus Christ become synonymous. When Paul writes to the
Colossians he will be so bold as to define the riches of the
glorious mystery as "Christ in you, the hope of glory"
(1:27).
Hope's object is future, yet it is already present. The big
word is eschatological. It comes from the Greek word that
points to the last things. Too often we tend to be very con-
cerned about the end time events, and how they will un-
fold. The Bible sees the future coming to us, and this is
grasped for us by the strong conviction that Christ is com-
ing to us again.
If this is what hope is, what its characteristics are, then it
follows that Christian morality— our way of life— is also one
of hope. Those who have been freed from their unwhole-
some, sinful past, are now those who live in compliance
with this hope.
The Christian way of hope means that the demands of
the world are no longer normative; that goals and aspira-
tions are set in keeping with the stewardship to which
Christ calls His followers; that hope is now a guiding prin-
ciple to place life into its proper perspective.
There are some misconceptions against which we must
guard. To speak of the world not setting the guide for life,
does not mean that we try to escape from the world.
Rather, to be in the world implies that we take seriously
the realities of the world and engage in the task of bringing
good news, salvation, in both word and deed, to those
who need acceptance, forgiveness and reconciliation.
Continued
Meet the graduates
Linda A. Welty and they have two children, Justin and
Jeffrey.
Ruth Yoder, Certificate of Theology (GBS). Ruth and her
husband, Harold, are co-pastors at Prairie Street Menno-
nite Church, Elkhart, Ind. They have two children, Ben-
jamin and Maria. They were co-pastors of University
Mennonite Church, State College, Pa., before coming to
AMBS. She is the daughter of Melvin and Ruth Beiler of
Grantsville, Md.
What does the Christian way of hope mean for you at
this time of commencement?
Christian hope says something about who you are. To
have received the gift of hope, speaks of you as a privi-
leged person. You have been accepted by God; your life
has been prepared to know true priorities. There is pur-
pose in what you undertake. Invariably I'm reminded of
the apostle's words to the Ephesians. To lift out the stark
change, he calls them first to remember what they were:
apart from Christ; foreigners, not part of God's chosen
people; they had no part in the covenant. They were with-
out hope and without God in the world.
That's quite a liability. That's a decidedly hopeless exis-
tence. But with Christ a drastic about-face becomes real.
Now in Christ, they are brought near; peace replaces fear
and turmoil; the dividing wall has been eradicated; enmity
gives way to peaceful union; and there is free access to the
very presence of God.
That message to the Ephesians is also a message to us. It
is the message which we may bring to others. It speaks to
them of enmity turning to friendship; of membership in
God's commonwealth. Such are now built on the true
foundation, Christ himself being the cornerstone. Like a
common building cornerstone, Christ holds the whole
building together and "makes it grow into a sacred temple
in the Lord."
And so, I call on you to continue to believe that faith
makes a new beginning possible. I call on you to let God's
spirit work in you the living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead. When your hands are full of
communicating your own hope and passing it on to others,
then you and we will affirm again: hope springs eternal—
for the glory of God!
Excerpted from the commencement address in the convocation
held at College Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind., June 1, 1990.
Henry Poettcker retired on June 30, completing 12 years as presi-
dent of Mennonite Biblical Seminary. He and his wife Agnes have
moved back to Winnipeg, Man., from where Henry will continue
in a part time role in fund raising for MBS.
AMBS invites
you to
Associated
Mennonite
Biblical
Seminaries
Interterm Courses, January 7-25, 1991
Isaiah
Ben C. Ollenburger
Pastoral Epistles
Erland Waltner
Anabaptist History & Theology
H. Wayne Pipkin
Church & Family
Ross T. Bender
Christian Ministry in the
Urban World
Gary E. Martin
Reading the Bible from the
Third World Perspective
C. Rene Padilla
Conflict, Communication,
and Conciliation
Instructor to be announced
Pastors' Week, January 28-February 1, 1991
Pastoring with Paul
For more information contact:
Steven L. Fath
3003 Benham Avenue
Elkhart, IN 46517-1999
219/295-3726
The Canadian Consultation on
Evangelism recently launched
Vision 2000 in Canada, which puts
forth the goal of giving each person
in Canada an opportunity to hear
and respond to the gospel by the
year 2000. The church needs to
relate more effectively to the
growing number of unchurched
secularized Canadians, said
consultation director Don Moore.
Fifteen representatives of Baptist World Alliance
and Mennonite World Conference met June 1-4 in
Elkhart, Ind.. to celebrate the historic meeting of the
first Baptists with Dutch Mennonites in 1609 in Am-
sterdam. At Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminar-
ies the Baptist and Mennonite scholars and church
leaders held "a sequel to those Amsterdam meet-
ings," according to Ross Bender, president of MWC
and chair of the Mennonite team. In this second of a
series of theological conversations, the two groups
discussed Baptist and Mennonite differences in such
areas as biblical interpretation, service and social
action. The next in the series of conversations will
be held in Ontario in 1 991 . reports Anna Juhnke. one
of the MWC
representa-
tives.
The 34th annual Memorial Meeting.
held in memory of Anabaptist fore-
bears, will be take place Aug. 18 in the
historic Delp Meetinghouse near
Harleysville, Pa. John Ruth. Har-
leysville, and Ward Shelly. Metamora,
III., will speak. Isaac Clarence Kulp Jr.
will lead the German singing.
NEWS
Ont., addressing the delegates.
"Many of you were pushed off
your land [in Russia]. We're
saying, 'We want to walk with
you.' People can never be
adequately compensated."
Partly in response to Marlin
Miller's address, CMC directed
its General Board to develop a
forum for "careful thought and
clear theological, biblical and
ethical understanding, calling it
a faith and life commission." A
recommendation will be
brought to the 1991 session.
Menno Epp, Leamington.
Ont., was acclaimed as new
chairperson of CMC, succeed-
ing Walter Franz. Helmut
Harder, Winnipeg, began his
tenure at this conference as
general secretary, succeeding
Larry Kehler. Walter Franz
began as executive secretary
of Native Ministries,
succeeding John
and Vera Funk.
The next annual
sessions of the
Conference of
Mennonites in
Canada will be July
6-10, 1991, in
Saskatoon, hosted
by that city's 14
General Conference
Mennonite congre-
gations. That
Sunday will bring
together CMC and
the Canadian
Mennonite Brethren,
who will also be in
session that week.
The invited speaker
for Sunday is
Leighton Ford.
Muriel T. Stackley
Sound bites from CMC
I see our [Native] people as people of the Old
Testament. You bring us into the New Testament.
Terry Widrick
The most popular Chinese Mennonite name is
Wong. In pastoral leadership there is Ezekiel and
Ruth Wong in Calgary; Raymond and Vindy Wong
in Coaldale, Alta.; Brian Wong in Richmond, B.C.;
John E. and Elim Wong in Saskatoon. Allan Wong
is a seminary student in Elkhart, Ind. David Chiu
Do we have enough faith to let God write the
story? We are not the storyteller; we are the
story. Elsie Neufeld, respondent to Margaret
Loewen Reimer's theme address
The early Anabaptists didn't split in order to be
faithful. They were kicked out, and their heads
were chopped off. Marlin Miller
OMSC
Where everyone talks
MISSIONS!
Join us for the weeks most important to your
ministry. Don't overlook the week of December 3-7,
1990, when Dr. Saphir Athyal provides leadership
in one of the most critical issues in contemporary
mission: The Uniqueness of Christ and Religious
Pluralism. Dr. Athyal is former president of Union
Biblical Seminary, Pune, India, and a member of
the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization.
Monday afternoon through Friday noon (eight two-
hour sessions), S90. Meals and housing, S116-S136.
Other programs:
Sept. 19-20: How to Prepare Foundation Grant
Proposals for Overseas Projects. Mary Jeanne
Lindinger, O.P., and Joan Anzalone, R.C.D.,
Mission Project Service. Intensive two-day
workshop. $75.
Sept. 25-28: Mission Trends Toward Century
21. Dr. Gerald H. Anderson, OMSC Director.
$60
Oct. 2-5: The Bible in Mission and Mission in
the Bible. Dr. Samuel H. Moffett, Princeton
Seminary. S60
Oct. 8-12: Effective Communication with the
Folks Back Home. Robert T. Coote, OMSC
staff, leads a writing workshop. Cospon-
sored by Maryknoll Mission Institute. S90
Oct. 22-26: Your "Third Culture" Kids Are
Special: Nurturing and Educating Missionary
Children. Dr. Dellanna O'Brien and Mrs.
Shirley Torstrick, INTERFACES. S90
Oct. 29-Nov. 2: Christians and Muslims as
Neighbors: Presence, Dialogue, and Witness.
Dr. David A. Kerr, Macdonald Center for
Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Rela-
tions, Hartford Seminary. S90
Nov. 6-9: Gospel and Culture: Missions in
Creative Tension. Dr. G. Linwood Barnev,
Alliance Theological Seminary. S60
Nov. 12-16: African Christianity Today: Pro-
blems and Promise. Prof. Adrian Hastings,
University of Leeds, England. S90
Nov. 27-30: Mission under Authoritarian
Governments. Dr. lames M. Phillips, OMSC
Associate Director. S60
Most seminars run from Monday afternoon to Friday noon. S90 indicates eight
sessions; S60 indicates four sessions (Tuesday through Friday).
Dear Friends at OMSC: Send more information about the following programs
NAME
ADDRESS
Mail to: Overseas Ministries Study Center, 490 Prospect St., New Haven, CT 06511
Tel: (203) 624-6672 Fax: (203) 865-2857
Publishers of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research
THE MENNONITE 349
Mennonite Centra! Committee plans to
provide material assistance to victims of the
earthquake that struck northwest Iran June
21 . The quake left some 50,000 dead and
100,000 homeless. MCC is accepting
financial contributions designated for Iran.
MCC plans to provide initial emergency as-
sistance and long-term reconstruction aid,
says Ed Martin, who directs the MCC
program in Middle and South Asia.
A learning tour to Thailand and the
Philippines will focus on environmental and
land issues there. Farmers, environmental-
ists and educators concerned with these
issues are especially invited to apply for the
Jan. 28-Feb. 1 8, 1 991 , tour, sponsored by
Mennonite Central Committee. Participants
will work with local people and see how
their lives affect and respond to the land
through creative, sustainable agriculture
and development. Carolyn Schrock-Shenk,
who worked with MCC in the Philippines
from 1985 to 1988, will lead the tour. Cost
is $2,200 (U.S.) per person, from the West
Coast. For more information contact
Carolyn Schrock-Shenk, MCC, Box 500,
Akron, PA 17501-0500, (717) 399-3949.
While on tour for the Journey with Justice
project, Doug and Jude Krehbiel have en-
countered many people who have bought
the tape they created (published by Faith
and Life Press) and made copies for their
friends. Unauthorized copying is not only
illegal, says Mark Regier, marketing and
promotion manager of FLP, it denies artists
their only source of income and can
prevent an institution or organization from
achieving its goals and doing its work. FLP
is the publishing arm of the General
Conference Mennonite Church.
NEWS
MCC sponsors Zaire
development seminar
Kinshasa, Zaire (MCC) — "To
change our way of looking at
things, we need to all sincerely
repent," said Pastor Cibulenu
Sakayimbo. president of the
Mennonite Community of Zaire
(CMZ). He spoke in the closing
meditation of a seminar on
development held here May
1 5-1 7 and sponsored by
Mennonite Central Committee
(MCC).
The seminar was for leaders
of the three Mennonite groups
in Zaire and delegates of the
three North American missions
and service groups working in
Zaire: Africa Inter-Mennonite
Mission, Mennonite Brethren
Missions and Services and
MCC. Church participants
included development coordi-
nators, women's leaders,
regional and national leader-
ship and a sprinkling of
intellectuals.
Christopher Ndege, develop-
ment coordinator for the South
Mara Diocese of the Tanzania
Mennonite Church, told an
amazed audience that Men-
nonites in his diocese during
the last five years have broken
their former dependency on
outside resources to organize
development efforts. "Now
more than 40 congregations
are involved in a variety of
small development projects,"
Ndege said. "All of these
projects are self-reliant. They
are financed, managed and
controlled in the congrega-
tions," he said.
Why do the churches in Zaire
remain dependent on outside
resources? participants asked.
Why has the church in Zaire
had so many failures in
development projects intended
to bring people together and
improve their lives?
Fremont Regier, North
Newton, Kan., presented two
case studies to help partici-
pants evaluate large church
development projects. One
described a well-digging project
in Haiti that failed to meet its
goals because it was designed
and managed from the outside.
Participants were familiar with
this scenario.
"We admit that we made
many errors in the past," said
Howard Good, MCC Zaire
country representative, who
planned the seminar. "We now
search for ways that we can
encourage and support local
initiatives."
Pastor Nkumbi Mudiayi,
general secretary of the
Evangelical Mennonite
Community in Zaire (CEM),
pointed out that discussions
about local participation
sometimes come down to
negotiation on percentages
when Zairian churches talk with
overseas partners. "We have
great financial needs in our
churches, and sometimes the
words local participation' strike
us as a new imposition from the
outside," said Nkumbi.
Chirume Mendo. director of
the national office for develop-
ment of the Church of Christ in
Zaire (ECZ), which links Zaire's
Participants talk together at a May 15-17 MCC-sponsored seminar on
development. From left: Chirume Mendo, Fremont Regier, Bivigete
Sabihira and Christopher Ndege.
Protestants, led the group
through role plays and exer-
cises that examined the role of
leaders in churches and
communities, how decisions
are made and how priorities
often differ between poor
people and those who want to
help them. Mendo proposed
that community decisions and
resulting activities must be
arrived at by consensus for
effective and lasting results.
Bivigete Sabihira, a regional
director of OXFAM in Zaire,
spoke about the conditions
necessary to succeed with
development projects, noting
that many projects fail because
they attempt to grow too
quickly. "It is important to build
on the small successes and
that those successes are
owned and integrated by all of
the organizers before new
things are tried," Bivigete said.
The Mennonite International
Study Project carried out by
Nancy Heisey and Paul Long-
acre found that many large
development projects tried by
African churches have failed.
One goal of the Kinshasa
development seminar was to
bring Mennonite leaders
together to reflect on that
unhappy fact, to analyze the
causes of those failures and to
look at new approaches and
strategies. Many large projects
that failed did not "belong" to
the people they were intended
to serve.
"Development within the
church is not an option," said
Pastor Mukanza llunga, con-
sultant for RURCON, in the
opening presentation. "Rather
it is an imperative to which we
respond collectively by our
faith. Thus development efforts
are not reserved for certain
people called 'development
agents' but must interest and
integrate everybody." Howard
Good, MCC Zaire
350 AUGUST 14, 1990
Marion Climenhaga of
Clarence Center, N.Y., has
invented an electric
bandage roller, which he
put together out of "odds
and ends," including parts
from a lawn mower and a
washing machine. The
sewing circle of his church
prepares the bandage
strips, and Marion and his
wife, Mamie, work together
on the machine.
Mamie and Marion Climenhaga roll bandages.
Two U.S. Christians who are specialists on religion in the
Soviet Union have cautioned Western Christians to be
sensitive in their responses to the new religious freedoms
there. "Already we are arriving with our agenda of how to
do things, forcing it upon them, and this is wrong." Peter
Dyneka, president of Slavic Gospel Association, told a con-
ference on "Glasnost and the Church" sponsored recently
by Wheaton College's Institute for the Study of Christianity
and Marxism. Dyneka urged Christians from the West to
first talk with their Soviet counterparts to discover their real
needs before planning activities. Kent Hill of the Institute
on Religion and Democracy in Washington, chided evan-
gelicals for the "coarse and crude" comments some have
made about Orthodox and Catholic traditions and for their
lack of knowledge about those traditions.
NEWS
Mennonite scholars
discuss Menno Simons
Harrisonburg, Va. (Meeting-
house)— The 450th anniversary
of Menno Simons' basic state-
ment, the Foundation Book,
brought 80 registrants to
Eastern Mennonite College and
Seminary here March 23-24.
That book is considered by
some the second most
influential Mennonite publica-
tion, after the Martyr's Mirror.
Foundation has enjoyed 1 1
editions in Dutch, nine in
German and four in English.
Irvin Horst, professor emeritus
at the University of Amsterdam,
said that when the Swiss
Brethren came to America they
did not wish to be known as
Anabaptists, for it was a bad
name. So they took the name
"Mennonite" and had the
Dordrecht Confession trans-
lated into English for better
relations with their English
neighbors.
A difference between
doctoral candidate Helmut
Isaak and professor of history
Abraham Friesen over the
sequence of events in Menno's
life during 1534 and 1535
illustrated the arcane nature of
Menno Simons research. The
issue, as one person summa-
rized it, was, "What did Menno
know and when did he know
it?" Neither scholar could
present evidence to convince
the other or the audience that
his sequence was correct.
Less scholarly people could
relate more to papers at the
beginning and end of the
conference, such as "The
Relevance of Menno Simons,
Past and Present" by Walter
Klaassen and "What Does
Menno Simons Mean Today?"
by Irvin Horst. Klaassen
observed that Menno needs to
be considered in his own time.
Though a reformer, he was in
many respects part of the
Middle Ages. He preceded
such apostles of modernity as
Galileo, Newton, Bacon,
Descartes and Hume. How-
ever, in 1905 Einstein pub-
lished his theory of relativity
and challenged the strict
determinism of these earlier
scientists. After Einstein the
thinking of the Middle Ages is
perhaps not as dense as some
people thought.
Klaassen described Menno's
concern about the dissonance
between faith and ethics: the
confusion between who is a
Christian and who is not.
Menno became active some 20
years after Luther, and there
was still difficulty with this
question. "The widely hoped-
for moral reform had not
followed the liturgical reform."
Menno appealed for integrity in
Christian living," he said,
adding, "What was holding
people back?"
Klaassen said, "We need to
ask Menno's question because
the means of disobedience
today are so sophisticated."
Horst reported that in colonial
Mennonite America Menno's
writings were a source of
doctrinal and spiritual guidance.
Menno was part of a small
Walter Klaassen addresses the Conference on Menno Simons.
group of sources that included
the Bible, van Bragt's Martyr's
Mirror and the hymn book.
Menno was reprinted nine
times in the 19th century: five
in German and four in English.
Menno and van Bragt went into
decline, he said, in connection
with the Mennonite interest in
Fundamentalism. Menno was
not reprinted for 75 years. But
"when Mennonites began to
recover from their Fundamen-
talist affairs, Menno and van
Bragt came back into promi-
nence." (Menno's Complete
Writings, published in 1956, is
available for $35.)
"Other Anabaptist reformers
surpassed Menno in theological
depth," said Horst, "but no
other Anabaptist was as
successful as Menno in
founding a tradition. He had
continuity without the protection
of a prince or a town council."
As he reflected on Menno's
significance for today, Horst
recalled Menno's "radical
discipleship. In our Western
world we tend to skirt the
issues of discipleship. As
Mennonites we are vulnerable
as a middle-class group and in
our attachment to Evangelical-
ism." He observed also the
matter of identification with the
poor. "Note how often Menno
speaks of the poor not as
object, but as subject. He gave
up privilege to participate with
the poor. Today women and
children bear the brunt of the
overwork and sickness. Have
we forgotten that at one time
we also were poor?"
The conference ended with a
panel presentation on the
issues of today followed by
general discussion. Walter
Smith, Durham. N.C., urged
that the message of Menno be
shared widely. "If things
continue as they are going, in
another 20 years there will not
be a Mennonite church as you
have known it. I appeal to you
not to spend your energies
talking to one another but to
speak to the rank and file."
And Paul Kurtz, who
identified himself as an
evangelist, called for the song
"Revive Us Again," which
became the final word of the
conference. Daniel Hertzler
THE MENNONITE 351
Mozambique's devasting 13-year civil war has been captured by the
country's artists. "Through my work, I hope to carry a message to my people
a well as to the world about the situation here," says sculptor Alberto
Chissano. Explaining one of his sandalwood sculptures, which features faces
above a circle of people, Chissano says, "On the top stands a government
official and his family. But the official forgets about the people he represents."
In "Maternity" artist Lazaro Tembe has painted the arms and distorted heads
of two women in deep red, which contrasts with surrounding thick black brush
strokes. It is a disturbing image. "When maternity is a happy occasion here,"
he says, "I will paint it as such." Veteran Mozambican painter Malangatana's
canvases are marked by disfigured bodies. "I have lost family, ...killed in the
last few years," he says. "I relive the experience [of war] as I record it
directly." (World Press Review)
Duane Bean, 32, a teacher and peace activist from
Chicago who was released from federal prison only
eight months ago, was sentenced June 21 to 30 days
in jail for trespassing at McConnell Air Force Base in
Wichita, Kan. On May 5 he and 43 others (including
two young children) crossed the line at McConnell,
home for several B-1 B first-strike nuclear bombers.
McConnell targeted five of the 44 protesters, including
Bean, for prosecution because they have prior arrests
at military installations. "I do not want to spend more
time in prison," Bean told Chief Federal Magistrate
John Wooley prior to sentencing. "But when I think of
those bombers at McConnell, each costing a half
billion dollars, I know the law is wrong. ...The real crime
is building bombs instead of caring for people."
recoimJ
(JeatIis
David H. Suderman, 81 . Bethel
College Church, North Newton,
Kan., died July 4 at Kidron-
Bethel Retirement Home. He
was a former professor of
music and chairman of the
Bethel College humanities
division. Among his many
accomplishments, he was
founding director of the Kansas
Mennonite Men's Chorus and
worked with music programs in
Colombia, Paraguay and
Mexico. His wife, Alice R.
Claassen, preceded him in
death April 7. He is survived by
two daughters, Ann Dunn,
Hesston, Kan., and Judy Rios,
San Antonio, Texas; three
brothers, one sister and three
grandchildren.
WORliERS
David Augsburger, professor of
pastoral care at Associated
Mennonite Biblical Seminaries,
Elkhart, Ind., has resigned. He
will teach at Fuller Theological
Seminary in Pasadena, Calif.
John and Velma Jean Balzer,
Inman, Kan., have made the
initial investment in a perma-
nently endowed scholarship at
Bethel College, North Newton,
Kan. It is specified that
students from Hebron Church,
Buhler, Kan., should receive
primary consideration for
scholarship funds.
Ann Weber Becker was
ordained June 24 to congrega-
Suderman Augsburger
Brown Wu
tional ministry at First Church,
Kitchener, Ont.
Ross T. Bender, professor of
Christian education and
worship at AMBS. Elkhart, Ind.,
has been appointed to the
additional position of director of
the Institute of Mennonite
Studies.
John Bergen, interim pastor
at Pulaski (Iowa) Church, will
continue as its regular pastor.
Roland Brown, chief execu-
tive officer at Mennonite
Christian Hospital, Hualien,
Taiwan, retired in June. He
and his wife, Sophie, went to
Taiwan in 1953 as Commission
on Overseas Mission workers.
Wen-Yang Wu began July 1 as
Brown's successor.
John Dey began as pastor at
First Church, Nappanee, Ind.,
in July.
Gamaliel Falla, co-pastor at
Falla Friesen
Iglesia Menonita Comunidad
de Fe. Chicago, graduated
June 2 with a Master of Divinity
degree from Northern Baptist
Theological Seminary. Lom-
bard, III.
Loren Faul, pastor at First
Church, Butterfield. Minn.,
resigned effective the end of
July.
Lome W. Friesen, pastor at
First Church, Mountain Lake,
Minn., resigned effective this
fall. He will begin Oct. 9 as
chaplain at Eden Mennonite
Mental Health Center, Winkler,
Man.
Gilberto Gaytan, pastor at
Iglesia Anabautista Emanuel,
South Bend, Ind., resigned
effective Aug. 31 .
Erwin C. Goering, Bethel
College Church, North Newton.
Kan., began July 1 as director
of development and planning
for Cross Wind Conference
Center, Hesston, Kan.
David Graybill will begin this
month as editor of Christian
Living, Mennonite Publishing
House, succeeding David
Hostetler.
Pearl Hartz is the interim
pastor at a new Mennonite
fellowship in San Diego, Calif.
Hoffer Liechty
Mark Hicks Sr., associate
professor of social work at
Bethel College, North Newton,
Kan., has been appointed
director of alternative adult
education programs there.
Eric Hiebert-Rempel will
begin as pastor at Wanner
Church, Cambridge, Ont., in
January 1 991 .
Jeff Hoffer. Lancaster, Pa.,
began May 29 as director of
the deaf ministries department
of Mennonite Board of Mis-
sions. He is the first deaf
director in its 14-year history.
He succeeds Sheila Stopher
Voder.
Craig Hollands will become
youth pastor at Cedar Hills
Church, Surrey, B.C.. this
summer.
John Kampen has been
licensed at Cincinnati Fellow-
ship for specialized ministries in
352 AUGUST 14, 1990
"What impressed me was that [Nelson] Man-
dela's charisma is not from the ability to manipulate
words," said Jim Shenk, Mennonite Central
Committee co-secretary for Africa, It comes more
from the wisdom Mandela has gained through 27
years of imprisonment, Shenk said. "He has come
through that experience without bitterness and
resentment." Shenk was in New York in June to
attend a private meeting of U.S. religious leaders
with the African National Congress leader. One
hundred twenty church leaders attended the
meeting and presented Mandela a $200,000 check
to be used for South African refugee assistance,
schools, housing and medicine. Mandela thanked
U.S. churches for their support and urged contin-
ued economic sanctions against South Africa.
RECOlid
his teaching
role at Payne
Theological
Seminary, Wil-
berforce, Ohio.
tCarl Liechty
jl^ft began June 1
i&k^W as the one-
Wk fourth-time
Mi,ler associate
pastor at
First Church, Lima, Ohio.
Katherine Fischer Mick,
Newton, Kan., will begin this fall
as an assistant professor of
nursing at Bethel College,
North Newton.
Marlin E. Miller, Elkhart, Ind.,
was named to the 16-member
executive committee of the
Association of Theological
Schools in the United States
and Canada during the
association's biannual meeting
in Montreal June 17-20.
James Pike, pastor at Swiss
Church, Alsen, N.D., has
resigned.
Alvin Penner, chairman of
Bethel College (North Newton,
Kan.) board of directors, has
announced the members of the
presidential search committee:
Gordon Funk, Hesston, Kan.,
chairman; John K. Sheriff and
Ada Schmidt-Tieszen, faculty
representatives; Jill Friesen,
student senate president;
Heinz Janzen and Susan
Rhoades, Newton; Gregory J.
Stucky, Wichita; Penner,
Hutchinson; John W. Gaeddert,
North Newton.
Don Penner will begin as
pastor at Hawkesville (Ont.)
Church in August.
Peter Penner, pastor at
Homewood (Man.) Church, has
resigned effective Dec. 31 .
Shelly
Gail Pjesky, McPherson,
Kan., has been appointed as
an admissions counselor at
Bethel College, North Newton,
Kan.
Alice and Delmar Rempel,
Nutana Park Church, Saska-
toon, will be at Columbia Bible
College, Clearbrook, B.C., for a
one-year voluntary service
assignment.
Joyce Schumacher, Menno-
nite Youth Fellowship director
and Christian education
coordinator at Grace Church,
Pandora, Ohio, resigned
effective Sept. 1 .
Henry Sawatzky, lay minister
at Mount Royal Church,
Saskatoon, began May 6 as
half-time pastor at Dundurn
(Sask.) Church for one year.
David Shelly, First Church,
Newton, Kan., has resigned as
editor of publications for
Mennonite World Conference,
effective Oct. 1 . He will
continue his work as a high
school teacher in Wichita,
Kan.
Jack To, pastor at Peace
Chinese Church, Richmond,
B.C., has resigned effective
Aug. 31.
Hao Tran, pastor at Winnipeg
Vietnamese Church, has
resigned.
— compiled by Sharon Sommer
Sadie Mast (at left in the photo below), Mennon
Spencer, Okla., and a leader of a women's grou
camp, San Marcos, Hondu-
ras, embrace. Sixteen
women from the San
Marcos Mennonite Church
recently visited the refugee
women's group to worship
and get to know each other.
Most of the refugee women,
who left their homes in El
Salvador several years ago,
are members of the camps'
church pastoral team. "This
kind of interaction between
'evangelicals' (all Protes-
tants are considered evan-
gelicals)
■^■■1 and
Catholics is |
rare in Latin §
America," £
says Rich
Sider, MCC secretary for Latin
America and the Caribbean.
"Because most evangelicals
are former Catholics, hostility
between the two groups has
been the norm historically. But
Mennonites and Catholics are
realizing that they share a
common commitment to Christ
and others.
ite Central Committee worker from
p in the Mesa Grande refugee
Western Mennonite High School
is seeking applications for the
position of principal. The principal
is the chief administrator, providing
academic and spiritual leadership
to the school.
Send resume to search committee
chair Ross D. Collmgwood, 1620
Kenard St. NW. Salem OR 97304.
Goshen College seeks applicants
for college physician beginning
fall 1991. Qualifications include an
M.D.. medical-staff eligibility at
Goshen Hospital, residency in
family practice with experience in
one or more of the following:
college health, public health, inter-
national medicine or internal medi-
cine. Responsibilities include
supervising medical services to
students, promoting a philosophy
of wholistic health care and
possibly teaching.
Send letter of application, resume
and the names of three references
to Norman Kauffmann, dean of
student development. Goshen
College, Goshen. IN 46526.
Application deadline is Sept. 15.
An equal opportunity employer.
Covenant Mennonite Church.
Winkler, Man., invites applications
for a half-time pastor of church
with 44 members. Applicant
should have Anabaptist orientation.
Duties to include some preaching,
teaching, outreach and youth
ministry.
Send resume, including references
to Search Committee, Box 29,
Winkler, MB R6W 4A4, (204) 325-
7575.
Canadian Mennonite Bible
College invites applications for a
two-year position (1991-93) in
theology. Applicants should be
committed to the Christian faith,
and in sympathy with the goals of
the college.
Send inquiries and applications to
the Academic Dean, Canadian
Mennonite Bible College, 600
Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB
R3P 0M4, by August 31 .
Are you lonely? Maybe Cross-
roads can help you too. Some of
the couples who have met their
mates through us include a nurse
and a minister, a teacher and a
carpenter, and a widow and a
farmer. Other clients are meeting
friends who share their interests.
Some are still waiting to meet the
right one. Perhaps they are
looking for you. How will you find
out if you don't join?
For information write to Cross-
roads, Box 32, North Tonawanda,
NY 14120.
THE MENNONITE 353
Peoria-North Mennonite Church, Peoria,
III., which had met weekly in rented space,
purchased a church building last February.
Central District Conference gave $10,000
toward the purchase. Since February, 10
new families have begun attending the
church. The congregation numbers about
40, says Mark Weidner, CDC conference
minister. Ryan Ahlgrim is the pastor.
Middle East Witness is a new interfaith
program created by a broad coalition of
American religious (Christian, Muslim and
Jewish), peace and human rights organizations.
It is designed to send short-term delegations
(usually two weeks) and long-term volunteers
(six months or longer) to meet, live and work
with a variety of Israelis and Palestinians.
Organizers hope that the presence of these
delegations will deter violence in the West
Bank, Gaza Strip and Israel. Part of the
volunteers' task is to document the status of
human rights in the Occupied Territories. The
next delegation is scheduled for Aug. 26-Sept.
8. For more information contact Middle East
Witness, 515 Broadway, Santa Cruz, CA
95060, (408) 423-1626.
A young adult ministry consulta-
tion will be held Nov. 2-4 in Chicago.
The consultation is for young adult
leaders, representatives from districts/
conferences, staff from related agen-
cies in the General Conference
Mennonite Church and the Mennonite
Church, and for people interested in
young adult ministry. For more
information contact Ed Bontrager,
MBM, Box 370, Elkhart, IN 46515-
0370, (219) 294-7523.
RESOURCES
Tilrvis
It's Your Venture (Venture
Clubs, 20 minutes) features
interviews and scenes of
Venture Clubs activities in six
Mennonite congregations: First
Church, Bluffton, Ohio;
Springstein (Man.) Church;
First Church, Calgary; Mennon-
ite Community Church, Fresno,
Calif.; First Church. Reedley,
Calif.; and Inman (Kan.)
Church. It is available to
congregations in mid-August
for free loan or purchase
ME DA CONVENTION 90
THE BUSINESS
OF THE FUTURE
PEORIA,
ILLINOIS
NOVEMBER 8-11, 1990
What's in store for Christians in the
business world, now that the 90's are
upon us? That question will be
addressed by speakers Tom Sine,
Mark Ritchie, Emerson Lesher,
Dorothy Nickel Friesen, Jim Halteman
and Marlin Miller.
Join us for the annual international
convention of
Mennonite Economic
Development Associates.
For complete details, contact:
STYJA MEDA CONVENTION 90
EES 402-280 Smith Street
^SUS Winnipeg, Canada R3C 1K2
Phone: (204) 944-1995
($9.95) through Faith and Life
Press, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114, or 600 Shaftesbury
Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4.
The Commission on Home
Ministries of the General
Conference Mennonite Church
has produced Supper, a 14-
minute slide set that shows
how CHM helps people of
different ages, cultures and
situations through Mennonite
Voluntary Service, African-
American, Hispanic, Asian and
Native American cross-cultural
ministries, church planting and
development, and peace and
justice ministry. It is available
for free loan from CHM, Box
347, Newton, KS 67114, (316)
283-5100.
—Jjooks
FatherTime is a quarterly
newsletter that addresses
fatherhood issues. For
information write to "Father-
Time," First Church of the
Brethren, 3020 S. Washington
Ave., Lansing, Ml 48910.
James Juhnke and Keith
Sprunger, professors of history
at Bethel College, North
Newton, Kan., each authored
two articles in the Dictionary
of Christianity in America
(InterVarsity Press, 1990,
$39.95). Juhnke wrote the
articles "Mennonite Churches"
and "General Conference
Mennonite Church." Sprunger
wrote the articles "Covenant
Theology" and "John Robinson
(1575-1625)."
Nuclear Catholics and
NUCLEAR
CMfOUGS
Other Essays
J. M. Cameron Other Essays
by J.M.
Cameron
(Eerdmans,
1990, $21.95)
represents
some of the
author's best
writing over
the last 20
years.
Due out in September is the
NIV Exhaustive Concordance
(Zondervan, 1990, $39.95). It
is to be to the NIV Bible what
Strong's concordance is to the
King James Version.
What is the Christian
message in a society marked
by religious pluralism, ethnic
diversity and cultural relativ-
ism? asks Lesslie Newbigin in
his book The Gospel in a
Pluralist Society (Eerdmans.
1989, $14.95).
Boycott Resources has
background materials and a list
of creative campaign activities
for organizations to help fight
abusive marketing by infant
formula companies. For Action
Kit ($7) or video rental, write
ACTION for Corporate Ac-
countability, 3255 Hennepin
Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN
55408.
Fundamentalism: a
Catholic Perspective by
Thomas F. O'Meara (Paulist
Press, 1990, $5.95) presents
an explanation of fundamental-
ism as a worldview that
flourishes in uncertain times
because it offers instant
certainty.
— compiled by Gordon Houser
354 AUGUST 14, 1990
A Youth Venture in Arizona
Call it a Holy Spirit breakthrough
Beth Hege
On Labor Day weekend last year
Hubert Brown, executive
secretary of the Commission on
Home Ministries of the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church, challenged a
group of young people, "I'm going out
there. I'm going to work and help with
whatever I can. Come with me."
By "out there" Brown referred to the
Hopi Indian Reservation in Arizona.
Church leaders there invited him to
organize a service project under Youth
Venture, which is sponsored by CHM.
Brown took the invitation to the Western
District Conference Fall Holiday, where
he was the featured speaker.
Nine months later many of those same
youth climbed aboard a chartered bus
and began a 17-hour trek to five Hopi
villages: Bacavi, Kykotsmovi, Hotevilla,
Polacca and Moencopi. Hopiland is
surrounded by the Navajo Indian
Reservation. Steep mesas, sand and tiny
springs mark this area of Arizona.
Leaders of the Youth Venture included
Brown; Donovan and Jill Graber of Faith
Mennonite Church, Newton, Kan.; Linda
Ewert, First Mennonite Church, McPher-
son, Kan.; Les Tolbert, Markham (111.)
Mennonite Church, and Elmer and
Nadenia Myron of Intribal Mennonite
Fellowship, Phoenix. Fifty-one youth
participated in the June 9-17 trip.
Ready to sweat, to chop wood, pull
weeds, build signs, teach Bible school,
they wanted to see new places and expe-
rience the arid desert.
What they did not expect was the
spiritual renewal that took place. "For
30 years," said Brown, "I've been in-
volved with youth groups and I've never
experienced [what] happened with this
group."
Days were spent among the Hopi
people, teaching and playing with
children, working in fields. "I was
amazed to see crops growing in the
sand," said Zandra Guete, 16, of Hesston,
Kan.
Philip Sawatzky, also 16, Newton,
Kan., helped with Bible school at
Hotevilla. At night they lit kerosene
lamps because there is no electricity.
Every evening the young people left
the communities where they did their
service assignments and met at the
community center in Bacavi. It was here
that a "Pentecost" happened.
"It was Wednesday night," explained
Josh Hull, 16, Newton. "We were
standing in one huge circle. We sang
Closeness to God: Les Tolbert hugs a young person during an evening service in Hopiland.
some songs, and then everyone started
sobbing. Aaron [his brother] came
forward and said he wanted to be
baptized."
Leap of faith: Others knew Aaron Hull
as a skeptic. In an essay written
following his baptism, he described his
former doubts this way: "How can I
believe in something I can't even be sure
I'll ever see? How can I make a commit-
ment of baptism, something I highly
respect, when I've never been 'spoken
to'?"
That night Aaron chose to take a leap
of faith. His announcement to his peers
and the affirmation that followed "put
the trip onto a spiritual level," said
Brown, "beyond service. It was. ..a Holy
Spirit breakthrough."
Elmer and Nadenia Myron said they
prayed about what Elmer should be
preached. "More than anything," said
Elmer, "I wanted the young people to
know the Holy Spirit personally."
Other young people described feelings
of intimacy with God and each other
during the week. "I realized that God is
a part of me," said Josh.
"Every time I looked at the mesas,"
said Guete, "I thanked God for his good
work. She spoke of Aaron's baptism in a
wash at the base of a cliff as a highlight ,
as well as the evening meetings. "Les
[Tolbert] brought everyone together.
What he spoke about meant a lot about
closeness to God," she said.
"We talked about the love of God," said
Tolbert, "from how God experiences us.
We showed Scripture that told of God's
grief. ..It touched all of us, how much
God loves us. God has called all of us to
be ministers," he said. "We wanted the
kids to feel good about their relationship
to the Lord and that God has a plan for
them."
The energy the young people felt in
Hopiland extended beyond their time
there. "Our youth group has gotten a lot
closer," said Angela Lichti, 16, Newton.
"Now no one is afraid to say, 'Will you
pray for me?'"
Work has rewards. "We went to do
service," said Brown. "In doing it we
discovered the nearness and reality of
God, and the love and friendship of each
other."
Beth Hege is news
service editor for the
General Conference
Mennonite Church.
THE MENNONITE 355
Letters
Response to respondents
It is with a deep sense of compassion and
pain that I respond to these letters [July
24 issue, page 332]. I have experienced
the loss of land, the loss of community,
the loss of history in a particular place.
It was a painful loss, a loss filled with a
great deal of confusion and uncertainty.
Yet I feel that God did not leave me for
dead. His "still, small voice" sustained
me. I could stand on that hill overlook-
ing Fort Riley and identify with the pain
and struggle of the people who were
facing the uncertainty of losing their
place .
The article ["How Much Land Is
Enough?" in the June 12 issue] was not
merely "artistic license" to peddle a
particular personal philosophy. My
writing of the article was a reflection of
my faith journey as part of a Christian
community, first of all in my home
congregation in Henderson, Neb., and
currently as a member of a Christian
community in Winnipeg.
I am working with an interchurch
agricultural project helping to foster
community and stewardship of the earth.
Mennonite Central Committee is a
partner in this project. We are dealing
with the pain and struggle associated
with land loss in the midst of an economy
that rewards competitiveness at the
expense of community. We are also
seeking ways to practice agriculture that
respects the land. This article is not an
attack of farmers. It is an exposure of an
exploitive economy whose growth and
progress come at our inestimable loss.
All growth and progress come at some
cost; there is no such thing as a free
lunch. But are we willing to give up our
neighbor, our community and the health
of our land for a narrowly defined
definition of progress?
The article was written to the church,
in particular to my brothers and sisters
in the General Conference Mennonite
Church, of which I am a part. All
articles are written with assumptions,
and this is no exception. My assumption
was that the article was for the church,
those who were already part of the
family of God. The biblical understand-
ing of belonging to God includes being
part of a people and being rooted in the
land.
I sensed that in all of the letters people
felt threatened. I shared my article with
the leaders of my church community, and
they found nothing resembling "neo-
paganism," as Mr. Tiessen labels my
thinking. As a church we need to
dialogue on community, technology and
our relationship to the land.
Mr. Schmidt's statement that "commu-
nity is a social issue, not a religious one,"
in my estimation, is unfounded. From
my experience and my reading of
Scripture and the early Anabaptist
leaders, community is central to the
understanding of being God's people.
Technology was mentioned in all the
letters. I did not say at any point that
we should discard all technology. I am
advocating that we discern what is right
and good for the land and the commu-
nity. The problem with technology today
is that its use in solving one particular
problem is causing side effects that
threaten all life. My article points that
out. Matters of "national security" are
threatening the security of local people
and polluting the ground. Even produc-
ing food is undermining the future of
food production. Using the fruits of
technological progress, far from being an
expression of using the talents that have
been given us, may more likely be
compared to the gift of the Trojan horse.
We have wheeled it into our midst
without question, and during our
slumber we are being destroyed from
within.
The land, according to Walter Bruegge-
mann in his book by the same name, "is a
central if not the central theme of
biblical faith." In a society characterized
by rootlessness and homelessness the
promise of land as a place of belonging to
a people and to God is good news. If
these letters are representative of
Mennonite thinking, we have yet to
understand the land significance as a
people. To stop reading about the
significance of land in the Bible after
Genesis 3 is to miss the richness of land
as a gift and as a promise of obedience.
Land was the hope of the slaves in
Egypt. Landedness, however, can result
in land loss. The prophets arose to tell
the people of God that land loss is the
result of idolatry and injustice. Our
inability or unwillingness to question
technology may be a sign of idolatry.
"Where then are the gods you made for
yourselves? Let them come if they can
save you when you are in trouble"
(Jeremiah 2:28).
I believe that in many ways we are
moving through a process of change
regarding our relationship to the land
that could be likened to the process of
accepting our death. The first two stages
are anger and denial. We want to see life
continue as we know it, and when
someone threatens that understanding
we become angry. The third stage is
bargaining with God. We are willing to
make some changes but are not willing to
give up our very self in obedience. The
fourth stage is depression. Contemplat-
ing death or the end of a way of under-
standing life leaves us feeling insecure.
The final stage is acceptance. We can
accept death as the final stage of growth.
What this stage will look like I cannot be
certain. However, it will respect the
Creator and all creation. The movement
through these stages is not automatic.
We can become stuck at any stage along
the way toward acceptance.
Land, its treatment and its signifi-
cance as a place of belonging and
security is not only a concern of farmers.
It is a concern for the entire household of
faith. We are all dependent on the land
and thrive when a proper harmony exists
among people, land and God. I hope this
dialogue will continue. Raymond Epp,
211 Home St., Winnipeg, MB R3G 1X2
Address MC/GC differences
As a born and bred Russian General
Conference Mennonite (GC) now serving
a Mennonite Church (MC) congregation,
I was interested in the news about the
Mennonite Conference of Eastern
Canada [May 8 issue]. The polity differ-
ence emerging between MCs and GCs in
Eastern Canada in the development of a
leadership manual needs to be high-
lighted. I was interested to observe that
GCs felt their tradition was "not well
enough reflected" and that there was a
sense among GCs that authority was
moving from the congregation to the
conference at the level of the wider
church, and from the congregation to the
ministers both locally and in conference.
As a pastor who moved from the
Central District Conference (GC) to the
Illinois Conference (MC) four years ago, I
must say that I also have experienced
this polity difference with regard to
leadership and authority in the church
as the primary difference between MCs
and GCs. GCs invest almost all leader-
ship and authority in the congregation,
both locally and in conference. MCs
place a great deal more emphasis on the
role of ordained leaders, both locally and
in conference, and grant a good bit more
authority to the conference. (The
Mennonite Church is after all an associa-
tion of conferences, not of congregations.)
Having experienced both styles of
polity, I would hasten to say that both
work fine (at their best), that neither are
"right" and that both have strengths and
356 AUGUST 14, 1990
weaknesses. Moving from one system to
the other involves a significant emotional
as well as a minor theological adjust-
ment. I'm not (yet) the one to speak of
the strengths in the MC system. Al-
though I get along fine in the Mennonite
Church, I have some nostalgia for the
General Conference freedom, and I do
experience the Mennonite Church as a
heavier way of operating. On the other
side, I would say that GCs have bought
much too deeply into the democratic
concept of majority rule as the way of
managing church affairs.
My concern is that we don't wait until
after integration (as Mennonites in
Eastern Canada seem to have done) to
begin discussing and dealing with these
differences. They are significant and
have some profound consequences for
how congregations and pastoral leaders
and conferences operate. They raise at
least a few significant theological issues
as well. Thus far, in the euphoric move
toward GC/MC integration, I have hardly
ever heard these differences openly
discussed within our churches. Do we
really suppose we won't have to deal with
them? Why not begin now to have
articulate spokespersons for both polities
speak together at regional gatherings
throughout our denominations so that
our churches can begin to appreciate the
respective strengths and weaknesses of
both polities? Only then will we begin to
be able to shape a polity that accounts
for the strengths of each. It is not a good
omen to me when one of the partners in
this dialogue (as in Eastern Canada)
comes away saying that their tradition is
"not well enough reflected."
I'm also interested in the reporting on
this issue in the Gospel Herald and The
Mennonite. The Mennonite speaks more
specifically about GC concerns at the
MCEC sessions than does the Gospel
Herald. Shouldn't it be just the reverse
in Christian circles? Or is it primarily a
GC problem if GC traditions are "not
well enough reflected"?
Let me hasten to conclude that I am
committed to MC/GC integration, or I
wouldn't be pastoring where I am right
now. I see many benefits and much
enrichment coming to us all in the
process. But as my children say, "Let's
get real" about the differences that divide
us. Let's take the time and energy
needed to get to know and appreciate
how each of our traditions does things.
That may take longer than six years,
particularly if we are as slow in facing
the differences as we have been. Thanks
to our brothers and sisters in Eastern
Canada who are teaching us all by their
experience. Can we hear what is being
taught? S. Roy Kaufman, pastor, Science
Ridge Mennonite Church, 1802 E. 37th
St., Sterling, IL 61081
Re: baptism
I am "appalled" (to use his terminology)
at the position George Richert takes in
his statement on baptism I May 22]. The
title of the four statements speaks of "ex-
amining theology," but George speaks of
"form." He calls for examination of
theology in the conclusion but has talked
only about form. He says that "form" is
not important but calls for adherence to
"prescribed form." His objection to the
picture and text (May 10, 1988) also
alarms me. Can we not accept the
reality of the experience of many of our
brothers and sisters in God's family?
Can we selectively omit or disregard
Scripture texts? I agree that we want to
emphasize that cleansing comes through
the blood of Jesus, not water; baptism is
a "sign" of the "reality." But the text.
Acts 22:16, was accurately quoted. I
don't think we as a church have yet
adequately dealt with its interpretation;
ignoring it (and Acts 2:38) won't help.
My concern is this: We need order,
and we need to be careful not to disre-
gard our practices carelessly. But to
think that we can express all our
theology of baptism in one form (as I
read George suggesting) is an impossibil-
ity and to me an objectionable way of
"doing theology." All the forms of
baptism express in a beautiful way a
part of our theology of baptism. Let's not
deny any of them. If it were not so crazy,
I would propose we use all three forms at
once: celebrating our death/resurrection
in Jesus (Romans 6:4), our "hearts
sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty
conscience" (Hebrews 10:22, which also
speaks of "bodies washed with pure
water") and receiving the outpouring/
anointing of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:17).
I agree with Brother Richert that it
might do us good to re-examine our
theology of baptism. But let's re-examine
in order to strengthen our understanding
of its truth and its place in our lives of
discipleship, not to argue about "form."
M. Albert Durksen, pastor, Springstein
Mennonite Church, Box 38, Springstein,
MB ROG 2N0
87% of General Conference delegates at Normal '89
voted to explore integration of the General Conference
Mennonite Church and the Mennonite Church.
Read Gospel Herald and learn about your
Mennonite Church brothers and sisters.
Begin a subscription to Gospel Herald at a special introductory price
□ 1 year $18.50 (U.S.)
Enclose check with order and receive a free copy of Not By Might,
a Gospel Herald 75th anniversary book.
O Send me a sample.
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Address
Mail to: Gospel Herald, 616 Walnut Ave.
Attn: Dotty Anderson
Scottdale, PA 15683
THE MENNONITE 357
REVIEWS
tooks
Russian Mennonites
None But Saints: the Transformation
of Mennonite Life in Russia, 1789-
1889 6 v James Urry (Hyperion Press,
1989, 322 pages)
Reviewed by Abe Dueck, Mennonite
Brethren Bible College, 1-169 Riverton
Ave., Winnipeg, MB R2L 2E5
The publication of Urry's book marks a
watershed in Russian Mennonite histori-
ography. It is the most significant book
on Mennonite life in Russia to appear in
the past several genera-
tions and is the most
significant in the
English language. The
book is a considerable
improvement and
refinement of Urry's
dissertation, which has
been available for over a
decade. Appropriately
the book was released
during the bicentennial
celebration of the
Mennonite experience in
Russia and the Soviet Union.
The Foreword, by David G. Rempel, for
whom Urry has high regard and whose
insights inform much of the book, intro-
duces a strong polemical note that might
lead the reader to anticipate the same
tone to pervade the entire book. But this
is not the case. While the overall impact
of the book may be seen as strongly revi-
sionist, there are few direct challenges to
other interpretations except for relatively
brief comments in the introductory histo-
riographical survey. It is Rempel who
charges, for example, that the ministers
were responsible for the major weak-
nesses of previous Mennonite historiog-
raphy, with its preoccupation with
religious issues, its tendency to evade
difficult issues, and its parochial and
simplistic idealization of the Mennonite
experience in Russia.
Urry's statements are generally less
sweeping, and there are no lengthy
excursions dealing with other scholarly
interpretations. He is cautious and
moderate in his conclusions. At times
the reader may wish that Urry had
engaged in more direct dialogue with
other scholars. Nevertheless, the
subtitle of the book points to the radical
nature of the general thesis of the book.
Perhaps the most significant contribu-
tion of Urry's work is its insistence on
placing the Mennonite experience into
the larger context of Russian and
European social, economic and political
transformation. "Mennonites," he states,
"provide a special view of the larger
transformation of European society."
Nevertheless, Urry does not argue that
Mennonite transformation was similar to
the transformations of other European
societies. Rather, Mennonites main-
tained a distinctive identity as a "com-
monwealth" while permitting much
variation within and while adapting to
forces of change.
The book is about a people whose faith
formed the primary basis for self-
definition. Yet the nature of their reli-
gious faith is not a prominent theme in
the book. In fact, many Mennonites may
be offended at this more "secular"
approach to understanding the nature of
a religious community. Economic and
social factors are seen as significant in
shaping the community and deterimin-
ing its actions. Mennonite life is exam-
ined in its mundane aspects, and all is
not "saintly." In this regard the book
goes far beyond earlier "insider" interpre-
tations. The almost exclusive preoccupa-
tion with religious causes for migrations
and divisions, for example, is rigorously
counteracted.
The extensive documentation reveals
tremendous depth and breadth of
research, even though Urry laments his
lack of knowledge of the Russian lan-
guage. Despite this, however, he cites
many Russian sources. Urry regards his
work as only the beginning of a huge
task to be done as more archival sources
and Russian-language materials become
available.
Various tables, maps, several appendi-
ces (including one on Mennonite popula-
tion growth), extensive bibliography and
a number of reproductions of the paint-
ings of Henry Pauls enhance the book.
Many will welcome the easy access to
footnotes at the bottom of the pages
rather than endnotes after each chapter
or at the end of the book.
Urry's book is a must for everyone
interested in the Russian phase of
Mennonite experience and its formative
influence on many Mennonites in North
and South America.
(Reprinted from Mennonite Historian)
Reviewed by Arthur P. Boers, 477 Lincoln
Road, Windsor, ON N8Y 2G6
Capon has written two other books on
Jesus' parables. Here he considers what
Jesus taught about judgment. Capon
views God's judgment as inclusive, not
exclusive. "As a general rule... Jesus is at
pains to show that no one is kicked out
who wasn't already in." Jesus' resurrec-
tion and Jesus' grace automatically
embrace everyone. Only those who
spurn God's acceptance are finally
rejected. Some see everyone as con-
demned by God and only those who are
converted can be saved by him. Capon
stands that on its head: Everyone is
accepted until they spurn God, and God
only judges mournfully and reluctantly.
Capon is an excellent writer: humor-
ous, clever, disarming. Much of what he
says is unexpected. He does not believe
in immortal souls. Rather, he says, God
will resurrect both dead bodies and dead
souls. His interpretation of Jesus'
Second Coming is also provocative. I
liked his well-
Parable/
of .
God's grace
The Parables of Judgment by Robert
Farrar Capon (Eerdmans, 1989, 181
pages)
placed jabs at
various forms of
biblical criticism.
He also has a mar-
velous view of how
God works in
history.
In emphasizing
grace, Capon is
quite Protestant:
"Jesus came to
raise the dead, not
to reform the
reformable, and certainly not to specify
the degree of non-reform that will nullify
the sovereign grace of resurrection. He
came to proclaim a kingdom that works
only in the last, the lost, the least, and
the little, not to set up a height-weight
chart for the occupants of the heavenly
Jerusalem."
I do not go as far, but I found Capon
insightful. His view of repentance and
faith is inadequate. He does not believe
that good behavior follows faith. We no
doubt exclude people too soon and often
for the wrong reasons. We tend toward
self-righteousness and works righteous-
ness. Nevertheless, faith without works
remains dead.
I appreciated Capon's warnings
against being judgmental. I liked his
celebration of God's grace and compas-
sion, "the Love that will not let you go."
He is a good antidote to hateful, fire-and-
brimstone theologies. But he is only a
dose of medicine, not a full-course meal.
358 AUGUST 14, 1990
bibU
Make a mustard-seed difference in the environment
Diane Burkhardt
Just about any magazine today has articles about environ-
mental concerns. Extensive research has been conducted
on the greenhouse effect, ozone-layer depletion, damages
to tropical rain forests, excessive industrial wastes, landfills.
Research also continues to seek solutions to the problems.
From childhood on, others made me aware of the
world. They taught me to see the beauty of crea-
tion, to value it and participate in keeping it
beautiful. I didn't let the water drip or leave the
lights on when I left the room. People who haven't
been raised the same way wonder how we should
live in this world of limited resources.
Christians need to get involved in environmental
issues. Our faith calls us to act. For "by him
[Christ Jesus] were all things created" (Colossians
1:15-17), and he sustains life. Salvation changes us
from our old habits. We — and nature — shall be
redeemed (Romans 8:22-23).
Our God-given status is one of dominion. This
reflects not only privilege but responsibility and
stewardship. When God granted Adam and Eve
dominion over nature (Genesis 1 ), dominion was
limited to responsible actions.
The fall estranged humankind from the perfect
environment. We will always need to strive toward
perfecting it. The fall emphasizes our responsibili-
ties all the more. We seethe evil around us and
need to combat it while building up our surround-
ings. People's perceptions have been impaired
(Romans 1:21). We are told in Jeremiah 5:21-22
that the people are criticized for the failure to see
God in creation. The natural world reflects the
nature of God (Job 12:7-9, Psalm 50:6, Acts 14:17,
Romans 1:20). To ignore our surroundings is to
ignore the power of our awesome God.
What can I do? As a teacher, I can help my
students understand the issues. I can show them
how to become good stewards. I turn off my lights,
avoid aerosols, conserve gasoline by carpooling or
consolidating errands, take my papers to a recy-
cling area, purposefully purchase products made with recycled
paper, write letters to government officials involved in environ
mental legislation development and keep informed by reading
about scientific studies on the greenhouse effect and the ozone
layer. I can make a difference right where I am.
Adam and Eve: The fall estranged humankind from the perfect environment.
Diane Burkhardt is a member of Upper Milford Mennonite
Church, Box 36, Zionsville, PA 18092.
THE MENNONITE 359
NEWS
■
EdlTOMAl
Sing to the Lord a new song or three
What? Seventeen thousand people singing at one
time in an arena. Together? Impossible.
"Well, maybe so," responded Marilyn Houser Hamm,
Altona, Man., to the skeptics, "but Mennonites can do
the impossible."
And so we did, at the opening night of Assembly 12 of
Mennonite World Conference in the Winnipeg Arena.
Overhead projection of Marilyn's directing, beamed in
four directions, helped. A joyful ensemble of instrumen-
talists/vocalists, led by Paul Dueck with his Paraguayan
harp, helped. Our awe at the occasion helped. Our
history of singing together in the joy of the Lord helped.
Bright yellow hats: Then came the array of songs
from the four corners of our 800,000-member worldwide
community. Unforgettable was the Coro de Ninos (chil-
dren's choir) from Casa Horeb in Guatemala: 15 chil-
dren, ages 7-14, accompanied by five adults, including
their pastor, Rafael Escobar. Guitars, rhythm blocks
and recorders accompanied the choir. "We're off to com-
munion in the corn patch of the Lord," they sang.
"Jesus Christ invites us to his harvest of love."
At the close of their music, the children electrified the
huge congregation by tossing their bright yellow hats
into the crowd. One little girl kept hers, then demurely
presented it to Paul Kraybill, who has completed 17
years as executive secretary of Mennonite World Confer-
ence. Paul, taken by surprise, dropped some papers he
was holding, and the little girl helped him pick them up.
(Later Paul said that that's how these years have been:
learning to know thousands of people, and learning to
know one little girl.)
Shrinking: Martha Penner de Martinez conducted a
40-member choir from three rural churches in Chihua-
hua, Mexico: Blumenau, Burwalde and Steinreich.
"Only a few in my choir read music," she said, "so we
sing easy, contemporary songs, going over them again
and again." This choir, formed for Assembly 12, wants
"to bring the gospel to the Old Colony Mennonites," she
added.
Ages of the 14-member Karaganda Choir, from the
Soviet Union, ranged from 16 to 50 and came from three
churches. When the seven men of the choir sang
"Nearer My God to Thee" in German, the audience
spontaneously joined them. Conducter Peter Ens said
that Mennonite congregations in the the Soviet Union
are shrinking because so many people are leaving for
Germany. But newcomers are beginning to feel more
welcome because Russian, rather than German, is now
used in their worship services.
Mennonite giants: Another significant "song story"
happened prior to the July 24-29 Mennonite World Con-
ference. At Steinbach (Man.) Bible College, an hour or
so southeast of Winnipeg, music was the language of
historic unity. Three small Mennonite groups, repre-
sented by 1,500 people, sat together for the first time:
the Evangelical Mennonite Conference, the Evangelical
Mennonite Mission Conference and the Chortizer
Mennonite Conference. "Several leaders have been
thinking and talking about moving closer together
(getting acquainted, at least) as conferences," said
Menno Hamm, editor of The Messenger. And for this
first time they simply sang, separately and together.
(The ministers of the three groups had had meetings,
said David Schellenberg, former editor of The Messen-
ger, but never before had the entire conferences.)
"Singing," said one participant later, "is a non-threat-
ening way of interacting." And Len Sawatzky's opening
statement for that July 22 evening was, "What better
way to worship God than in song?"
Whether or not this "song" leads to further integration
remains to be seen. Even this, said Menno, "is perhaps
stimulated by the decision of the Mennonite giants in
North America to study the possibilities of an integra-
tion." (The "giants" are the Mennonite Church and our
General Conference Mennonite Church.) "We are
moving together cautiously," said Edwin Friesen,
conference pastor of the Evangelical Mennonite Confer-
ence (formerly known as the Kleine Gemeinde, or "little
church community").
Unto the Lord: Thus, every so often, we do the impos-
sible, more than likely by first singing together, and
always as unto the Lord. Muriel T. Stackley
MENNONfTE
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST 105:16 AUGUST 28, 1990
amid
the
hrona
Mitsuko Sakata, daughter
of Katsuhiko and Yoko
Sakata, members of Ashoro
Mennonite Church,
Hokkaido, but now living in
Tokyo, sleeps during a
busy week in Winnipeg.
pitoloquE
%j§bu will see the word "Meetinghouse"
sprinkled throughout this issue. Meeting-
house is a Mennonite and Brethren in Christ
editors' group. Fifteen people represent nine
periodicals. Don Ratzlaff, Hillsboro, Kan., is
editor of Christian Leader for the Mennonite
Brethren in the United States. Ron Geddert
and James Coggins are editor and associate
editor of Mennonite Brethren Herald, for that
group in Canada. Gladys Penner edits the
EMMC Recorder; EMMC stands for Evangeli-
cal Mennonite Mission Conference. Glen
Pierce edits the Evangelical Visitor for the
Brethren in Christ. Daniel Hertzler and Steve
Shenk are editor and managing editor of
Gospel Herald, the Mennonite Church maga-
zine. (Lorne Peachey will succeed Dan this
year.) Ron Rempel, Margaret Loewen Reimer
and Wilma Derksen are editor, associate
editor and western editor, respectively, of
Mennonite Reporter, an independent newspa-
per for Mennonites primarily in Canada.
Robert Schrag and Paul Schrag are editor and
assistant editor of Mennonite Weekly Review,
an independent newspaper for Mennonites
primarily in the United States. Menno Hamm
edits The Messenger for the Evangelical
Mennonite Conference. Gordon Houser and I
complete the circle.
We editors divided the reporting for Assem-
bly 12 of Mennonite World Conference, also
employing the services of Susan Balzer, Jane
Halteman, Valerie Regehr, Deborah R.
Weaver and Bill Yoder.
The story goes that recently in a church in
southern Manitoba a discussion arose as to
whether that congregation could tolerate
clapping in the sanctuary. A deacon stood and
said, "Brothers and sisters, we're going to see
a lot more than clapping in Winnipeg at the
world conference." We did.
Harry Martens (see "Deaths," page 374) wrote
his faith statement, "Why I Am a Mennonite"
in our Jan. 24, 1989, issue. We printed a trib-
ute to his wife, Olga Martens, last Sept. 12.
Hilda Krahn's article about her and Cornelius'
pilgrimage with Alzheimers Disease appeared
in our Feb. 13 issue. For
copies of these send $1 per
article and a self-addressed
business envelope to
Sharon Sommer, The Men-
nonite, Box 347, Newton,
KS 67114.
Our next issue will focus
on the Commission on Edu-
cation. Muriel T. Stackley
CONTENTS
A global family gathering / 363
Life centers offer a myriad of workshops / 368
News / 370
What's ahead for Mennonite World Conference? / 370
Mennonites with disabilities sing the same language / 373
Record / 374
Mennonites welcome Native MP / 376
From Mennoland to Minuteman / 377
1 ,000 youth make a difference in Winnipeg / 378
650 children hold an assembly of their own / 379
Mennonites and art: alive and well at MWC / 380
Reviews / 381
The tramp from Patmos / 381
Modern man / 381
Letters / 382
Our witness to Christ in today's world / 383
De-emphasize the 49th parallel / 384
Cover: Photo by David Hiebert
MENNONITE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100. Editor:
Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant: Sharon
Sommer; art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the Associated
Church Press, Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a Mennonite and
Brethren in Christ editors' group) and an associate member of the Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretaries: Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14, and Rose Retzlaff, 600
Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4. Business manager: Dietrich Rempel. Special
editions editors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North Newton, KS 671 17;
Window to Mission, Lois Deckert, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14; Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, Richard A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1, Carstairs, AB TOM 0N0, (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2S 1V7; (Central District)
Lynn Liechty, 666 Columbus St., Berne, IN 4671 1 ; (Eastern District) Curtis Bauman, 429
N. Second St., Emmaus, PA 18049; (Manitoba) in process; (Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada) Margo Fieguth, 99 Veronica Drive, Mississauga, ON L5G 2B1; (Northern
District) Winifred Wall, Box 67, Freeman, SD 57029; (Pacific District) Clare Ann Ruth-
Heffelbower, 3198 E. Menlo Ave., Fresno, CA 93710; (Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger, 125
Rawlinson Bay, Regina, SK S4S 6M8; (Western District) Leland Harder, Box 363, North
Newton, KS 67117.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 14 years of The Mennonite are also
available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College, North Newton, KS 671 17, and
from University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106.
Circulation: 10,219
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build the
Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the guidance of
the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly by the General Conference
Mennonite Church, 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. Subscription rates: one
year, $18 U.S., $21 Canada; two years, $32 U.S., $38 Canada; three years, $44 U.S., $52
Canada. Outside North America add $16 U.S. per year to U. S. rate for surface mail,
$67.68 U.S. for airmail. Single copies: $2 U.S. Five or more: $1 U.S. each. Second class
postage paid at Newton, Kan., and additional mailing offices. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMAS-
TER: Send Form 3579 to The Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14. ©1 990
362 AUGUST 28, 1990
The throng includes the media: Photographers and a video cameraman come to the stage
during a mass session.
Mennonites from
68 countries
worshiped together
in Winnipeg
under the theme
"Witnessing to
Christ in Today's World."
Assembly 12 of Mennonite World
Conference opened July 24 in
_ Winnipeg as nearly 17,000
Mennonites from 68 countries celebrated
their unity in Christ.
MWC president Ross Bender greeted
members of the General Council, who
paraded across the stage as Paul Kray-
bill, MWC executive secretary, intro-
duced them.
In his opening address, Bender said
that "by coming together in this way in
this place, by worshiping together, by
fellowshiping together, by praying to-
gether, by studying together, we give
witness to our unity in the body of
Christ. We tell the world that the stories
they may have heard of our divisions are
vastly exaggerated."
Mennonites can give a united witness,
Bender said, but not because of a
common language or culture. The key is
that "we are all united by our allegiance
to the same Lord."
College catalog: The next four days —
Wednesday through Saturday — of the
July 24-29 conference followed an outline
of events as varied and numerous as one
might find in a college catalog. Each day
began with congregational singing, then
a 90-minute plenary session of worship,
followed by Bible study, independent
meetings, an afternoon of workshops,
concerts, readings, drama, working
groups, a Faith and Life Forum and
Round Table, and worship. Each day
ended with an evening plenary worship
in the Winnipeg Arena.
The conference divided workshops and
displays into four areas called "life
centres" (see pages 368-369): Commu-
nity/Neighborhood, Congregational Life,
Global Issues, Personal Wholeness/
Family. The Faith and Life Forum
provided an open session for discussion,
questions and stories. The Faith and
Life Round Table included a panel of
theologians and church leaders that
discussed issues surrounding the
conference theme, "Witnessing to Christ
in Today's World."
Each of the plenary sessions (except
Sunday's worship) included a sermon or
address, and most included a faith story.
The addresses followed daily themes.
For example, Washington Brun of
Uruguay spoke to the July 25 theme,
"Christ, the Light of the World."
Seduction: A theologian who relates an
Anabaptist perspective to Latin Ameri-
can reality, Brun unapologetically
presented a Mennonite liberation
THE MENNONITE 363
Adohl family flArinfl
theology: "Believing and confessing that
'Christ is the light of the world' is
incompatible with accepting a society
that condemns millions of persons to
poverty and premature death. If we
identify ourselves as a Messianic
community, as the body of Christ, as
followers of our Lord, our confession and
testimony that 'Christ is the light of the
world' will only be credible when we
verify it with a committed following for
the liberation of the oppressed."
only accepts students who have failed
entrance exams at other schools and
seeks to rebuild their self-esteem.
In his faith story, Ronald Koch of
Germany said, "I am grateful to our Lord
and Savior that the opening of East
Germany happened without violence."
Silenced: Gayle Gerber Koontz cli-
maxed the July 26 morning session with
her address on "Living Christ as Commu-
nity." "All of us are silenced," she said,
fUi
'it!1 » Mri
Stealing the show: The Coro de Nihos Casa Horeb from Guatemala perform.
The original sin of the Western church,
Brun said, has been a dualistic reading
of the Bible — a division between flesh
and spirit, heavenly and earthly. This
dualism is a barrier that keeps us from
being integrally involved with the
problems of the world.
Brun called for liberation in all sectors.
"We [in Latin America] need liberation
from persecution, you [in North America]
from seduction."
On the same theme, Toshiko Aratani,
a teacher from Hokkaido, Japan, criti-
cized Japanese society. "We are too
dependent on power," she said. "It is one
of the symptoms of darkness."
She described how her country's
academic competition devastates young
people. The school where she teaches
"when we remember that in our world
community some Christians eat too
much while other Christians starve."
Koontz, who is dean of faculty at
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminar-
ies, Elkhart, Ind., recently returned from
the Philippines, where she and her
husband, Ted, taught theology. In her
talk she used stories to illustrate how
people have lived out Christ's command
to love one another. She expounded on
four marks of a community that is "living
Christ": thanksgiving, holy living,
redemptive love, and renewal and
growth.
Gabriel A. Barrera B. from Nicaragua
told the story of how a car accident left
him near death, then disabled. More
than once, he said, he attempted suicide
by taking extra medicine. Then he
experienced God's love. Now he works
with young people in his church.
Barrera moved into the community
theme as he called on Mennonites to
participate with people with disabilities,
to support them, visit them and learn
about their needs. On July 23, he said,
he had attended a disabilities retreat in
Winnipeg (see page 373).
In that evening's sermon James
Pankratz, president of Mennonite
Brethren Bible College in Winnipeg,
called love among believers "the hall-
mark of true Christian community."
That love is evidenced in at least three
ways, he said: hospitality, forgiveness
and mutual service.
He encouraged even small acts of
loving sacrifice. To symbolize the value
of small actions he invited listeners to
open bottles of cologne or perfume as a
demonstration of 2 Corinthians 2:14-16.
The faith story of Kafutshi Kafesa of
Zaire reinforced the concept of the
servant use of gifts. "We must learn to
be content with our place in the church,"
she said.
Suffering: In his address the next
morning (July 27), Nzash U. Lumeya,
who teaches missions at the Banqui
School of Theology in the Central African
Republic, illustrated the theme "Follow-
ing Christ as Disciples" with the suffer-
ing faced by pygmies in his country.
Multinational companies are destroying
the rain forest where they live, he said.
In spite of opposition, however, 2,000
pygmies are now following Jesus there.
In October, Lumeya said, a Bible school
is to open for training pygmy pastors.
"The reality of following Christ may
also lead us on the road of suffering," he
said. "Do we really wish to follow Christ
completely?"
Six Baptist and Mennonite church
leaders from the Soviet Union spoke
about the new freedom they have. "Two
years ago our young people tried to give a
concert in the park, but the police set up
barriers to prevent it," said Viktor Fast,
an elder in the Mennonite Brethren
church in Karaganda. "A month ago the
young people were invited to give a
Christian concert in the same park."
The 25-member delegation from the
Soviet Union was the largest ever at a
Mennonite World Conference.
The Friday evening worship looked
like men's night out, as a choir of 350
men sang. But the Coro de Nihos Casa
Horeb, a choir of 14 children from
Guatemala, stole the show. Before they
364 AUGUST 28, 1990
left the stage they threw their straw hats
to the audience and received a standing
ovation. The choir's youngest member
quietly presented her hat to MWC
executive secretary Paul Kraybill in
appreciation of his efforts in helping the
choir come to Winnipeg.
The evening's sermon, following James
5:1-11, pronounced woe on riches.
Leonor de Mendez, also from Guatemala,
runs her own business and is pastor and
teacher of Christian education in her
church. "In our society there exists a
worship of riches," she said, "but you
brothers and sisters must resist the
temptation. There is another form of
living — that of Christ."
James Liu, 86, from China, described
how he was imprisoned, criticized and
ridiculed for his faith. The Chinese
authorities finally released him because
"they could not find any fault with me."
'Superfluous luggage': We need new
ways to proclaim Christ's message in
today's world, said Alle Hoekema of the
United by allegiance to the same Lord:
Dietrich Pana, a Mennonite Lengua Indian
from Paraguay, leads the assembly in prayer.
Netherlands in his address on July 28,
"Proclaiming Christ as Witnesses." He
chided the church for the "superfluous
organizational luggage" that weakens its
witness.
He called for the church to focus on
creating a variety of Christian communi-
ties in a variety of settings and for
reconciliation. "In an unsafe world, that
is the core of our mission."
"This gathering is like a mini-heaven,"
said P. Karuna Shri Joel, a Mennonite
Brethren pastor from India, in her faith
story. She described her work with
women, doing seminars and church
visitation and editing a magazine.
"I am thrilled to see such good leader-
ship among women in Winnipeg," she
said. She called for prayer for more
female leaders in her country. "We need
women to work among women."
In that evening's sermon, Zambian
educator Philip Mudenda identified char-
acteristics of a witness: a convinced
person compelled to proclaim the gospel
because of the presence of the devil in
this world and one whose proclamation
brings glory to God.
He said that rich nations had exploited
poor ones and that the church had fallen
into the same trap when bringing the
gospel. The church must be willing to
identify boldly with the poor, he said.
Juana Garcia told about the begin-
nings of the Mennonite church in Cuba
in 1936. One of the early believers, she
took over leadership of two Brethren in
Compelled to proclaim the gospel: The four women of the choir from Zaire wait for transportation to their next appointment.
THE MENNONITE 365
A^jWwI family ffSwfina
1990 Winnipeg
Christ churches when the missionaries
had to leave in 1962. She said that she
has been able to preach the gospel
without interference since then, and she
urged prayer for the church in Cuba.
Symbol: Assembly 12 closed with a
three-hour (twice as long as originally
planned) worship in Winnipeg Stadium.
Up to 30,000 people provided a visible
symbol of the church universal, the
people of God from every tribe and
nation.
Songs, prayers, Scripture and an
offering (MWC collected $250,000 during
the conference yet still faced a financial
shortfall) preceded readings of the Faith
and Life Statement (see page 383), in
English, French, German and Spanish.
Three people gave testimonies: Lisa
Christano of Indonesia offered a personal
perspective, Yohannes Germano of
Ethiopia a church perspective and Raul
Garcia of Argentina, the new MWC
president, a global perspective.
Paul Kraybill, MWC executive secre-
tary since 1973, passed the baton to
Larry Miller. In his farewell, Kraybill
said, "Many of you I will never see
again." He confessed his sorrow that "so
many of us are estranged, forgotten and
neglected, and there are so many ways
we need to grow."
The service culminated in a commun-
ion that worship leader Jacob F. Pauls
said reminded him of the feeding of the
5,000 (times six).
This article is based on reports from Paul
Schrag, Dan Hertzler, Muriel T. Stackley,
Gordon Houser, Don Ratzlaff, Menno
Hamm, Wilma Derksen, Margaret
Loewen Reimer, Ron Gaddert and Jim
Coggins, all part of Meetinghouse.
This is the greatest number ever of registered guests at
Mennonite World Conference of people living in the Soviet
Union as well as the greatest diversity. Young people came
for the first time — a choir. They can see what's going on in
other parts of the world. People representating church lead-
ership chose observer status at this conference; they are
using new criteria as to how they want to relate because of
their uncertainty about Mennonites. They now have a sense
of theological and style diversity: Are they brothers and
sisters with all the others in MWC? They are aware of God's
work. They are also aware of the devil's work.
Our brothers and sisters from the Soviet Union are
preoccupied with basic problems; they are continually responding to people who
ask them, "How can I become a Christian?" They have little time for anything
else. They have plans — for mission, for literature, for services to the aged, for
factories. They have rubles (for use in the country) and people but want help to
fill in gaps with scarce items. There is a drastic difference between their context
and that of the vast number of MWC participants. Their world is an open door, a
desperate search, a spiritual hunger. They say, "When you have a dry land, it
takes a long time to satisfy it." Walter Sawatsky, Elkhart, Ind.
Sawatsky
I am not born Christian. I converted to Christ at age 35. I am a church
planter. I stay in one place three years. My task is to prepare each person.
We have fellowships of 14-18 people.
I am a Chinese from Indonesia. I have been sent by the Muria Christian
Church in Indonesia to work in Singapore. Our goal is that after five years
a Mennonite church will be established in Singapore and that it will have
about 100 members — Singaporeans.
We find that the rule of life is important. Husband and wife must work
together. This is a witness. How can we witness unless we have life
harmony?
I am studying at Trinity Theological College in Singapore. My three-year
term may be extended. Eddy Paimoen, Singapore
366 AUGUST 28, 1990
I am general editor for SEMILLA,
the dispersed seminary training
that is available in Central and
South America.
My response to this Assembly 12
conference is positive. The
exposure of anyone to another
culture is always good. I simply
compare. My training as a
linguist leads me to do this.
We Latins are born talkers. We,
too, split hairs about meaning, but
about what? You North Americans take too literally
the injunction to be responsible for words. We don't
watch our words as closely as you do. Alfredo Tepox,
Mexico City
Tepox
I have a great concern for Mennon-
ite Brethren women in the church.
We should come forward to take
some responsibility for the church,
to take up the ministry.
I encourage young women to come
for training.
My concern is also for non-
Christian women. They are recep-
tive to Christ, but there is no one to
help them.
[Mrs. Joel is a Christian education
associate director, writes two articles per month for a
monthly church magazine and is secretary for the
women's wing — or department — of the Mennonite
Brethren Church in South India.] P. Karuna Shri Joel,
Hyderabad, India
Joel
Global gathering: Guests and hosts at Assembly 12 find each other
after one of the evening sessions. About 6,000 conference-goers
stayed as guests in private homes.
Thirty-five thousand Filipinos live in
Winnipeg. Are you reaching them or
are you waiting for one of us to come?
If you wait, it may be too late. We can
help you, but we can't stay.
In the Philippines we Mennonites
are still seeking our identity. We
relate to the Eastern Mennonite Board
of Missions and Charities. We have 13
congregations on Luzon Island. Our
pastors earn their own living and are
not paid by the church. This is difficult
if a man is a pastor and also plows his own field. Edguardo
B. Docuyanan, Philippines
Docuyanan
THE MENNONITE 367
life centers
offer a myriad of workshops
Global issues
Under this general topic, more than 50
different workshops covered subjects
from environmental decay to the rela-
tions between local churches and
mission/service agencies. Two principles
emerged: interdependence and mutual-
ity. The world and everything in it are
now tied together in a manner never
before imagined. Those who want to do
good are expected to work with mutual-
ity. In missions and service, colonialism
is dead.
I heard this change of perspective in a
two-session workshop on "African Per-
spectives on Mission/Service Agency and
African Church Relationships." Half a
dozen African church leaders spoke. "We
will still need missions," said Edmund
Bannerman of Ghana "but... in such a
way as to respect the dignity of the
recipient."
Helping agencies need to listen to the
people they wish to help. Mennonite
Central Committee was cited as an
example of one that does. Listening
includes attendance at local churches.
One African leader complained of service
workers who spent Sundays on the
beaches.
The recently "missionized" are begin-
ning to send their own missionaries. "We
need to link with them if they want us
and we can help," Don Jacobs told a
group considering the future of Mennon-
ite and Brethren in Christ missions. "I
expect that the Ethiopians will want to
send missionaries in five years."
Unequal distribution of resources
overshadowed all discussion. The decade
of the '80s increased the prosperity of the
rich but was a financial disaster for the
poor. Nobody had solutions, but we were
urged to keep supporting the Mennonite
programs already in place. Someone
said, "We can recycle our money through
MCC and mission boards."
As for paternalism, "Be like Jesus. He
was neither mother nor father. Just a
helper," said one participant.
In "Strategies for the '90s" Tom Sine
Read and rest: Paul Gingrich, president of
Mennonite Board of Missions, Elkhart, Ind.,
gets a back rub from Al Zook, Denver, at the
global issues life center.
repeated his message that some Menno-
nites and some Evangelicals are going in
opposite directions. As a former Evan-
gelical, he has embraced Anabaptism but
is alarmed to see Mennonites abandon-
ing it. What Mennonites hear on
"Christian radio" is not what they will
read in The Upside-Down Kingdom (by
Don Kraybill), a book Sine puts high on a
concerned disciple's reading list. Daniel
Hertzler
Personal wholeness/
family life
This center enjoyed overwhelming at-
tendance. Site manager John Franz
estimates that a thousand people came
through this center daily. "We could
have used twice the space."
Topping the list were "Dealing with
Demons and the Occult," led by Charles
Christano; "Suicide Awareness" by
Bernie Wiebe; "Ministering to the
Homosexual Person and Family Mem-
ber" by Enos Martin; and the perform-
ance of "Iemand Als Job" (see page 381)
by the Singel Church choir, Amsterdam.
Bernie Wiebe, former editor of The
Mennonite, said that in 1987 over 7,000
U.S. teens died due to suicide. "Next to
automobile and other accidents, suicide
takes most lives of young people today."
In "Dialogue on Abortion" Anne Hersh-
berger began by announcing her position:
"I am personally pro-life. But because of
the pain of others, I am not out there
carrying placards or blocking the
doorways of abortion clinics." Most
identified with her position but wanted
to explore questions: Does life begin at
conception? How do we deal with mis-
How do you serve communion to 30,000?
Volunteer Jake Letkeman, in charge of the physical details of Sunday's com-
munion service at Mennonite World Conference, began planning in May.
He decided that 40 tables with 40 hosts and 300 servers would be needed.
After considering using grapes instead of juice, he called a local creamery,
which agreed to seal grape juice in small cream cups.
Jake needed 40,000 wafers baked. When he called Anna Klassen of North
Kildonan Mennonite Church to ask how much of the bread she would be re-
sponsible for baking, she said, "All of it." In disbelief he phoned back to make
sure she understood. She had already recruited help to do the job.
Similarly, Henry Siemens agreed to be responsible for folding the 1,200 card-
board trays that held the bread and juice.
To distribute communion to 30,000 people in 20 minutes required special
meetings, four pages for hosts and a dry run the day before the event. After-
ward, five trucks removed the leftovers: creamers, boxes, tables, tablecloths,
extra bread and juice and the trays. Frieda Esau Klippenstein
368 AUGUST 28, 1990
carriages? How do you determine when
there are too many abortions? When
should sex education start? What is the
church's responsibility?
In "Healing for Hurting Pastors and
Spouses" the group spent time in small
groups, sharing and praying.
Guests enjoyed the read-and-rest areas
and the 14 displays. The Mennonite
Central Committee quilts to be sold at
the September MCC sale in Morris,
Man., dominated. Another major
attraction was a huge wall mural created
by the students of the Fairholme Hutter-
ite Colony. Wilma Derksen
Community/neighborhood
This center offered topics from ecologi-
cally responsible lifestyles to health
care and ethics to evangelistic ministries.
Small rooms filled quickly. Henry
Schmidt, associate professor of world
mission at Mennonite Brethren Biblical
Seminary, Fresno, Calif, had about 80
people crammed into the meeting room
for "Evangelism and Urban Church
Planting in the Modern World." Many
more craned their necks, listening in the
hallway.
The biggest handout by a workshop
Family life: Chuck Neufeld (center), Newton,
Kan., checks in with his children, Jonathan
and Kristen, during the busy week.
A deconstruction
of the MWC theme
"Witnessing to Christ in Today's
World" — so when else are we going
to witness, the 19th-century? And
why would we have a world confer-
ence— to talk about witnessing in,
say, Newton, Kan.? Next, what does
"witness to" mean? Are we talking
to Christ? Aren't we really "pro-
claiming" Christ? And who else are
we going to proclaim, Buddha? How
about this for a nice, concise Men-
nonite World Conference theme:
"Proclaim." Tim Matterssome,
reporting, "in cheek," from Winnipeg
leader was probably John Redekop's. A
political science professor from Waterloo,
Ont., he handed out free copies of his
book A People Apart at the start of his
session on "Mennonites and Ethnicity."
Redekop said that "Mennonite" carries
primarily an ethnic meaning among the
general populace. He advocates a name
change. The room was packed to
overflowing.
Whether the topic was evangelism,
caring for the environment or withhold-
ing war taxes, a unifying message
pervaded this life center: The local
context is where witnessing to Christ
begins. Every small act of faithfulness
can make a difference. Don Ratzlaff
Congregational life
Soviet and North American Menno-
nites face different challenges, but
both struggle with questions about their
churches' future, two Assembly 12
workshops indicated.
At a Congregational Life Center work-
shop, Soviet Mennonites told about their
new freedom to evangelize and about the
wave of migration to Germany that is
causing their churches to shrink.
Viktor Schmidt of Karaganda said, "In
this time of testing we also have many
possibilities, but we have so few mem-
bers to disseminate the gospel in this
time of new opportunity."
New Soviet religious freedom was
called a miracle. But Peter Toews of
Alma-Ata said he was worried about
emigration. A Mennonite congregation
in Alma-Ata merged with a Baptist
church because Mennonite membership
had dwindled so much.
North American Mennonites are either
worried or encouraged about their
future — depending on whom you ask. A
workshop on "North American Menno-
nites: Where Are They Headed?" re-
vealed uncertainty about whether major
trends — movement from the farms to the
cities, for example — are good or bad for
the church.
"I think you can go out of here saying,
'We're gaining some and we're losing
some,' but we can't all agree on the gains
and losses," said J. Howard Kauffman,
director of the Church Member Profile II
survey.
The workshop presented some of the
survey's findings. The survey compares
Mennonites' lives and beliefs in 1989 to
those in 1972, when a similar survey was
taken.
Though some may suspect that urbani-
zation has a negative impact on Menno-
nite congregational life, Kauffman said
the survey showed otherwise.
"We were surprised to find that on the
Anabaptism [belief] scale, the urban
people were stronger than the rural
people," he said.
A workshop on congregational conflict
attracted a large group. They were
advised that conflict is normal, should
not be stifled and can be used as an
opportunity to find God's will.
One issue that often causes conflict is
the church's relationship to homosexuals.
At a workshop on relating to gay and
lesbian people, participants were asked
what position their churches take on
homosexuality.
Out of more than 100 people, about
half raised their hands to indicate their
churches oppose homosexuality but do
not reject gay people. A few indicated
their churches give "full acceptance" to
homosexuals. Paul Schrag
THE MENNONITE 369
"It's not a demonstration," said Hans-
ulrich Gerber on behalf of Assembly 12 re-
garding a worship service in support of gay
and lesbian members of the church. "You
can't forbid a prayer service." The event
was held July 28 just outside the Conven-
tion Centre in Winnipeg. Over 100 people
attended. "Many people told me they
would have liked to be here, but they chose
not to because of family members or other
congregational members at the confer-
ence," said Keith Schrag from Iowa.
( Winnipeg Free Press)
About 30 communicators representing
half a dozen countries met at Mennonite
World Conference to get acquainted and to
talk about how to better communicate news
from churches around the globe to each
other. Mennonite World Conference has
compiled a list of Mennonite journalists/
communicators worldwide and hopes to
expand it. Several people at the meeting
mentioned limited resources (staff time and
money) and needs for translation as
hindrances to spreading more news.
Meetinghouse, the Mennonite and Brethren
in Christ editors' group, sponsored the
meeting.
NEWS — — — — — —
Assembly 13 tentatively slated for India in 1996
What's ahead for Mennonite World Conference?
Winnipeg (Meetinghouse) —
Shortly after the close of
Assembly 12, the 13th General
Council of Mennonite World
Conference decided to
"tentatively accept an invitation
to hold Assembly 13 in India, to
convene in a substantial, local
MWC member community" and
that it will "reflect as full as
possible the style of life of the
Indian Mennonite and Brethren
in Christ churches." Possible
sites include Hyderabad and
New Delhi.
Executive secretary Larry
Miller, MWC staff and the
Indian Mennonites will conduct
a feasibility study in the next
year to try to remove the
"tentative" from the decision
and to try to determine date,
location, goals, financing and a
timetable for decision-making.
The study should be completed
in time for the next meeting of
the 12-member MWC executive
(president Raul Garcia,
Argentina; vice president Ed
van Straten, the Netherlands;
two representatives each from
North America, Europe, Asia,
Africa and Latin America). That
meeting will be in July 1991 in
Strasbourg, France. Plans
could then be approved at the
next meeting of the MWC
General Council (representa-
tives from each Mennonite
conference in each country,
about 100 in all), which will
meet in Zimbabwe in 1993.
The placing of the next
assembly in the Third World
was done to recognize that the
Mennonite world is no longer
predominantly European/North
American. (Another invitation
had been received to hold the
next Assembly in the Nether-
lands in 1996 to celebrate the
500th anniversary of Menno
Simons' birth.) Larry Miller
said, "It is important that we
move out of North America —
important for the Third World
but also for us." Admitting that
the developing-world setting
will not be able to provide the
luxurious accommodations of
Assembly 12, Miller suggested,
"A little suffering is good for the
soul." He added that Assembly
13 would also need to be
funded in a different way, since
many Indians cannot afford the
high registration fees of
Assembly 12.
Budgets: Some significant
financial questions exist in the
wake of Assembly 12.
MWC has three separate,
ongoing budgets. One is the
Assembly budget, which covers
all expenses of the assemblies,
including planning, organizing
and publicity in the years
leading up to an Assembly and
winding-down expenses, like
publication of the proceedings.
(For Assembly 12, this budget
exceeded $2 million.) These
costs are normally covered by
Assembly registration fees,
offerings and donations. It is
this budget that could have a
deficit of hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars following
The Assembly
budget could have a
deficit of hundreds
of thousands of
dollars.
Assembly 12, due to lower than
expected registration (13,000
rather than 15,000). However,
MWC officials refuse to
speculate on the deficit. They
say that all the bills are not yet
in, some expenses may be
able to be cut and there is still
some potential for revenue
and/or donations. In any case,
the picture is disappointing.
A second ongoing budget is
the travel fund, assisting
developing-world General
Council members and assem-
bly participants to travel. Well
over $400,000 was raised from
churches and individuals
leading up to Assembly 12 (the
goal had been $500,000). This
fund is expected to have a
positive balance of a few
thousand dollars, which will be
used for assemblies and
General Council meetings.
The third budget is for the
ongoing administrative struc-
ture of MWC (salaries, office
and communications costs). It
is currently $160,000 a year,
but at least $225,000 is needed
to maintain an acceptable
standard of service. About
$105,000 of this budget comes
from per-member dues from
the constituent conferences, a
proportion MWC leaders would
like to see increase substan-
tially. The rest comes from
private donors.
Administrative changes:
MWC headquarters will move
from the United States to
France with Larry Miller of
Strasbourg as executive
secretary. The new office,
open Sept. 1 , will be at 7,
Avenue de la Foret-Noire, 6700
Strasbourg, France; phone —
88614927, FAX— 8861 571 7.
The old office in Carol
Stream, III., will remain open as
a secondary office, under the
administration of Kathryn Good.
The International Mennonite
Peace Committee will move
Sept. 1 to CH-2720 Tramelan,
Switzerland. IMPC will
continue as it is until 1993,
while MWC conducts a review
of its work. The Winnipeg
Assembly office will wind down
operations by the end of
September.
370 AUGUST 28, 1990
An immigration judge in July granted political asylum to a 17-
year-old Salvadoran army deserter who testified that recruits are
made to torture and kill animals and human beings as part of their
basic military training in El Salvador. The teenager, who asked
that his name be withheld to protect family members in El
Salvador, said he and other recruits were forcibly conscripted in
the summer of 1989 and made to kill dogs and vultures by biting
their throats and twisting their heads off. After seeing soldiers
torture and kill suspected dissidents, he testified, he was told he
would have to torture people as part of his training, whereupon he
deserted. Judge Glenn MacPhaul overturned a U.S. State
Department letter recommending that the deserter be denied
asylum. (National Catholic Reporter)
Meetinghouse, the Mennonite
and Brethren in Christ editors'
group, met July 23-24 in
Steinbach, Man. The group
gets together each year to plan
feature and news articles in
common. Much of this year's
business consisted of planning
shared coverage of Assembly
12 of Mennonite World
Conference in Winnipeg.
Meetinghouse officers: (from
left) Gordon Houser, treasurer,
Steve Shenk, chair, and Paul
Schrag, secretary
Something new for MWC:
a statement of faith
NEWS
On July 30 the MWC
executive appointed Reg
Toews to be the treasurer of
Mennonite World Conference,
replacing Ray Schlichting, who
has served since 1973. Toews
is currently assistant deputy
minister of the Mental Health
Division for the Manitoba
government. He served with
Mennonite Central Committee
1974-1989, including service
as executive secretary of MCC
U.S. and executive secretary of
MCC. Toews will become an
ex-officio member of the MWC
General Council.
Future directions: MWC
will spend considerable time in
the next three years assessing
its future. MWC hopes to em-
phasize more personal and
regional fellowship, fostering
ongoing inter-Mennonite
communications between
assemblies. In this work, it is
continually hampered by a
shortage of funds. Larry Miller
said that people in North
America seem most willing to
give for capital expenditures
and program, neither of which
MWC has. "It is harder to
motivate people to give for a
place to talk to each other."
Yet talking to each other is
what MWC is all about. Miller
noted that MWC does not have
control over member churches
and that there were disagree-
ments over what should or
should not be included in the
Assembly 12 programs. "That
is inevitable, given the diversity
of those who participated. The
crucial thing is that we continue
to talk about it. That is part of
the usefulness of our
gathering." Jim Coggins
Winnipeg (Meetinghouse) — At
Assembly 12 Mennonite World
Conference issued a statement
of faith (see page 383).
Previous assemblies,
especially those held since the
early 1950s, had focused on
theological themes. Some had
produced reports from "findings
committees."
In preparation for Assembly
12, however, MWC appointed a
13-member Faith and Life
Committee five years ago. It
prepared a study book,
Witnessing to Christ in Today's
World, written by Helmut
Harder.
Translated into different
languages, the book was
studied by at least some
Mennonite and Brethren in
Christ churches around the
world a year before the
gathering in Winnipeg.
"Mennonite World Confer-
ence is not only a time for
fellowship," said Harder. "It's
also a time to deal with the
chosen theme."
Each day during the five-day
assembly the committee
conducted interviews, led a
panel discussion with theologi-
ans and church leaders, and
listened at an open forum.
Various groups wanted to
make sure their concerns were
reflected. Others bombarded
committee members with
questions about the authority or
status of this document.
"This is not a delegated
body," said Howard John
Loewen. He indicated that the
statement would not have the
status of a creed or confession
of faith. "But when people of
God get together," he said,
"there is some authority in that."
Another committee member,
Harold Jantz, said, "Our
intention is to help the assem-
bly formulate a statement that
can in some way express what
the Spirit of God is trying to say
to Mennonite believers through
this worldwide gathering."
Three of the committee
members — Harder, Loewen
and Hugo Zorilla — presented
their first draft of the faith
statement on Friday afternoon.
By Saturday night the final draft
had to be completed so that
translators could work on it for
the closing service on Sunday.
The draft included three sec-
tions: praising God, rooted in
Jesus Christ, led by the Holy
Spirit. The second section
included the following affirma-
tion: "Jesus Christ is the only
Savior. At the same time, we
need to recognize the sign-
posts that point to Christ/God in
the religions of the world."
The sentence about "sign-
posts" was dropped in the final
draft, which was organized
around a threefold confession:
praise, repentance and
commitment.
The members of the old and
the new MWC executive
committees met on Saturday to
make a few amendments.
A newly elected Central
American member of the
executive committee said that
the commitment section did not
adequately address the con-
fessions made earlier. A repre-
sentative from the Netherlands
said, "There's still something
missing — the risk of going out
and leaving security behind."
In response, the committee
added, for example: "Send us
forth with a passion for
reconciliation..." and, "Christ
calls us to forsake all...."
Some wondered whether the
confession section was a
"Western confession." An
Indonesian representative
asked if there was any other
term for "militarism" to better
reflect the situation in develop-
ing countries.
One North American
representative thought the
phrase "brink of ecological
disaster" was too alarmist.
Another North American
wanted the confession section
to include a confession of
violence against creation. A
phrase was added.
A Japanese representative
wanted this phrase broadened
so it would apply to more than
Europeans or North Americans:
"We cling to our ethnicity and
our traditions." The phrase was
changed to, "We cling to our
ethnic traditions and national
backgrounds."
A North American represen-
tative commended the commit-
tee for producing a "balanced
statement." He noted, how-
ever, that there was "no
particular cutting edge."
Final revisions were finished
on Saturday evening. It will be
reproduced in the book of
proceedings from Assembly 12.
Ron Rempel
THE MENNONITE 371
Jake and Adelaide Fransen, Smithville,
Ont., conducted a 2-1/2-week visit April 18-
May 6 to churches in the Eastern District
Conference of the General Conference
Mennonite Church. Jake is a member of
the GC General Board and the Division of
General Services. The Fransens served as
"listeners" in the churches. In meetings
with pastors and lay people they discussed
issues such as possible integration with the
Mennonite Church, church growth and
goals, and worship resources. Their written
evaluation of the visit affirmed the value of
the visitation program, reported the warm
and honest responses of the people they
visited and made suggestions for the
conference to consider.
"Wholeness — Many Voices," one of the
workshops at Assembly 12, reviewed the
biblical concept of salvation in the context
of popular movements that promise
wholeness — spiritual, physical, emotional —
to people. Dan Zehr of Winnipeg moder-
ated the workshop, while Arden Thiessen
illustrated the biblical doctrine of salvation
with six stories from the Bible. "We want to
be whole. God wants us to be whole," he
said. "But it seems difficult for us and God
to get together on this. We seem like
strangers trying to find each other in the
dark." The biblical verdict, Thiessen said,
is that people apart from God are "lost."
"All human problems, whether personal,
social or spiritual, are summed up with this
one word," he said. Menno Hamm for
Meetinghouse
"We are a sinful church; the priest
offenders [and] the church administration
who did not choose to stand clearly with
the victims or support them in their
suffering. ...The wounds of the church are
laid bare. We are naked. Our anger, our
pain, our anguish, our shame and our vul-
nerability are clear to the whole world. This
is not a time for deaf ears of denial." With
those words and apologies to the victims
and their families, Catholic archbishop Al-
phonsus Penney of St. Johns, Newfound-
land, resigned recently. His action followed
a report by a church commission that
criticized him severely for failing to act
against clergy who were sexually abusing
young boys. (Religion Report)
"Wouldn't it be wonderful if there
were a pictorial history of CPS?"
Coming in October. Just in time for the 50th Anniversary of CPS. The
CPS Story: An Illustrated History of Civilian Public Service by Albert N.
Keim. Lots of stories and photos from the camps.
For a special pre-publication offer (20% n rtfl^ I^T7n
savings), write to The CPS Story, Good V^OOQ^jf^ JdOOJKS
Books, Intercourse, PA 1 7534. Main Street, Intercourse, PA 1 75 34
Call toll free 800/762-7171; in PA or Canada, call collect 717/768-7171
Mastercard and Visa accepted
372 AUGUST 28, 1990
• A Mennonite Central
Committee publication
• August 1990
• vol 14
• no 4
INNU PEOPLE
OF LABRADOR
MCC has been in Newfoundland and Labrador for about
40 years, and with the Innu people, Native Canadians of
the region, for the last decade. MCC workers have
supported the Innu as they seek to halt the growing
military presence in their homeland and as they work to
resolve outstanding legitimate claims. One pressing issue of the past few years has been
low-level flying. Jets from NATO ( North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
countries fly over the region simulating attacks on the Soviet Union. The
jets roar over the treetops at speeds of up to 900 kilometres (540 miles)
an hour.
Currently eight MCC workers serve in Labrador.
Staff comment
Serving neighbors
close to us
Several years ago, when I
directed a peace center in
the southern United States,
I noticed that some white
people who advocated better
relations with the Soviets
did not have the same desire
towards their black and
Hispanic neighbors. It
occurred to me that it was
easy for them to like the
Russians ; they didn't know
any. They were not as
willing to like people close at
hand.
The same may be true for
our relationship with Native
people. Canadian and
American Mennonites and
Brethren in Christ have
answered Jesus's question
in Luke 10, "Who is my
neighbor?", over and over
again by reaching out to
people all around he world.
But we must also love and
serve people close to us.
Low-level flying
Innu girl
Many Native people in Canada
and the United States look to
the church for help as they
struggle to retain their culture
and identity. When govern-
ments refuse to listen, when
militarization continues
unabated, when treaty rights
are ignored, they turn to
followers of Jesus for support.
Will we see them as our
neighbors?
Let's resist the temptation to
pass by on the other side.
Let's encourage our govern-
ments to honour treaties,
support Native efforts towards
self government, call for an
end to the militarization
and exploitation of Native lands
and pray for Native Christians
and church workers who are
trying to live out faith in a way
that best reveals Jesus in the
Native world.
• • *John Longhurst
MCC Canada
Information Services
A brief history of militarism in Labrador
There is an old saying that God created the earth in six
days and on the seventh he threw rocks at Labrador. But
he did so creatively and infused it with delicate life.
Labrador boasts some of Canada's most beautiful and
remote scenery.
Labrador's interior was the domain solely of the Innu as
recently as 30 years ago. Their life and survival revolved
around the caribou. The other aboriginal culture in the
region, the Inuit (formerly referred to as Eskimos), and
the Metis (people of joint Native Canadian and European
descent) lived along the coast and other areas, trapping,
hunting, fishing, berry picking and gardening.
The U.S. government established an air base at Goose
Bay, Labrador, in 1942 to service wartime flights between
North America and Europe. It brought jobs when the
price of furs was low, but much of the Metis culture was
lost. It also brought outsiders who took the best jobs.
Goose Bay's economy suffered after the Americans left
in 1 976. So the controversial increase in the number of
military low-level flights has the support of many who
are concerned about Labrador's economic stagnation.
The surge in low-level flying began in 1980, when the
West German government asked to expand training at
Goose Bay.
Since 1981 the military has increased the size of the low-
level flying zone, the number of jets, the number of
countries participating and the size and types of simulated
bombs. It has also lowered the height at which jets can
fly and used laser-guided weapons on the bombing range
with little or no public consultation.
The Dutch, British and West Germans will fly around
8,200 sorties this year.
The Canadian government, keen to boost employment
and beef up the local economy, attempted to lure a large-
scale NATO tactical weapons training base to Labrador.
Had it been built, low-level flights in the region would
have increased to around 40,000 a year. At a May
meeting, however, NATO decided not to build the base.
2 MCC Contact/August 1990 I
fr*' |
1
While the Innu welcomed this news, it did not bring an
end to low-level flying. Agreements between the Canadian
government and NATO will permit thousands of flights
each year until 1996.Some speculate that the number of
flights will double under existing agreements, possibly even
escalating to the point where a de facto tactical fighter
weapons training centre exists.
The low-level flying zones stretch over much of Nitassinan,
the Innu homeland of 10,000 people that was never ceded
by treaty to any government, though Newfoundland and
Quebec claim jurisdiction. The Innu are concerned about
the effects of low-level flying on their hunting lifestyle and
on the animals on which they depend for survival. "When
we talk about the jets flying so low that their exhaust makes
ripples on the surface of the lakes, makes the canvas on our
tents flap, and sways trees, we are not exaggerating," says
Daniel Ashini, Chief of the Sheshashit Band Council.
Military expansion has grave repercussions for the Innu
people. They fear the loss of their culture and powerless-
ness in their own land. "Canada has denied us our existence
as a people," says leader Ben Michel, "and I wonder why it
is using the military as a tool to completely deny us the
right to survive, the right to existence, the
right to live politically, socially, culturally, economically,
the way we want to live."
Innu women
But the Innus' pleas are disregarded, as is the recommend-
ation from the Canadian Public Health Association that no
further military development be undertaken until
environmental hearings are complete and land claims of
aboriginal peoples have been settled. The military has
also ignored the recommendation from a government
environmental review panel that the number of low-level
sorties from Goose Bay not exceed the number flown in
1986 until the panel's recommendations have been received.
Meanwhile, low-level military flights continue in Labrador
as though they had been approved.
• • *Bob Bartel of Rosthern, Sask.
Former MCC Labrador
The three of us have been
arrested again for entering
the runway. Why do we
continue to protest? It's
because of our children.
I want them to continue to
be able to use the land as
our ancestors did. It's the
thing that keeps us strong
while we are in our cells.
• • • Martha Hurley
Innu elder
MCC Contact (USPS 689-760) is published in
February. April, June, August, and November
by Mennonite Central Committee. PO Box 500.
Akron, PA 17501-0500. Editors are Charmayne
Denlinger Brubaker. Ardell Stauffer. and John
Longhurst. Graphic design by Ronald Tinsley.
Copies are sent in bulk to church addresses upon
request. Address correspondence to MCC
Contact Editor, 2 1 South 1 2th Street, PO Box
500, Akron. PA 17501-0500. In Canada,
address correspondence to MCC Contact
Editor, MCC Canada, 134 Plaza Dr., Winnipeg.
MB, R3T 5K9. Second class postage paid at
Akron. Pa., and additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PO
Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-0500. Printed in
U.S.A.
Photo credits:
Page I, 2. 3, 4 and 5. Fred Harrington and Bob
Bartel: Pane S. Mivuki Kawamura.
North America
Resources on low-
level flying in
Labrador
• • •
Overlooked and overflown
a new resource packet,
contains material about
the Innu of Labrador, legal
action against low-level
flying, economic develop-
ment and effects of low-
level flying on wildlife and
the environment. It
includes a section called
"What you can do." The
packet, prepared by Peace
and Social Concerns of
MCC Canada, is available
for $3 Can. ($2.50
U.S.) from MCC Canada,
134 Plaza Dr., Winnipeg,
MB R3T 5K9.
Labrador
Labrador: Homeland or
wasteland, a new VHS
video cassette, provides
an overview of the crisis
facing the Innu. It features
the struggle between their
way of life and western
civilization's pursuit of
wealth and military power.
Shows MCC workers as
they walk with the Innu in
their struggle for social
justice and cultural
survival. Designed for
small study groups.
Available from all MCC
offices.
"Ultimately, the issue ii
there is, but whether w
When the weather is nice the jet noise over my home in
the Kaiserslautern region of West Germany doesn't cease
before 10 p.m. High as well as low-flying jets crisscross
the skies, polluting the air and disrupting the natural
rhythm of life on the earth. Military personnel say pilots
need continuous training under real conditions and this is
part of our common security.
...Medical doctors say that people, and especially children,
suffer from terrifying experiences, strain and stress,
damaging the nervous system, in particular the auditory
nerves. [Jet flight] noise leads to feelings of fear and
sudden rise of blood pressure. It keeps people from falling
asleep and relaxing, which again results in strain.
Even as I write, another military jet is shooting across
today's clear sky. Its sound is spreading in all directions...
Protests and resistance have become more and more
organized... (but) reducing flights over Germany means
exporting these to Turkey, Portugal or Canada.
• • • Hans-Joachim Wienss
Former chair, European Mennonite
Peace Committee
We live in the village of Nunspeet, Holland, a village situated
right under air corridors for civilian and military air traffic.
The civilian air traffic flies high overhead and can seldom be
heard. The military traffic passes overhead at 100 to 500
metres (300 to 1,500 feet). Some days five to 10 military
fighters fly over us. Some of them make so much noise that I
as an adult feel fear, and my 2-year-old daughter comes
hrunning into the house in tears.
What we experience here must be quiet compared with
Labrador.
When we protest this noise in the Netherlands, what happens?
It is simply exported to a less populated or "political" area
such as Labrador.
Ultimately, the issue is not where to practice, or how much
noise there is, but whether we need the planes at all.
• • • Maarten van der Werf
Secretary, European Mennonite
Peace Committee
4 MCC Contact/August 1990
ot where to practice, or how much noise
eed the planes at all."
Military weapons found in Labrador
We know that rural peoples in the United States and Europe
are also suffering from supersonic and low-level air combat
training. The German Initiative Against Low-Level Flying
was formed to fight against low-level flying in that country.
Unfortunately for us, their efforts have been successful to
the extent that the West German government has exported its
unwanted public health problem to Nitassinan. People in rural
Scotland, England and Wales also want to stop this kind of air
combat training, as do people in Nevada, California, Montana,
Utah and North Dakota. But they are told that the terrible
noise and property damage they experience is the price they
must pay for freedom...
It seems strange to us that what is recognized by governments
in the United States and Europe as a serious public health
problem is not recognized as such in Canada.
News from MCC
■ • •
MCC, Christian Aid and
Canadian International
Development Agency
recently purchased 2,000
metric tons of maize in
Kenya for airlift to Juba in
southern Sudan. MCC
is funding $133,000 of the
$380,000 (U.S.) total cost
of the shipment. Some
400,000 civilians are
trapped in Juba, victims of
the conflict between the
Sudan People's Liberation
Army and Sudanese
government troops.
Mennonite Disaster
Service (MDS) has helped
repair about 40 homes in
earthquake-affected areas
of California. More
volunteers, both-long-and
short-term, are needed for
MDS projects. About 300
homes await repairs. MDS
expects to work in
California at least one
more year. If you are
interested in volunteering,
contact MDS, PO Box 500,
Akron, PA 17501-0500.
Mennonite Health Services
(MHS) and MCC Canada
Mental Health Program
invite college or graduate
students pursuing careers
in mental health fields to
apply for scholarships.
Five to seven scholarships
are available each year
from the Elmer Ediger
Memorial Scholarship
Fund. For details contact
MHS, PO Box 500, Akron,
PA 17501 or MCC Canada
Mental Health Program,
134 Plaza Dr., Winnipeg,
MB R3T 5K9.
MCC has shipped used cloth-
ing to some of the 60,000
refugees in northwestern
Cambodia displaced by civil
war. MCC workers visited
some of these refugees, who
live in open fields or under
small thatch structures that
are also used for rice storage.
Most refugees had to leave
their rice fields unharvested
to escape the shelling
between government troops
and resistance factions.
Daniel Ashini
Innu chief
5 MCC Contact/August 1990
South America
Population: 4,518,000
Per capita income: 1,260
Program initiated: 1930
1989 expenses: $378,052
Personnel: 4
6 MCC Contact/August 1990
Country profile
Paraguay
MCC work in Paraguay began in 1930-32 when 2,000
Mennonite refugees from the Soviet Union were settled in
Paraguay's Chaco region. After World War II MCC helped
another 5,000 Mennonite refugees go to Paraguay.
As in North America, new settlers came into contact with
the region's Native people. The hunter-gatherers' centuries-
old environment was changed as immigrants cleared brush,
erected fences and established farms and ranches.
Some tensions between Mennonites and Native people have
occurred, but many good things have also resulted. MCC
has supported Paraguayan Mennonite efforts for good
relations with Native people in a number of ways,
including participation in the Association of Indigenous-
Mennonite Cooperative Services (ASCIM). ASCIM was
founded in 1976 to provide health care, social services,
education and agricultural training for the region's Native
people. By 1989 1,600 Native families had received land
through the program. ASCIM also provided schools,
clinics and an agricultural production network.
Harmonious existence between the Mennonite communities
and Native people continues to be an issue. As in North
America, relations between Native peoples and later
arrivals call for understanding, cooperation and prayer.
Resources from MCC
• • •
A new MCC peace poster is
available free of charge.
The text, a quote by Sir Roy
Shaw, is "Wars begin in the
minds of people and it is
there that they should be
resisted." Available from
MCC, PO Box 500, Akron,
PA 17501-0500 and MCC
Canada, 134 Plaza Drive,
Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9.
Stories on the way, a new
30-minute MCC audio-
visual, features examples
of MCC work in
Bangladesh, Labrador,
Miami and Nicaragua.
Segments on Mennonite
Disaster Service, SELFHELP
Crafts and the history of
MCC are also included.
Available in both VHS video
cassette and 16mm film;
free loan from all MCC
offices.
Four MCC cash projects
are described in new fliers
available from all MCC
offices. Projects described
are: books for nurses in
Cambodia, fruit trees in
India, a preschool in
Nicaragua, and a study tour
for special education
teachers in Sudan. Each
illustrated flier includes
country statistics,
description of MCC work
there, description of the
cash project, and a related
story.
7 MCC Contact/August 1990
Filippino school children
Thoughts on personnel
Serving with Native Canadians
Often when people think about service with MCC, they think
of assignments overseas. But you do not have to go overseas
to have a cross-cultural service experience; you can have it
right here in North America. One way this occurs is through
serving Canada's Native people.
MCC Canada has several openings for service with Native
people. MCC needs a supervisory couple at a children's
home in northern British Columbia; a counselor at a
Vancouver Island, B.C., elementary school; a nurse in
Labrador; and a worker at an employment agency for Native
people in Winnipeg, Man.
Volunteers who work and walk with Canada's Native people
discover the challenge of cross-cultural ministry and see their
own culture in a new way.
• • • John Peters
Personnel Services
MCC Canada
Other urgent openings
Bangladesh: horticulturists
Haiti: reforestation workers
Harlan, Ky.: low-cost housing director
Akron, Pa.: director, International Visitor Exchange Program
Sudan: physical therapist
Winnipeg, Man.: curriculum developer/researcher
Washington, D.C.: research assistant
Prince Albert, Sask./Scarborough, Ont.: youth workers
If you or someone you know are interested in any of these
positions, contact MCC Personnel Department, PO Box 500,
Akron, PA 17501-0500,
(717) 859-1151.
Cash projects
• • •
(October) Housing
construction, Brazil: A com-
munity association in a poor
barrio of Recife builds or
repairs 15 houses each year.
Families work together to
benefit the neediest among
them. But the community
lacks economic resources to
fund the program. MCC
provides building materials
for 15 houses. $120 repairs
or builds one house. $1,800
is the total budget of this
project. Please include
project number B905-30
with your contribution.
• • •
(November) Education,
Philippines: Thousands of
people on Mindanao island
have fled their homes be-
cause of fighting between
government and rebel
troops. An MCC worker and
several Filipinos provide al-
ternative schooling for child-
ren in displacement camps.
$1 buys crayons and paper
for three children. $5 pro-
vides one book. Please
include project number
B718-52 with your contribut-
ion.
• • •
(December) Sheep for farm-
ers, Egypt: MCC provides
sheep and training in their
care for farmers with small
plots of land. The sheep
increase family income and
provide meat and wool.
Their manure enriches
sandy soil. $82 buys one
ewe. $97 buys one ram.
$1 1 ,387 is the total project
cost in 1990. Please include
project number B853-11
with your contribution.
Material aid projects
• • •
(October) Clothing: MCC
needs clothing to send to
Nicaragua. This year ship-
ments have gone to
Mozambique, Laos and
Sudan, among other
countries. Donated
clothes should be light-
or medium-weight,
preferably wash-and-wear.
New or used clothing is
welcome.
• • •
(November) Blankets and
quilts: MCC has shipped
550 blankets to
Afghanistan and 12,000
blankets to war-torn
Sudan this year.
Upcoming shipments will
go to Bangladesh and to
half-way houses and
women's shelters in the
United States. Bedding
made entirely of new
material that does not
show stains and dirt easily
is preferred. Suggested
sizes are 60 to 72 inches
(152 to 183 centimeters)
wide and 80 to 90 inches
(203 to 229 centimeters)
long. However,
all sizes are acceptable.
• • •
(December) Health kits:
So far this year MCC has
shipped 7,800 health kits
to Chile, Laos,Vietnam
and other countries. MCC
will also ship health kits
to Jamaica and Nicaragua
in 1990. To prepare a
health kit, place these
items in an 8- by 10-inch
(20-by 25-centimeter)
drawstring bag: a
toothbrush, family-size
tube of toothpaste, bar of
soap, nail clipper with file
and dark hand towel.
P\ease *?*£Stti a»
i cashproJectS
O.
Mennon«e
Centra*
Comm>ttee
" ~~T1 r.e
PO BO* «» 7501-05«>
Akron. rf
8 MCC Contact/ August 1990
One of the more popular tours at
Assembly 12 of Mennonite World Con-
ference was the Hutterite Colony Tour,
which had sold out before the first
session began. The five-hour tours to
six of the 80 Hutterite colonies in
Manitoba brought 315 people from
many different countries. "We can learn
much from their lifestyle," said Maxine
and George Stutzman from the United
States. Two of the tours at MWC were
walking tours: the Manitoba Legislative
Building Tour and the Self-Directed
Tour. Gladys Penner for Meetinghouse
Chicago peace activist Duane Bean, 32,
held a press conference on Aug. 6 in Chicago
to announce that he would not cooperate with
the terms of a federal prison sentence. Bean
faced a 30-day prison sentence for trespass-
ing at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita,
Kan. The Bureau of Prisons designated him
to a work-release program at a halfway house
in Chicago that requires prisoners to give 25
percent of their income to pay for their incar-
ceration. Bean said he could not in con-
science cooperate. "Protesting the arms race
is not a crime," he said. "I don't want to be
rehabilitated into complicity with the evil of
nuclear weapons." Bean is coordinator of
non-violent education for Synapses, an
interfaith peace and justice group in Chicago.
"Together We Are Whole" is the theme
for Mutual Aid Sunday, to be observed
Sept. 16. Now in its ninth year, Mutual Aid
Sunday is observed in many Mennonite
and related churches throughout the
United States. Mennonite Mutual Aid,
which sponsors the event, has sent a
resource guide to pastors. It contains
sermon topics and other activities related
to mutual aid themes. These and special
bulletin inserts are available from Denise
Hoffer, Box 483, Goshen, IN 46526, 1-800-
348-7468.
NEWS
Mennonites with disabilities
sing the same language
Winnipeg — The weekend
before Assembly 12 more than
200 people came to Canadian
Mennonite Bible College here
to participate in the First
International Mennonite Retreat
on Disabilities. People with
disabilities and their friends and
families came from places as
distant as Japan, Zaire,
Uruguay, Colombia, France,
Nicaragua and the Soviet
Union. In all, 18 countries were
represented.
The retreat, entitled "Cele-
brating Differences," had a
threefold purpose: build a
sense of unity and solidarity
among people in the church
who share common concerns
regarding people with disabili-
ties, explore ways to network
after the retreat and provide
fellowship and a forum to
discuss ways to increase
awareness of the needs of
people with disabilities.
Nancy and Paul Leichty from
Pennsylvania led singing, using
many languages. George
Strohmeyer, a Catholic priest
who with Jean Vanier founded
the first North American
L'Arche Community, led
worship. These sessions
explored three ways of
journeying into the heart: the
way of the seeker who turns to
God, the way of faith as
portrayed in the beatitudes,
and by discipleship and love
that surrenders to God with
great devotion and tenderness.
Discussion groups met to
process Strohmeyer's words
throughout the weekend, and
at the end everyone had com-
munion together. Each group
expressed its faith in prayer
and song across differences of
language, culture and abilities.
Afternoon workshops
focused on developmental
community living gave people
an opportunity to share
information about projects in
their countries: vocational
training, residential programs,
schooling and educational
choices and advocacy.
Displays, video presentations
and technical aid demonstra-
tions added to the schedule.
The retreat concluded with a
rally at the Grant Memorial
Larry Schmidt (center) at closing communion of disabilities retreat
disabilities, deafness, visual
impairment and mobility
handicaps. A workshop on
Faith and Light (an ecumenical
organization) enjoyed enthusi-
astic participation.
Participants focused on
becoming the caring commu-
nity: supportive care in the
congregation, making churches
accessible, gender roles and
how to encourage inclusive-
ness in congregations. Work-
shops on independent and
Baptist Church. Ron Sider of
the United States spoke on
"The Biblical Concept of Justice
and Disabled Persons." The
biblical concepts of righteous-
ness and justice, he said, must
refer to equality for oppressed
people, such as those with
disabilities.
The retreat resulted in a
network of people with disabili-
ties in Mennonite churches.
Resolutions urged Mennonites
in developing countries to
include people with disabilities.
A booklet will contain the
stories of people with disabili-
ties from 10 different countries.
This memoir from the retreat
will be a tool for use in Sunday
schools and churches. Valerie
Regehr
Director of admissions. Respon-
sible to manage the EMC
admissions program and staff;
develop and implement recruitment
strategy; coordinate creation and
production of promotional
materials; supervise recruitment
field work. Master's degree,
familiarity with the Mennonite
Church, and five years administra-
tive experience preferred.
Send resume to Personnel Office,
Eastern Mennonite College,
Harrisonburg, VA 22801.
Goshen College seeks applicants
for assistant director of informa-
tion services. Responsibilities
include the ability to originate and
edit materials (news, features,
photos, promotional copy,
advertising copy and forms)
primarily for the admissions office
and student development division.
Qualifications include bachelor's
degree in communication, English
or other relevant discipline,
commitment to GC's Christian
liberal-arts emphasis, reporting,
writing and editing skills. Salary
commensurate with qualifications.
Send letter of application, resume
and the names of three references
to John D. Yoder, Director of
Information Services, Goshen
College, Goshen, IN 46526V
Applications will be accepted until
Aug. 31. An equal opportunity
employer
THE MENNONITE 373
How do 70 percent of Kenya's primary
school students not brush their teeth yet
still have less dental plaque than those who
use toothbrushes? The answer, writes
Willard Unruh in Mennonite Weekly
Review, is mswaki. Mswaki is a "chew
stick," and it or its equivalent has been
used in many parts of the world for
centuries. In 1983 a team of Nigerian
researchers found that some species of
twigs and tree roots contain chemical com-
pounds that slow down the production of
the primary agents of dental plaque
formation.
RECOltd
The Iranian government shut down the
offices of the Iranian Bible Society,
confiscated files and locked out the staff
earlier this year, the United Bible Societies
reported in July. Attempts to obtain
permission to reopen the IBS office have
failed, and the general secretary has fled
the country following repeated harassment
by authorities, the UBS said. The govern-
ment accused IBS of unspecified work
against the revolution. Earlier, officials
banned IBS from printing the Bible after it
balked at changing references in the
biblical text to Jesus as the "Son of God"
and "Lord." The officials wanted the
references changed to "prophet."
Lead toxicity, an entirely preventable
disease, causes permanent neurological
damage to children and impairs their ability
to learn and to function as productive mem-
bers of society, writes Greg Goering in
Washington Memo. Lead toxicity is the
most common illness of environmental
origin in American children today, with well
over one-sixth of the nation's children
affected. Yet millions of pounds of lead
continue to be released into the environ-
ment each year through manufacture, use
and disposal of lead-containing products
(e.g. paint, gasoline, plumbing materials,
food cans, batteries, cosmetics).
dEAThs
Josephine Glenmore, 70, White
River Cheyenne Church,
Busby, Mont., a leader in
Mennonite Indian Leaders
Council (GC), died July 9.
Cornelius Krahn, 88, Bethel
College Church, North Newton,
Kan., died Aug. 2. A distin-
guished Mennonite historian,
he taught at Tabor College,
Hillsboro, Kan., and Bethel
College, North Newton,
becoming an internationally
respected scholar of Anabaptist
and Mennonite studies. His
wife, Hilda, survives.
Harry Martens, 79, Elkhart,
Ind., died July 24 after attend-
ing a memorial service in Iowa
for passengers of Flight #232
which crashed July 19, 1989.
His wife, Olga, died in that
crash. He spent a lifetime in
service for the church with
Bethel College, North Newton,
Kan., MCC and AMBS.
WOnliERS
Charmayne Denlinger
Brubaker, Akron, Pa., was
elected vice chair of Council on
Krahn
Martens
Grove
G. Harder
L. Harder
Hertzler
Caszatt
Fehr
Church and Media at its April
18 meeting.
Brendon Caszatt, Church of
Christ, Rapid City, Mich., began
a two-year MVS term Jan. 2 in
Cincinnati as day staff and
recreation coordinator for
Tender Mercies, a shelter for
homeless mentally disabled
people. His parents are
Marlene and Terry Caszatt,
Alden, Mich.
Heidi Cater, Bethany Church,
Freeman, S.D., spent two
weeks in voluntary service at
AMBS — Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries
CMBC — Canadian Mennonite Bible College
GC — General Conference
COM — Commission on Overseas Mission
MVS — Mennonite Voluntary Service
MC — Mennonite Church
MCC — Mennonite Central Committee
St. Paul (Minn.) Fellowship.
Marilyn and Reginald David
have been ordained as the first
Mennonite ministers in Guyana
at the Open Bible Mennonite
Church of Guyana.
Craig Fehr, Evangelical
Mennonite Church, Morden,
Man., began a one-year MVS
term Nov. 21, 1989, in Wichita,
Kan., as a transportation
coordinator and van driver for
The Lorraine Center, a medical,
adult, day-care center. His
parents are Ed and Sadie Fehr
of Morden.
Brenda Glanzer, Hutterthal
Church, Freeman, S.D., began
Aug. 1 3 as minister of educa-
tion at Hesston (Kan.) Church.
Kevin Goertzen is an AMBS
intern at First Church, Mound-
ridge, Kan., during the summer
and fall.
Ken Grove, Hagerman
Church, Milliken, Ont., began a
1-1/2-year MVS term Nov. 20,
1989, as a peace worker for
Project Peacemakers in
Winnipeg. His parents are
David and Lil Grove, Markham,
Ont.
Gladys and Leo Harder, First
Church, Mountain Lake, Minn.,
began a two-year MVS term
D. Janzen
April 5 as resident managers
for transitional housing at
Neighbor to Neighbor, Fort
Collins, Colo.
Jean Hawk has accepted a
position as professor of
education at Bluffton (Ohio)
College.
Daniel Hertzler, Scottdale,
Pa., editor for 17 years of
Gospel Herald, weekly journal
of the Mennonite Church, will
retire Oct. 19, his 65th birthday.
He will continue to write for
Adult Bible Study Guide, a
Sunday school quarterly.
Beth Hoick, Walton (Kan.)
United Methodist Church,
began a one-year MVS term
July 25 on the staff of Victim-
Offender Reconciliation
Program, Fresno, Calif. Her
parents are Marvin and Sandy
Hoick, Peabody, Kan.
Dotty Janzen, Newton, Kan.,
374 AUGUST 28, 1990
Midway through Assembly 12 of Mennonite World Conference, German
Mennonite women organized a workshop for women. German women are
involved in choosing the theme and writing the liturgy for World Day of Prayer
in 1992. The planned one-hour workshop lengthened into two hours as
women from around the world told stories and shared concerns. A young
Umsiedler woman from Germany talked of the needs of women in her church.
A woman from Kenya who had paid her own and her daughter's way to
Winnipeg pleaded for more sharing among Mennonite women worldwide.
Women asked why no workshops were scheduled at MWC for women to
share their stories and concerns about exclusion of women from decision
making. The women prepared a petition to the MWC Council that MWC en-
courage the networking of women and that women's organizations be given
more visibility. Women from Germany, Tanzania, the Netherlands, Canada,
Australia, Zimbabwe, the United States and Kenya signed the petition.
General Conference and Pacific District Conference
representatives, meeting July 20-22 in Phoenix, Ariz.,
approved a pilot project geared toward the thirtysom-
ething age group. A seminar focusing on financial
challenges and options for the 30- to 40-year-old age
group is to be held in October at Seattle Mennonite
Church. The pilot project is to "offer stewardship
education, counseling on budgets, insurance and
savings plans," said Ray Frey, GC stewardship
director. Anyone interested in attending the seminar,
tentively scheduled for Oct. 19-26, may write Steve
Ratzlaff, 225 N. 70th, Seattle, WA 98103.
RECORd
H. Janzen
B. Kaufman
Landis
Regier
R. Kaufman King
began Aug. 15 as associate
pastor at Bethel College
Church, North Newton. Her
husband, Heinz, will continue
as pastor at Trinity Church,
Hillsboro, Kan., until Sept. 30.
Liza Jacoby and Sarah
MacMaster, First Church,
Bluffton, Ohio, participated in
Mennonite Youth Venture in
San Francisco in July.
Berni Kaufman, a graduate of
Bethel College, North Newton,
Kan., now living in Goshen,
Ind., began June 18 as the
new recruitment manager for
Mennonite Board of Missions.
She succeeds Sandy Miller,
who resigned last November.
Randall Kaufman, Windom,
Kan., resigned as coordinator
of Mennonite Men (GC),
effective Aug. 31 .
Frank and "Holly" (Hollen-
bach) Keller, Bethel College
Church, North Newton, Kan.,
are mission partners with COM,
working as Egypt country
representatives for MCC.
Virginia King, Framingham,
Mass., began a two-year MVS
term Dec. 29, 1989, as a home
repair worker at Menno House
Repair, Oklahoma City. Her
parents are Robert and Jeanne
King of Framingham.
Konnie Landis, First Baptist
Church, Factoryville, Pa.,
began a one-year MVS term
June 1 8 as a social worker for
people with AIDS at Catholic
Charities, San Francisco. Her
parents are E. Jean and R.
Laverne Landis, Tunkhannock,
Pa.
John Paul Lederach, Akron
(Pa.) Church, has begun
teaching at Eastern Mennonite
College, Harrisonburg, Va. He
will continue half time in MCC's
conciliation program.
Leroy Loepp, Mennonite
Church of Normal, III., has
begun a five-month term as
mail clerk for MCC, Akron, Pa.
Rosella Wiens Regier, Faith
Church, Newton, Kan., has
been named executive director
for the Children's Curriculum
Project, effective this fall. The
new curriculum focuses on
Anabaptism and is a joint
project of the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church, the
Mennonite Church, the Church
of the Brethren and the
Brethren in Christ Church. The
anticipated release of the
curriculum is 1994. She is
currently secretary for chil-
dren's education for the
Commission on Education.
Willard Roth, Southside
Fellowship, Elkhart, Ind., is the
interim communications
director for Mennonite World
Conference. He is also on
half-time staff at Southside
Fellowship. He succeeds
David Shelly.
Vernon Schertz, pastor at
Shalom Fellowship, Tucson,
Ariz., is retiring.
Gary Schiefer, Clarion, Pa.,
will begin this fall at Bluffton
(Ohio) College as assistant
professor economics and
business administration.
Valerie Schrag, Oak Grove
Church, Smithville, Ohio,
worked July 1-14 as a coun-
selor for a day camp in
Scarborough, Ont. This was a
Youth Service Venture project.
Sharon A. Showman,
Arcadia, Ohio, will begin this
fall at Bluffton (Ohio) College
as assistant professor of
English and communication.
Mark Siebert, First Church,
Iowa City, Iowa, has been
named outstanding young
journalist in Iowa.
Christine Smucker, Oak
Grove Church, Smithville, Ohio,
worked July 7-29 at Ridge
Home, a residential center for
mentally and physically
handicapped children and
adults in Arvada, Colo. This
was a Youth Service Venture
project.
Richard Tschetter, pastor at
First Church, Pretty Prairie,
Kan., is retiring Nov. 1 , not Oct.
Zacharias
1 , as earlier reported.
Elizabeth Turchirollo,
Normal, III., began July 6 as
1990-91 president of the
Mennonite Hospital Auxiliary of
BroMenn Healthcare.
Cornelius Walter, New Delhi,
India, is the new director of
Leprosy Mission, India. He
grew up in the Bharatiya
Church (GC) in Madya
Pradesh.
Anna Zacharias, Winkler
(Man.)
Sommerfeld
Church,
began a 1-
1 /2-year term
March 5 as a
child-care
worker at
Carter Day
Care Centre,
Winnipeg.
Her parents are Lena and
Peter Zacharias.
Cal Zehr, half-time associate
pastor at Silverwood Church,
Goshen, Ind., is also working
part time as the interim youth
minister for Indiana-Michigan
Conference (MC).
Gordon Zerbe will begin this
fall at CMBC, Winnipeg,
teaching New Testament. He
succeeds David Schroeder,
who is retiring.
— compiled by Sharon Sommer
Staff position available in Commis-
sion on Education: secretary for
children's education. Application
deadline: Sept. 1 5.
For more information call or write:
Norma Johnson, executive
secretary, COE, Box 347, Newton,
KS 671 14, phone: (316) 283-5100.
THE MENNONITE 375
Elijah Harper addresses 700 at Mennonite World Conference
Mennonites welcome
Native MP
Susan Balzer
N
len a South American delegate
said he needed to hear about
Native Canadian issues, Elijah
Harper, Member of Parliament from
Manitoba, was invited to Assembly 12.
He came for a special 8 a.m. session.
Harper drew applause when he said
that the Manitoba Mennonites and
treaty Indians had a common bond: both
had lived on reserves. He gained
international recognition in June when
he stopped the Meech Lake Accord from
being passed in the legislature. (The
accord would have given Quebec special
status as a distinct society in the
Canadian constitution.)
"We [aboriginal people] want to be
recognized in our own homeland as
founders of this country," Harper said.
The Meech Lake Accord named the
British and French as founders of
Canada. From Labrador to British
Columbia, aboriginal people want peace
with justice, he said. Harper told the
Mennonites, "You pray for us.. ..We need
public support that's visible."
With the confrontation at Oka,
Quebec, making daily headlines, John
Funk (of Native Ministries, Conference of
Mennonites in Canada) said, "Oka tests
the church's commitment to non-violent
action."
One Mennonite, John Paul Lederach of
Harrisonburg, Va., went to Oka to aid in
conflict resolution between the Mohawk
"What makes us a great people, a great nation, is
the ability to care for the land, to share our re-
sources. We [Native Peoples] have awakened
the Canadian conscience in regard to aboriginal
rights. Canada, to be credible, must preach hu-
manitarianism and democracy for its aboriginal
peoples as well as for South Africa and Central
America." Elijah Harper, Member of Parliament, ad-
dressing Assembly 1 2 participants after acknowledging
the Creator and asking a blessing on the proceedings
nation and those who want the disputed
land for a golf course.
The Resource Centre for Non-Violence in Montreal asked John Paul Lederach
of Mennonite Conciliation Service if he would be willing to help mediate the
conflict at Oka, Quebec. Lederach sent his vita, and the Mohawks allowed
him into one of the two areas where they had blocked roads. Since all sides
did not accept Lederach as a messenger, his first suggestion to the opposing
parties was to communicate directly with each other via fax rather than
through the news media. Later Robert Hull, secretary for peace and justice
for the Commission on Home Ministries of the General Conference Mennonite
Church, joined Lederach as an observer, representating Christian Peace-
maker Teams. After the Mohawks asked journalists to leave their camp,
Lederach and Hull were two of only three non-Natives allowed to enter. The
statement from Mennonites at Assembly 12, Hull said, helped win the trust of
one of the two Mohawk groups. When the Mohawks asked the International
Federation of Human Rights to put together an international negotiating
team, of whom Mennonites could be part, the two Mennonites went to work
contacting people. At press time, Hull is back in Newton, Kan., and Lederach
is back in Virginia. The standoff at Oka continues.
Rudy Wiebe articulated the feeling of
many in the audience that we should
take a stand. "Every time a major
Mennonite migration came to Canada it
was at the expense, to a certain extent, of
the Native people. Everywhere we have
gone we have benefited from Canadian
armies destroying Native people."
Working groups then put together a
statement that many Assembly 12 par-
ticipants signed on Saturday. It read, in
part, "As a Christian people for whom
advocacy of peace is especially close to
our faith, and as Canadian Mennonites
who have ourselves benefitted from lands
being made available through the
signing of Indian treaties or through vio-
lent conflicts, we express our concern
over the unresolved Oka conflict."
376 AUGUST 28, 1990
300 witness for Christ's peace at North Dakato missile silo
From Mennoland to Minuteman
Susan Balzer
Justice, solidarity, liberation, recon-
ciliation, interdependence, repen-
tance and the holistic gospel-
peacemaking terms not always associ-
ated with Mennonites — were well
integrated in the central theme of
Assembly 12, "Witnessing to Christ in
Today's World."
"We dare not separate knowing God
from seeking justice," said Ron Sider,
whose call for active peacemaking at the
11th Assembly led to the founding of
Christian Peacemaker Teams.
Three hundred people chose to worship
God and proclaim God's peace at the
Frost Fire is one of 300 Minuteman III
nuclear launch sites in North Dakota.
Each contains Minuteman III missiles in
underground silos. The missiles each
contain three bombs with the potential to
kill 1-2 million Soviet citizens. (For up to
10 percent of the peace witness worship-
ers, those intended victims would include
blood relatives.)
Air force personnel had marked off the
missile property with orange pylons.
One man walked along the fence radioing
reports of the Mennonite presence.
Several others watched from an air force
car. Two Cavalier County sheriff s
Seeking justice: As part of a three-step benediction, participants make a gesture of commitment to action
Frost Fire nuclear launch site near Vang,
N.D., July 27.
After passing through southern Mani-
toba's quiet, peaceful "Mennoland," the
six busloads of Mennonite World Confer-
ence participants went to a field just
south of the border. Leaders carried a
cross made of aged fence posts, while the
group followed in a silent procession to
the worship site directly in front of the
fenced-in missile silo. The Air Force, in
an unprecedented move, had offered the
site for the legal Mennonite worship/
witness service.
officers parked at the end of the gravel
drive leading to the missile silo. A U.S.
marshall photographed the event.
Patricia Shelly, North American Inter-
national Mennonite Peace Committee
representative, said, "We come to
worship a God who says, 'Let there be
light.'" People read Scripture and prayed
for peace in their own languages. "God is
our refuge. God is our strength," they
proclaimed.
Mukanza Ilunga, IMPC chair from
Zaire, said, "I want to remind us that
even in the presence of missiles. ..we
know that the Lord has overcome all
that. And that is our victory."
Brian Petkau, who grew up in a
Manitoba Mennonite home less than 17
miles from the nearest North Dakota
missile, said, "I imagine the time when
missile silos will no longer be in my
backyard.... Such are the things made
possible by God's love for the world."
Marilyn Miller, Boulder, Colo., prayed,
"We confess we have too often put our
trust in earthly power systems.... We
confess our guilt in building [these
weapons] with our taxes."
The group included people from 10 or
more countries ( from a one-
year-old Manitoba boy to
an 89-year-old Dutch
woman) as well as Father
Sinner, the brother of
North Dakota's governor,
and several other North
Dakotans. The group
circled the missile site and,
hand-in-hand, sang "We
Shall Overcome."
"I used to be afraid of
being part of such public
witness events," said
Claire Hochstetler from
Illinois, "but being part of
this experience removed all
such fear."
On the return trip to
Winnipeg, the entire group
stopped for a meal pro-
vided by Winkler (Man.)
Mennonite Brethren
Church.
Fifty people from
Christian Peacemaker
Teams, Project Plough-
j shares and IMPC planned
the peace witness worship
event. Four groups in the
Netherlands, one in
England and one at Assembly 12 had
committed themselves to pray during the
worship service at the missile site.
Susan Balzer, 217 W.
Smith, Hesston, KS
67062, wrote this
article for Meeting-
house.
THE MENNONITE 377
1 ,000 youth make a difference
Environmental concern: Five boys (including, facing the camera from left, Brian Sommer from
Kansas, Steve Cornies from Manitoba and Winfred Tyart from Germany) finish a recycled-junk
creation they call "Doorway for Peace. "
Deborah R. Weaver
Over 1,000 MWC youth gathered
daily around the theme "Wit-
nessing to Christ in Today's
World." Through morning worship
sessions that included special music,
storytelling, drama and emphasis on a
different country each day, speakers
challenged youth to explore what it
means to witness and to build new
relationships.
Tim VanDelden, West Germany, liked
the music. "I liked the enthusiasm in the
things about this conference is that it
helps youth form their Mennonite
Designer clothes
for sackcloth? No.
Dave Claassen from Texas claims
that Mennonite youth are worried
about being affluent. Still, they
enjoy their affluence and aren't
about to "exchange their designer
clothes for sackcloth." They see
society and the media defining
success in terms of material posses-
sions and espousing consumption,
Claassen says, but he is convinced
that the simple lifestyle and peace
and justice orientation of the
Mennonite heritage is at the core of
who they really are. "These kids are
much more cynical at an early age,
but that's OK," he says, "because
maybe they will get over it earlier
than we did and then do something
about it." DW
identity," she said. "Many young people
aren't proud of being Mennonite, but
experiences like this show them that
being Mennonite isn't something that's
close minded."
Discussion group facilitator Dave
Claassen, Texas, says that youth are
talking about environmental concerns.
They want to make a difference. They
are also "worried about being as affluent
as they are. They have a social con-
science and they feel bad about how
much they have — you can see it in their
faces."
The youth of Assembly 12 were
determined to be a witness and make a
difference. An "eco-festival" devoted a
day to ecological concerns. They walked
"Many young people aren't
proud of being Mennonite,
but experiences like this
show them that being Men-
nonite isn't something s
that's close minded." 1
CO
~5
(0
CL
singing — it kept the worship sessions
alive," he said. "But the best thing was
the rock concert by Life Forever." Ben
Setiawan, Indonesia, said, "I would like
to learn how Mennonites from other
cultures worship."
"We want them to have a good time,"
said Abe Bergen, organizer of the youth
program, "but we also want them to
learn to care for each other in a world-
wide context."
Of the youth registered for Assembly
12, roughly 1 percent was from Africa, 2
percent from Asia, 3 percent from Latin
America, 19 percent from Europe and 75
percent from North America. Heather
Esau, Winnipeg, said, "I feel like we've
joined together as one body."
Others, however, disagreed. Brigitta
Neufeld, Ontario, said, "Mostly people
seemed to stick with their own groups."
"It's easier to just hang out with people
you know, and the facilities were so
spread out that it didn't encourage
interaction," said Angie Koch, also from
Ontario.
Robyn Penner, a youth pastor from
Virginia, came to Assembly 12 with three
sponsors and 18 youth from her congre-
gation. "One of the most important
378 AUGUST 28, 1990
Winnipeg 650 children hold an
assembly of their own
from the University of Winnipeg to the
Forks National Historic Site, picking up
garbage and recyclable items as they
weaved through downtown Winnipeg.
They looked behind them as they
picked up trash to see the better world
they were leaving behind. Rebekka
Funck, West Germany, thought the
ecofest focused on issues that simply
cannot be ignored any longer. "It's nice
that we're doing this in Winnipeg, but
are we doing it at home?" she asked. "I
don't know if it will achieve a lot," she
added, "but it's a symbolic attempt."
At the Forks the ecofest featured live
bands, drama, displays and storytellers
around the theme "The Earth Is the
Lord's." One drama was of Native
(North American) Indians and Russian
Mennonite immigrants meeting at the
Forks in the 1870s.
Young people made sculptures out of
"found objects" or what most people
would consider garbage. Among the
sculptures was one of Christ on the cross.
Deborah R. Weaver, Route 7, Box 533,
Manheim, PA 17545, wrote this article
for Meetinghouse.
Jane Halteman
Daylong programs took 650 or so 3- to
12-year-olds to a wildlife farm,
historical park, campgrounds and
museums during four of the six days of
Assembly 12.
The seven-member child-services
team, chaired by Eleanor Loewen, began
working 2-1/2 years ago. Some 250 local
volunteers assisted.
Children took buses each morning to
Calvary Temple, one of Winnipeg's
largest church buildings, where adults
divided them into age groups. About 75
3- and 4-year-olds, 110 who are 5 and 6
reviews from the 3- to 8-year-olds.
Jugglers, rhythm activities, relays and
crafts left little time for boredom. The
Zaire/North America Youth Discovery
Team, Guatemala children's choir Coro
de Nifios Casa Horeb, gospel singer
Sherril Strange-Pratt, and D.J. and
Friends shared with youngsters during
closing sessions. D.J. (Warkentin) wrote
the children's theme song, "Shine," which
Assembly 12 youngsters learned and
sang at the closing worship on Sunday.
Daily themes zeroed in on forgiveness,
servanthood and witnessing.
Volunteers used a bull horn to facili-
tate the gigantic job of reuniting children
with their parents at the end of each day.
Little time for boredom: D.J. Warkentin sings to the children with his dragon helper, Doug
Schulz (at right).
A better world behind: MWC youth pick up
litter in downtown Winnipeg.
years old, 14 who are 7 and 8 years old,
160 who are 9 and 10 years old, and 140
who are 11 and 12 years old participated.
By Thursday afternoon only seven
children had been returned to their
parents due to tears or illness, said
Elvera Stoesz.
Older children took turns at Camp
Assiniboia, a General Conference Men-
nonite facility that suspended regular
activities to accommodate the Assembly
12 children.
Lower Fort Garry, another favorite
excursion, featured actors dressed to
portray life among the area's early
settlers. Touch the Universe, a hands-on
museum, ranked high. Cottonwood
Farm wildlife preserve earned rave
Parents were greeted with painted faces,
personal creations like "Win-a-pig" T-
shirts, kites and origami (Japanese
paper folding).
One 12-year-old observed that plan-
ners must have put in "a lot of time and
effort."
Jane Halteman, 515 E. Prairie St.,
Wheaton, 1L 60187, wrote this article for
Meetinghouse.
THE MENNONITE 379
Mennonites and art: alive and well at MWC
More than at any previous
Mennonite World Conference
gathering, the arts played a
prominent role at Assembly 12. Music,
drama (see Reviews, next page), visual
arts and literature drew packed rooms.
Visual arts: Besides the three "official"
art exhibits at Assembly 12, an exhibi-
tion called "Mennonite Artist: Insider as
Outsider" drew people to the Main
Access Gallery in downtown Winnipeg.
The Manitoba Mennonite Historical
Society sponsored the exhibit.
One afternoon at the gallery was set
aside to meet the artists and to partici-
pate in a forum on Mennonites and art.
A panel of six, led by curator Priscilla
Reimer, opened the discussion.
"There are significant links between
the art community and the Mennonite
community," commented Sigrid Dahl, a
Manitoba curator and art writer. Both
communities demand commitment and a
willingness to grapple with complex
issues. Both create social awareness and
challenge us to critique society.
Merle Good, a Pennsylvania writer and
arts promoter, emphasized the distinc-
tion between the ethnic and religious,
between the church's truth and the
artist's truth, while lauding art's ability
to create mirrors in which we see
ourselves honestly reflected.
Calling oneself a "Christian artist" can
be an excuse for mediocrity or an
inclination toward didacticism, com-
mented Leonard Gerbrandt, an artist
and teacher from Ottawa. "Art should be
descriptive, not prescriptive," he said.
Reinhild Janzen, museum curator from
Kansas, denounced the Mennonite
"proliferation of bad taste in promoting
Selfhelp Crafts products that are guided
by foreign market, not the makers'
culture — reproducing Leonardo da
Vinci's "Last Supper" in Thailand, for
example.
"When one group produces art for
another group," she said, "the indigenous
culture of the dominated group suffers.
Missionaries should be trained in aes-
thetics, said Janzen, to prevent the "colo-
nization of aesthetics."
Bruce Hiebert, a Saskatchewan pastor,
contended that the Mennonite theme of
community is being replaced by one of
harmony, a more inclusive concept.
Winnipeg artist Margaret Doell agreed
that there is more acceptance now of
Mennonites who are artists.
Participants agreed that integrity of
expression and the call to excellence are
important for everyone, not just artists.
In addition to the exhibition at the
Main Access Gallery, three more exhibits
were mounted at the Manitoba Archives
building. Thirty works from the "Visions
of Shalom" exhibit were available for
purchase through a "sealed-bid auction."
Proceeds of the auction will go to the
work of the Lombard (111.) Mennonite
Peace Center.
"The Art of Sharing, the Sharing of
Art" by German artists featured 13
prints given to Mennonite Central
Committee in 1954 in gratitude for the
relief aid given to Germany after World
War II. The exhibit also included a more
recent gift of embroidery from a Hmong
refugee woman.
The third exhibit was a set of Anabap-
tist Costume Prints owned by Paul and
Jean Kraybill.
At the Mennonite Heritage Village
Museum in Steinbach, Man., MWC
visitors stopped to look at "Mennonite
Mona Lisa," a quilted art work by Alvina
Jean Pankratz. The work pictures an
elderly Mennonite woman quilting, her
handiwork spilling out of the portrait as
a real quilt.
Pankratz, an avid Winnipeg quilter,
spent 2-1/2 years preparing a variety of
quilts for a show she persuaded the
museum to put on this summer. Her
"Lifelines: a Quilted Portrayal of Life"
ran there July 21-Aug. 19.
Music: Music provided a vital link
among people during Assembly 12. The
songbook for congregational singing,
edited by Doreen Klassen of Manitoba,
contained over 80 songs in four lan-
guages from five continents.
A lively accompaniment provided by
Paul Dueck of Winnipeg and his "band"
set the tone for the variety of new songs
introduced to MWC participants by
songleaders Holda Fast and Marilyn
Houser Hamm.
Choirs from Zaire, Guatemala,
Germany, Mexico and Indonesia joined a
wide range of choirs from Canada and
the United States in worship sessions.
(Most of the choirs also presented
separate concerts during the week.)
A feature of the musical mix was the
number of songs by Mennonite compos-
ers. Choral works by Harold Moyer of
North Newton, Kan., and Leonard Enns
of Waterloo, Ont., were only two of many
songs contributed from various countries.
At a youth session, music leader
Danny Plett of Manitoba invited Zairian
youth to join in a song from Africa. One
of the Zairians modestly noted that his
uncle had written the song.
Can the solo artist perform in a
community that prefers choral consen-
sus? The recitals, literary readings and
art exhibits included in the MWC
program indicated an affirmative
answer. Local musicians such as tenor
John Martens, pianist Judith Kehler
Siebert, guitarist Ben Kehler and
saxaphonist Andrew Klassen gave
recitals in downtown churches. Cellist
Thomas Wiebe and pianist Karin
Redekopp Edwards, among other
Canadian artists, returned home to give
concerts during the week. Soloists from
other countries joined them, including
Dutch organist Dick Klomp and black
380 AUGUST 28, 1990
singers Sherrie Strange-Pratt and Tony
Brown from the United States.
Solo artists also performed in chamber,
young adult and family groups, offering a
rich array of concerts every afternoon.
MWC youth heard performers such as
Chuck Neufeld of Newton, Kan.; the
band Kadesh Oasis of Niverville, Man.;
Steve Bell of Winnipeg; the band Life
Forever, from Kansas; the Indonesia/
North America Youth Discovery Team;
Road Less Travelled, a duo from Newton,
Kan., and others.
Literary art: While music dominated
MWC, literary art was not absent.
Besides the many books being sold at the
•
conference's bookstore, nine authors read
from their works. Novelists Al Reimer,
Rudy Wiebe, Levi Miller, poets Sarah
Klassen, Jeff Gundy, Jean Janzen, Di
Brandt, David Waltner-Toews and
historian John Ruth each read twice
during the conference to packed rooms.
On July 27 more than 200 people
attended a reception to launch a special
"Mennonite" edition of Prairie Fire, a
Winnipeg-based magazine of Canadian
writing based. The book-length Summer
1990 edition includes poetry, short
fiction, conversations, reviews and art
by about 25 writers and artists who are
of "Mennonite" heritage from across
Canada.
Drama: Dramas and musicals per-
formed at MWC, besides "Revelation"
and "Iemand Als Job" (see below),
included "Sanctuary" by the Winnipeg
Mennonite Theatre, "Martyrs Mirror" by
the Franconia Lancaster Singers,
"Crossroads" by Mennonite Collegiate
Institute and presentations by the
Fresno (Calif.) Pacific College drama
team, the Canadian Mennonite Bible
College Players and Sauf Qui Veut, a
mime group from Quebec.
Gordon Houser of 'The Mennonite and
Margaret Loewen Reimer, associate
editor of Mennonite Reporter, wrote this
article for Meetinghouse.
REVI EWS
^ RAIMA
The tramp from Patmos
Revelation, performed by Stephen
Shank, directed by Cor Stedelinck
Reviewed by Gordon Houser, assistant
editor
From the opening — a voice from above
the darkened stage, a tramp-like figure
After tears comes laughter: Shank performs
at Mennonite World Conference.
emerging from a garbage can — the
audience enters a new medium for the
book of Revelation.
Reciting the entire text of the book
from the Jerusalem Bible, actor Stephen
Shank, a worker with Mennonite Board
of Missions in Brussels, Belgium,
portrays various characters, through
voice and costume, from John to the
angel to the Beast, the Harlot and a host
of others. He uses modern props: hats,
umbrellas, plastic red roses, multicolored
phones, a bicycle. Music, from Broadway
to rap to Mahler, forms the background
Stephen Shank is a member of
Groupe Faces, which has presented
works drawn from the Judeo-
Christian tradition and designed to
promote reflection about human
existence. One of these works, A
Passion, has been produced as a
nine-minute video, which Mennonite
World Conference showed twice
during its sessions. A Passion
portrays the events surrounding
Christ's death and resurrection.
Shank's talents with facial expres-
sions and voices, plus the excellent
camera work, make it a powerful
piece. GH
to the array of modern images of war,
famine, ecological destruction.
"The essence of comedy," Shank has
said, "is stumbling and falling and then
laughing and picking yourself up again.
It's because the character — John — has
been in the pits that he recognizes hope
and grace when it comes. That's what
Revelation is about — knowing beyond all
doubt that after tears there always
comes laughter."
Shank's performance of Revelation,
though it uses modern images, basically
presents the book's message and symbols
as John wrote them, rather than offering
some grand scheme of interpretation.
Audiences will be surprised, shocked
even, by things they did not realize are
in the biblical book.
By the end, the power of the message
from a man in exile to a suffering com-
munity comes through in a way that
no simple reading of Revelation can.
Shank takes the audience to Patmos,
then to the heights and depths of John's
vision, and brings them to an unforget-
table encounter with God's promise to
make all things new.
Modern man
Iemand Als Job ("Someone Like Job"),
text by Ingrid van Delft, music by Dick
Klomp
Reviewed by Gordon Houser
Someone Like Job (SLJ) is a nameless
modern man who appears to be a suc-
cessful businessman, "virtuous, good,
upright, turning away from evil and rich
in possessions and children." He faces
sudden disaster and realizes his life is
superficial.
Baritone Paul Herber, sopranos
Marjan Gerringa and Judi Romijn, and
the youth choir of the Singel Church in
Amsterdam, with accompaniment by
Dick Klomp on piano and Wybe Kooy-
mans on synthesizer, perform this Dutch
musical. Haunting music marks SLJ's
descending spirit as he becomes aware of
the plight of his soul. But the pace does
not bog down. Fast-moving sections
show SLJ doing business transactions,
feeling confident, unaware of how empty
his life has become. "I have lived," he
pleads, unsure.
The musical ends with a joyous call to
live, to "have the courage to live."
The text of Iemand Als Job, a deliber-
ate Everyman story, needs specificity.
The imagery is good yet seems too
generalized. A more fully realized
character would have evoked more
power, more empathy for SLJ. It is the
music that enlivens the piece.
At the end of the performance at
Mennonite World Conference, this Dutch
youth choir brought the audience to its
feet for a well-deserved ovation.
THE MENNONITE 381
Letters
Weaver helped me
An ongoing thank you for the fine issues
of The Mennonite. The article that par-
ticularly caught my eye in the July 10
issue was J. Denny Weaver's "Choices,
the Pledge and Nicolaitans." I appreci-
ated his analysis of the conflict between
civil religion and loyalty to Christ. I
needed to be reminded again of the many
ways national symbols, though also rep-
resenting good things, represent vio-
lence, armed invasion and other things
so contrary to the way of Jesus. I need to
think more seriously about what faithful-
ness to Jesus means in this context.
Weaver helped me here. Fremont A.
Regier, Box 96, North Newton, KS 67117
Courage and patience
Thanks to John Linscheid for his letter
[June 26] raising the issue we don't like
to talk about but need to talk about if our
congregations are going to find ways to
accept blamed and excluded people.
Churches have not been fair to homosex-
ual Christians like John. So I'm grateful
for John's courage and patience in
sharing his sharp biblical insights with
us, whether we have been fair or not.
Church groups that need more infor-
mation about how congregations can
relate better to homosexual members or
non-members will find John an excellent
resource. His pilgrimage through
college, seminary, pastoral work and
religious journalism has a lot to teach
any of us who have conditions we didn't
choose but have accepted and used.
Stanley Bohn, 333 E. Ninth St., Newton,
KS 67114
More than health care
Some good points were raised in Donald
R. Steelberg's statement [about health
care, May 22, p. 236]. It is a fact that
health-care costs are skyrocketing, and
no one is more concerned about that than
those of us at Mennonite Mutual Aid.
Perhaps some discussion of church
structure, as Don suggests, would be
helpful in meeting the challenges we face
in health care. It must be recognized,
however, that the crisis in health care in
the United States reaches far beyond the
Mennonite community. It is a nation-
wide problem. One of the most helpful
roles for the church will be to take an
active part in the gathering debate of
this issue. How we participate is an
important question.
One other factor that must be recog-
nized is that MMA is involved in far
more than just health insurance. In
carrying out our mission of expanding
the practice of mutual aid and steward-
ship in the church, we also offer life
plans, auto coverage, annuities, retire-
ment plans, financial and gift planning,
and other financial services. Health
insurance is only one part of the broad
range of activities in which MMA is
involved.
While MMA is involved in health care
like the other agencies Don mentioned, it
is the only one that is also involved in
areas far removed from health care. For
that reason it is difficult to see how
MMA can be combined with other health
agencies in the kind of organizational
structure suggested. James D. Kratz,
president, Mennonite Mutual Aid, Box
483, Goshen, IN 46526
A runaway nuclear reaction
The June 12 "Speaking Out" was about
the use of nuclear power to generate elec-
tricity. The author presented a brief
review of the problems and advantages,
and the closing paragraphs called for
more efficient use of electricity. That is
fine.
I take exception, however, to the
assertion that "the explosion at Cher-
nobyl was chemical, not nuclear." The
Chernobyl reactor experienced an
accidental runaway nuclear reaction as a
result of improper operation and poor
reactor design. Power generation
skyrocketed to over 100 times full power,
which ruptured the reactor. Subsequent
fires exacerbated the radiation releases.
Robert Erck, Argonne National Labora-
tory, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Argonne, IL
60439
What kind of fruit?
Paul Hiebert, speaking at the fourth
annual Council of Anabaptists in Los
Angeles [July 10 issue], suggested that
Anabaptist leaders should use the
banana tree — which multiplies and
produces more of its own kind — as a
model.
Perhaps we should give some thought
to whether we really want our leaders to
be known as a bunch of bananas. Wally
Goossen, 16 Helen St., Apt. 106, Dundas,
ONL9H1N4
Believer's baptism
In response to "The Dilemma of Infant
Baptism" [May 22], the Bible teaches
"Believe and be baptized." Belief comes,
then baptism. I see no reason to change
practice on this just because some
churches practice infant baptism and
some Mennonite and other congregations
practice infant/child dedication. Why
change just because a potential new
member may not go along with it? The
Bible does not teach confirmation or
infant baptism. It does teach baptism
after coming to faith.
It seems inconsistent to accept into
membership [those] people christened as
infants if they "commit themselves
henceforth to teach and practice baptism
for those of an age of accountability who
freely request it." To practice this is to
be baptized as a believer. My question is
why a person would teach this yet not
practice it by being baptized as a
believer? Scott Kennedy, 6027 Sir
Lancelot Court NE, Salem, OR 97303
Way out in Maine
Although I am a Congregationalist way
out here in Maine, I discovered your
magazine and am interested in what you
have to say. Please begin my first
annual subscription with the enclosed
check. Keep up the good work. Steven J.
Farsaci, 46 Main St., Lubec, ME 04652
Keep searching
Many of us born into Mennonite families
where the Anabaptist faith was not
clearly defined have wondered who we
are. It's not surprising that our ethnic
food and quilting seemed to set us apart.
But the soul keeps searching. In 1984
I booked a Reformation/Anabaptist study
tour, including the Mennonite World
Conference at Strasbourg, France.
Day one was in Amsterdam. The
Sunday service was in a church hidden
behind a facade for fear of persecution.
The inscription on Menno Simon's monu-
ment at Witmarsum is 1 Corinthians
3:11. With this I could live and die.
We explored the hidden church at
Pingjum and places where believers were
martyred for their faith. I began to
appreciate and be proud of my roots.
Back here in Canada and the United
States the Mennonite churches are so
diversified. Are we being led by the Holy
Spirit in choosing our priorities?
I heartily agree with Cesar Vidal
Manzanares [July 10]. Unless we
rediscover our Anabaptist vision, we
cannot effectively build God's kingdom.
Helen Penner, 1720 Chamberlain Road,
Kelowna, B.C. V1Y 8A1
382 AUGUST 28, 1990
Our witness to Christ in today's world
Listening to the heartbeat of Assembly 12, the
Faith and Life Committee wrote this concluding
statement.
w
'e invite our worldwide fellowship to join in this
confession of praise, of repentance and of commitment
in the spirit of the sixth chapter of Isaiah.
With the prophet Isaiah we have come into the presence of
the Lord. And with the seraphim we sing, "Holy, holy, holy is
the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory."
Praise be to God, who sustains the people of God and reigns
in the world in spite of sin and evil.
Praise be to God, who through Christ redeems us from sin,
saves us from destruction and reconciles the world to himself.
Praise be to God, who through the Holy Spirit empowers and
guides the church in faith and faithfulness.
With the prophet Isaiah we confess, "Woe is me."
We confess that we have gone our own way and have failed to
grasp the wholeness of the gospel. We have resisted the
Spirit's desire to manifest the fullness of resurrection power in
our personal and communal life.
We confess that there is brokenness in the global Mennonite
family. We have built structures that oppress rather than
liberate. We cling to our ethnic and national backgrounds,
thereby hindering the mission of Christ and our communion
with one another.
We confess our apathy and lack of initiative to stand with
those who suffer. We repent that the walls of division still
exist between rich and poor, educated and uneducated, majori-
ties and minorities, men and women, adults and children. At
times our selfish way of life causes us to trample the weak, to
violate the defenseless and to abuse creation. We deny the
power of the cross by failing to respond to the pain and
brokenness around us.
With the prophet Isaiah we answer, "Here am I! Send me."
Send us into the world as a people with a clear message of
salvation. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life.
Send us forth with a passion for reconciliation in God's
family. Jesus prayed for unity so that the world may believe.
Send us forth with a strong commitment to peacemaking and
rejection of militarism and violence. Christ is our peace.
Send us forth to minister in solidarity with all who suffer
injustice and give us a heart of compassion for the weak and
the oppressed. Christ calls us to forsake all for him.
Send us forth to minister to people with disabilities and to
support disabled people in their discipleship. Christ welcomes
everyone.
Send us forth with concern into a world that is on the brink
of ecological disaster. In Christ all creation awaits liberation.
Send us forth with a renewed commitment to witness in deed
and also in word. Christ shows us the way.
We make our commitment this day as a worldwide family of
God united in our witness to Jesus Christ, through whom the
love of God is made known to us and to all the world.
"The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores
rejoice" (Psalm 97:1). "Amen. Come Lord Jesus" (Revelation
22:20b).
Faith and Life Committee of the Mennonite World Conference,
Winnipeg
July 29, 1990
"The eloquent faith and life statement coming
out of this conference will be the touchstone,
moving us to deeper commitment to Jesus
Christ.. ..[More than issuing statements] we're
interested in gaining understanding, in sending
12,000 sensitized messengers rather than a
message. We want to equip people to make
changes where they live."
Paul Kraybill, outgoing MWC executive secretary
THE MENNONITE 383
NEWS
\ 01 0022 031 330
L I BR AR Y
ASSOC ME NN BIBLICAL SEM
30 03 B F MHA M AVE
•^t. ELKHART IN 46517
Ed from aL
De-emphasize the 49th parallel
Bert Siemens of Morden, Man., tried to. (Morden is
about 15 miles north of the 49th parallel, which
separates Canada and the United States.) On July 31
he had guests, his parents, from Rosthern, Sask.
Bert, a participant in a July 27 worship service at a
missile silo near Vang, N.D. (see page 377), wanted to
show his curious parents the one nicknamed "Maple
Leaf Silo," (for the Canadian flag), only about half a mile
south of the Canadian/U.S. border.
At the border crossing at Maida, N.D., on July 31
Bert told the U.S. immigration official why he was
leaving Canada for a couple of hours. "I had no reason
to hide why we were going," he said. "We had no inten-
tion of protesting. I just wanted to drive my parents
past to show them what [a missile silo] looked like."
When Bert said this the immigration official refused
them entry, reports the Aug. 2 Winnipeg Free Press.
The last group of Mennonites (on July 27) had cost the
taxpayers a lot of money with their demonstration, he
explained angrily. He said that Canadians "should
protest in your own country." He promptly issued Bert
and his parents letters, temporarily refusing them entry
into the United States. He said the three had "question-
able motivation" for wanting to drive by the silo. "We
can't allow people to come in and disrupt these military
facilities," he said. [The July 27 worship service] "dis-
rupted the facility and police had to be called. It's no
longer a peaceful demonstration when it involves
taxpayers' expense."
Bert Siemens was shocked. "I couldn't believe it," he
said. "I mean, the Berlin Wall has come down, yet Ca-
nadians aren't supposed to look at missile silos" a few
miles from their homes?
Barbed wire: I was one of those 300 worshipers at the
missile silo near Vang, N.D., on that Friday of Assembly
12. I saw the law enforcement cars waiting for us in
town after town on the way down from Winnipeg. They
escorted the buses off the main road, through the rolling
Frost Fire ski resort for which this missle is named.
Yes, it cost money to round up patrol cars to escort us.
And yes, we did walk in the bare, flat area immediately
outside the high barbed-wire fence that surrounds the
$50 million missile, also paid for by taxpayers' money.
Although no bullhorns directed us away, we were proba-
bly supposed to walk on the farmer's crops. We chose
not to.
Herbicide keeps that area bare. Surrounding crops
have to be low. One farmer planted an orchard on his
land near the missile, but the Air Force ordered all the
trees pulled up. Visibility is essential.
The only Air Force sternness I am aware of is that we
were not allowed to complete the circle around the fence.
Those standing on the access road had to break their
handclasps: the road must never be blocked. Deep
inside the earth the 1,510 nuclear warheads of the
Grand Forks and Minot fields are still aimed at the
Soviet Union, our ally in the current Middle East crisis.
(If North Dakota seceded from the United States it
would be the third largest nuclear power in the world.)
These weapons, in terms of firepower, are the equiva-
lent of 50 World War lis. Each can leave on a 31-second
notice and arrive within half an hour.
The reason the North Dakota prairie is peppered with
missile silos is that it is deemed relatively dispensable,
a prime target. It's called a nuclear sponge. And south-
ern Manitoba is only half a mile away from at least one
missile.
It's true that world events and the passage of time
will change the destination and purpose of these aging
Minuteman III missiles. But the warheads are to go
into storage, eventually to be remounted on the "Missile
Experimental" (MX), 10 warheads per missile.
National boundaries: I believe that renewed aware-
ness of the armaments of the United States and Canada
will help us de-emphasize the 49th parallel in our
church family. And it should. What we Canadian and
American Mennonites say to each other should tran-
scend national boundaries. Similar in this way to the
Mohawk Band in Quebec, Ontario and New York, which
simply tolerates provincial and national lines (see page
376), we General Conference Mennonites are one
Christian people first and then national citizens. May
we instruct each other and fellowship in this spirit.
Muriel T. Stackley
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
105:17 SEPTEMBER 11, 1990
Preparing our youth
ife in the church
pnoloquE
CONTENTS
elcome to this issue of The Mennonite,
which features the work of the Commis-
sion on Education. You'll be amazed, as I was,
to see how often the words "education" and
"evangelism" may be used interchangably (for
an example see page 388).
An August newscast from the Soviet Union
describes paper as "more valuable than gold."
Even someone who owns a press in that
country and has the money to operate it often
cannot because paper is not available.
On this continent, in addition to (less
severe) paper costs, we now face raises in
postal prices. The professional organizations
this magazine belongs to (Evangelical Press
Association and Associated Church Press) are
negotiating with the U.S. Post Office to lower
the threatened 30 percent increase in second-
class mail in 1991.
All in all, we join other periodicals in having
to raise our subscription rates for 1991 by 5-9
percent (depending on whether it is a group or
individual subscription). The 124 circulation
secretaries in Canadian congregations will
soon receive this news in their packets. Circu-
lation secretaries in the United States (136 of
them) swing into action a little later in the
year. (Does your congregation want to start a
group plan, by which three or more subscrip-
tions are handled by one person? Contact
your pastor. )
These 259 circulation secretaries, who invite
and sort out your group-plan subscriptions,
are the backbone of The Mennonite. My
thanks go to each of them and to the people to
whom they return their
forms: Rose Retzlaff
Klassen in Winnipeg and
Doris Yoder in Newton,
(4 **' ^^M^ Kan.
The next issue, dated
Sept. 25, will focus on
Central America. Muriel
T. Stackley
Caught in the act / 387
Who needs Mennonite higher education? / 390
I inquired into the ministry / 391
You're a marketing manager where? / 392
Have you thought of mentoring? / 393
Purpose of a youth ministry / 393
News / 394
A Call to Kingdom Commitments evaluated / 394
Do we have constructive words? / 399
Record / 400
Resources / 402
Because we need to remember and celebrate / 403
Letters / 404
Reviews / 406
Transformation and hope / 406
Dramatic play for children / 406
Persistence and sacrifice / 406
Integration exploration update / 407
'Oh, for a [winsome] faith that will not shrink' / 408
Cover: Connie Brandt prepares Kurt Engebrecht for a drama at
Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Gretna, Man. Photo by Glen Voth,
D.W. Friesen & Sons, Ltd.
MENNONITE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100. Editor:
Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant: Sharon
Sommer; art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the Associated
Church Press, Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a Mennonite and
Brethren in Christ editors' group) and an associate member of the Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretaries: Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14, and Rose Retzlaff
Klassen, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4. Business manager: Dietrich
Rempel. Special editions editors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North
Newton, KS 671 17; Window to Mission, Lois Deckert, Box 347, Newton. KS 671 14;
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Richard A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave.,
Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1, Carstairs, AB TOM 0N0; (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2S 1V7; (Central District)
Lynn Liechty, 666 Columbus St., Berne, IN 4671 1 ; (Eastern District) Curtis Bauman, 429
N. Second St., Emmaus, PA 18049; (Manitoba) in process; (Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada) Margo Fieguth, 99 Veronica Drive, Mississauga, ON L5G 2B1 ; (Northern
District) Winifred Wall, Box 67, Freeman, SD 57029; (Pacific District) Clare Ann Ruth-
Heffelbower, 3198 E. Menlo Ave., Fresno, CA 93710; (Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger, 125
Rawlinson Bay, Regina, SK S4S 6M8; (Western District) Leland Harder, Box 363, North
Newton, KS 67117.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 14 years of The Mennonite ate also
available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College, North Newton, KS 67117, and
from University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106.
Circulation: 10,231
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build the
Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the guidance of
the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly by the General Conference
Mennonite Church, 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. Subscription rates: one
year, $18 U.S., $21 Canada; two years, $32 U.S., $38 Canada; three years, $44 U.S., $52
Canada. Outside North America add $24 U.S. per year to U.S. rate for surface mail,
$55.20 U.S. for airmail. Single copies: $2 U.S. Five or more: $1 U.S. each. Second class
postage paid at Newton, Kan., and additional mailing offices. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMAS-
TER: Send Form 3579 to The Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. ©1990
386 SEPTEMBER 11, 1990
A Venture Clubs photo journal
Last May, six congregations helped make
a video called It's Your Venture! It shows
the many ways Venture Clubs materials
can be used. The six congregations were
Inman (Kan.) Mennonite Church; First
Mennonite Church, Bluffton, Ohio;
Springstein (Man.) Mennonite Church;
First Mennonite Church, Calgary;
Mennonite Community Church, Fresno,
Calif., and First Mennonite Church,
Reedley, Calif.
Caught
IN ThE
Rosella Wiens Regier and Karen Unruh Ediger
Children use sign language to "say" the
Venture Club pledge in Calgary.
We started with 23 children
from this congregation. As the
year progressed, we grew to
57. Those new children were
friends of our kids, and they
would bring their friends, and
those friends would bring more
friends. It was definitely a
form of evangelism. I was
praising our kids to our con-
gregation, saying that if we
were all the evangelists that
our children are, we would
have a congregation that was
huge in no time at all. Jan
Enns, First Mennonite Church,
Reedley, Calif.
Harmony Slater and Amy Takeuchi (facing
the camera) in Calgary
Betty Bergey teaches "cat's cradle" string
games to Kate Fransen, Kristen Denver,
Lorene Weinbrenner and Sean Alibrando in
Fresno.
388 SEPTEMBER 11, 1990
Lorna Rempel helps Douglas Durksen in Springstein
with cooking as a Personal Exploration Project.
George Sosa, Daniel Boldt, Nick Enns, Julie
Enns, Nathan Boldt, Michelle Enns, Megan
Bauman, Marta Tapia and Timothy Oberg at
the playground in Reedley
Curtis Diller and Jesse Henry in Bluffton
study Scripture.
The new Venture Clubs video, It's Your
Venture! Venture Clubs Storytellers, is
available from Foundation Series
Resource People in each district, prov-
ince and the Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada, as well as from Faith
and Life Press, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114, phone (316) 283-5100, and the
Resource Centre, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.,
Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4, phone (204)
888-6781.
Rosella Wiens Regier (left) and Karen Unruh
Ediger work for the Commission on Education
as, respectively, secretary for children's
education and secretary. Regier took the
photos.
THE MENNONITE 389
Who needs
A disproportionate number of our mission
and church workers come from our church
colleges: Mennonite Central Committee
worker Anna Marie Schmidt (left) in Bolivia
Harold Schultz
■ am tempted to make the case that
I Mennonite and other youth need what
i| Mennonite colleges can offer: good,
rigorous teaching in a caring, Christian
community during the pivotal years
when so many important decisions are
made and values and priorities shaped
for life. But this article is not seeking to
do that.
It would be equally easy to make a
case for the value of a third way in
higher education. Educationally and
theologically, a compelling case can be
made for colleges of Anabaptist faith
between the fundamentalist right and
the more secular private colleges and
state system. This Anabaptist witness
incorporates faith expressed in a life of
service and a witness of peace. Again
this is not my purpose.
Or we could easily conclude that our
schools' alumni need their alma maters.
Or that the schools themselves merit
your ongoing support because of the good
things they have helped happen.
But none of these reasons, as good as
they are, really answer the question head
on. Who needs Mennonite higher
Both the Mennonite church
and the Mennonite col-
lege's future membership
and enrollment will come
increasingly from urban
centers. It is in the mutual
self interest of the church
and our colleges to sustain
a Mennonite identity and
witness among urban Men-
nonites and college alumni.
How high a priority are we
giving to this? How fully
are the conferences and
colleges joining forces to
help make this happen?
education? Above all, the General Con-
ference Mennonite Church. Why?
Because our schools are important to the
mission of our church, perhaps even to
the future of the church.
This last concern brought together the
newly formed General Conference
Higher Education Council (U.S.)* on the
Bethel College campus last April 27-28.
We examined many things that face our
Mennonite churches and their schools in
the 1990s: a distinctive Anabaptist
mission in education, duplication of
resources and programs, governance
differences between General Conference
and Mennonite Church schools, and
ways to make tuition affordable at our
church schools. We confirmed that
Mennonite colleges are critical to the
future of our denomination in an increas-
ingly urban society. We restated the
need for our colleges to be church com-
mitted as a central part of their mission.
We are concerned. We see a falling off
of the conviction that church-related
education is, indeed, the mission of the
church. But look at where our personnel
in the church, in Mennonite Central
Committee, in our mission work, in our
General Conference and district confer-
ence staffs come from. A disproportion-
ate number are products of our church
colleges. Will that change in the next
decade? We see evidence of a lessening
of loyalty to church institutions. Parents
are more casual and less directive in
serving as "gate keepers" in directing
their children to church schools.
Bethel's first president, C.H. Wedel,
understood full well a century ago that
this must be equally a concern of the
church and the college. He wrote,
"Much... of the whole future of our de-
nomination, holding fast to the doctrines
of our [forbears], and the healthy growth
of our congregations in general will
depend upon the instruction on which
our young people are nurtured.'"
Wedel's assessment still holds true.
Our colleges must stay open if tomor-
row's church is to have dedicated and
understanding leadership who can zero
in on where the Anabaptist church needs
*Members are Loretta Baumgartner,
Versailles, Mo.; Ed Diller, Cincinnati; Ken
Hawkley, Norma Johnson and Vern Preheim,
Newton, Kan.; Robert Kreider and Harold
Schultz, North Newton, Kan.; Elmer Neufeld,
Bluffton, Ohio; Alvin Penner, Hutchinson,
Kan.; Erick Sawatzky, Elkhart, Ind.; James
Schrag, Smithville, Ohio.
390 SEPTEMBER 11, 1990
f -r
mM® higher education?
to be. The 22 Bethel students in the past
three years in the Ministry Inquiry
Program (see below) are just one ex-
ample of the reality of this link between
college and church leadership.
Denominational loyalties: Studies
done in Mennonite congregations
continue to show the correlation between
where you go to college and the likeli-
hood of what your denominational
loyalties will be after college. The
likelihood of your remaining in the
Mennonite church as an adult is three
times greater if you attend a Mennonite
institution over attending a state or
other private institution.
Knowing this, why do increasing
numbers of Mennonite parents send
their children to state and other private
colleges? I suggest three possible
reasons:
• They think, finally, that "being
Mennonite" is ethnic or genealogical, not
theological.
• They view education as an extension
of the two kingdoms theory. They think
that what happens in school will not
affect their spiritual life or faith. In that
case education is little more than
information or job preparation. And if it
doesn't really matter who teaches your
child or what values rub off from the
institution they attend and the peer
group they are with, then why not do
comparison shopping for the best (lowest)
price?
• The parents and their children have
become comfortable with the culture
around them and the peer pressure of
that culture. As they become upwardly
mobile and acculturated, both economi-
cally and socially, that may require them
to join the road more traveled, not less
traveled, in education and become
mainstream America in religion, in
education and in possessions. If that
means minimizing their Mennonite
identity to show that they have "arrived,"
so be it.
Osmosis: Of course, many students and
their parents select a college for other,
often good, reasons. But it is becoming
increasingly clear that our colleges
cannot succeed in isolation in making the
case for attending a Mennonite institu-
tion. This fact registers with youth only
when the congregation and the parents
have been partners in communicating it
from grade school up. It registers on our
youth by osmosis, not by belated efforts
in grade 12 to overcome 16 years of
indifference or neutrality. Pastors and
parents are as important to this bonding
as any efforts a college can make.
Do we believe that it matters where
you go to school? Do we believe that
whom you study under, who your friends
are and the values of the institution
make any difference? Do both the church
and the college sense it is in their mutual
interest to sustain a Mennonite identity
and witness among urban Mennonites
and college alumni? The new ( 1990)
Church Member Profile II survey by
Howard Kauffman and Leland Harder
dramatizes the trends showing that
Mennonites have become more urban
and more educated, with four times as
many in other professions in 1989 as in
farming. Where these Mennonites are
educated affects profoundly their
continued link with the Mennonite
church as urban professionals.
William James wrote that "the art of
being wise is the art of knowing what not
to overlook." It would be wise for our
conferences, congregations and parents
not to overlook their church colleges. It
is equally wise for our colleges not to
overlook the church as the primary
constituency they serve. The future of
our colleges will be assured and purpose-
ful only if our churches sense that
Mennonite colleges are critical to the
future of our denomination's outreach in
an urban society and only if our colleges
sense that they exist to serve the larger
Mennonite and Christian communities.
Harold J. Schultz is
president and professor
of history at Bethel
College, North Newton,
Kan.
I inquired into the ministry
Matt Friesen
I spent the summer in Bethel College's Ministry Inquiry Program at First
Mennonite Church in Hutchinson, Kan., with pastors Marlin and Betta
Kym. The previous two summers I worked in Henderson, Neb., under the guid-
ance of Brian Epp. Their mentoring taught me a great deal.
I have learned that church is not a place designed for saints. I used to be con-
vinced that only "good" people went to church. I discovered that the church is a
place for people with questions, hurts, problems and, above all, a place for
people who join others as they seek to understand life's most exciting and
troubling mysteries.
Each church, like a person, has its own personality. Churches are shaped by
their leaders and community. Each church has its own resources and liabili-
ties, gifts to offer and needs to be met.
I have come to see the church as a place charged with not only transforming
individual lives but society as well. Christ's gospel calls us to attend to our own
spirituality and our community. Entering the 21st century, churches must
renew their commitment to service through social action and political advocacy.
Such actions can be carried out only as the result of a transformed understand-
ing of our identity as followers of Christ.
Following these three summer experiences I am beginning classes at Associ-
ated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind. I plan to pursue a three-
year Master of Divinity degree, but I am uncertain of long-term direction.
My summer experiences have affected me in two basic ways. The summer
programs send me to seminary with a host of new questions I would not have
had without the time spent in Hutchinson and Henderson. But I have also
been inspired. The face of God is in the lives of the people I worked with. I
received support and learned lessons. Kind hearts have proved to me that
serving God in any capacity is a serious responsibility. It needs to be done with
zeal. People are searching for an authentic source of hope.
THE MENNONITE 391
PERSONAL
You're a marketing manager where?
'Marketing touches most, if not all aspects of the church': Regier
Mark A. Regier
To many people "marketing" and
"church" are two words that do not
go together. The issues they
represent form opposing forces on an
ethical battlefield, locked in mortal
combat.
For me this battlefield is home. Ques-
tions about "in the world but not of the
world" are constantly present. What
role should marketing play in the work of
the church? Is it even necessary? If it is,
how much is too much?
I began the position of marketing and
promotion manager for Faith and Life
Press on June 11, and these issues loom
with ever greater importance. Here is
my background and vision for marketing
within the church for the Commission on
Education and Faith and Life Press.
Marketing and communication have
always fascinated me. At Bethel College,
North Newton, Kan. (I graduated with a
background in communication arts and
history), my interest focused on institu-
tional marketing, or the application of
marketing techniques in a non-corporate
setting. Specifically I became interested
in the marketing of religious, educational
and non-profit organizations.
Institutional marketing is a new and
at times sensitive field, particularly for
the religious community. Marketing in
general has received a "bum rap" in
many circles from its connection with the
business sector. This reputation is not
all-together deserved. It causes miscon-
ceptions and negative connotations about
the marketing profession and those in it.
Marketing is seen as "selling." But
this is only part of the picture. From my
perspective, marketing is merely the art
of communication. It involves research,
discussion, planning, design, develop-
ment, packaging and (finally) promotion.
Most importantly, marketing is a two-
way process for which listening, inter-
preting and understanding are key skills.
So what, you may ask, does marketing
have to do with the church? Marketing
touches most, if not all aspects of the
church. It is any form of persuasion or
communication where perceptions are
being altered or enhanced. This defini-
tion includes everything from sermons to
fund raising, evangelism to education.
In my position marketing plays a
crucial role in much of our work. As a
denominational publisher, Faith and Life
Press supplies resources that meet the
needs of General Conference Mennonite
congregations, the Mennonite community
and the wider Christian public. Like-
wise, the Commission on Education
addresses certain needs and supplies
leadership. Marketing strives to deter-
mine these needs and respond to the
realities of the Mennonite and Christian
marketplaces by providing programs and
resources designed to meet these needs.
It is part of my job to act as a liaison
between our publication offices and these
constituent groups.
Marketing in the church means
applying modern techniques and proc-
esses to determine the needs of a given
constituency. Marketing then uses this
information to develop and design
products and programs that answer
these needs and are attractive and
noticeable in an increasingly competitive
marketplace. Our church has an
important message to share, not only
with our members but with the general
public. It is my job to ensure that this
message is clear and effective, one that
will not be lost in a crowded communica-
tion environment.
Institutional marketing is a profession
of service. It has become an essential
part of modern religious institutions.
But most importantly, like speaking or
teaching, marketing must be seen as a
tool to be employed by the church to
further God's plans for discipleship.
Mark A. Regier, Box 453, North Newton,
KS 67117, says his parents had no idea
he would someday be "Mark, the Mar-
keter" when they named him.
392 SEPTEMBER 11, 1990
TOqEThER
Have you thought of mentoring?
Abe Bergen
Ten years ago, mentoring was
introduced as a new youth ministry
program in the Mennonite Church.
Now many General Conference Menno-
nite churches are considering or have
begun mentoring programs for their
youth. It has many benefits, for congre-
gations and participants.
Mentoring is a program that can be
implemented in small and large congre-
gations. Intergenerational relationships
that are established can last a lifetime.
The program may appeal to youth who
have busy schedules or who do not like
large group events. It will involve many
adults who would otherwise not consider
involvement in a congregational youth
ministry.
Bethel Mennonite Church, Winnipeg,
began a mentoring program three years
ago. Recently Herb Warkentin and
Nathan Gerbrandt talked about their
experiences:
Herb: To begin, Nathan, tell about how
I got to be your mentor.
Nathan: My friend Aaron and I had
just finished a round of golf and re-
turned to his house when his sister left
with her mentor. Later I found out that
some of my buddies had mentors, and
they thought mentors were OK. The
mentoring program, they said, was a
good way to meet people and do things.
When I started grade 7, the mentor
coordinator called and asked if I had any
interest in entering the program.
Herb: At one of our congregational
meetings I listened to a young adult talk
about his experiences in a mentoring
program in another congregation. I
thought it was a great idea. In fact, I
hoped that someday I might be a mentor
at Bethel.
Nathan: Since I had thought about
the mentoring program before and had
looked forward to it, I told the coordina-
tor right away that I was interested. We
set up a meeting where I was to give
some names of people I would like as my
mentor. With my parents' help I decided
on three names. We considered several
factors, including similar interests, such
as sports.
Herb: I got a call from the mentor
coordinator, and she asked if I had ever
considered being a mentor and if I would
consider being one for Nathan. I could
think about it and call back. Call back?
I felt honored to be asked. I said, "If he's
game, I'd love to go for it."
Well, it's been almost two years since
that beginning. Maybe we could relate
some of the things we've done together. I
recall going cross-country skiing a couple
of times.
Nathan: I remember going to IMAX
theater and then out to eat.
Herb: We went for an early morning
round of golf and there was an afternoon
of table games.
Nathan: We watched Canadian
Purpose of a youth ministry
1. To experience the church as a com-
munity of faith:
• Build relationships with peers.
• Provide social activities.
• Be responsive to wishes of the
youth group.
• Build intergenerational relation-
ships.
• Receive the gifts and contribu-
tions of youth.
2. To be challenged to a commitment
to Christ:
• Prepare youth for baptism.
• Discuss current issues.
• Provide devotionals, Bible study.
• Teach Mennonite distinctives.
• Provide an atmosphere where
youth can explore and find their
unique expression of faith.
3. To encourage kingdom living:
• Participate in service projects.
• Invite friends to activities.
• Live the faith.
• Grow in understanding and com-
mitment to Christian living.
• Develop leadership in youth.
This is part of "A Proposal for Youth
Ministries" that Abe Bergen prepared
for Grace Mennonite Church, Regina.
Mennonite Bible College's basketball
finals, and we went to game 4 of the Jets/
Oilers playoffs. We've spent a day on a
service project working at Camp Assin-
iboia, helping with maintenance and
grounds clean-up.
Herb: I've watched you in team sports
like basketball and volleyball, and I
attended one of your band concerts. I
also watched you compete in the grade 8
section of a badminton tournament and
walk off with top honors.
This mentoring idea is a good one.
Shouldn't more try it?
Nathan: It's great. Others would love
it, too.
Nathan and Herb have been meeting for
two years. Their friendship will keep
growing as they do things together and
take time during and after these activi-
ties to talk about concerns that are
important to them. Quite likely they will
find that in the coming years more time
will be spent in conversation and less
time in recreational events. During some
months they may choose to be inten-
tional about the topics they discuss and
may focus specifically on certain faith
issues. All encounters and shared
experiences become foundational for this
to become a lasting friendship.
At present two resources are available
to churches wanting to introduce such a
program. Side by Side: Mentoring Guide
for Congregational Youth Ministry by
Lavon Welty describes the purpose of
mentoring and discusses ways of imple-
menting such a program in the
congregation. YouthGuide, a quarterly
publication of our conferences, features a
regular column on issues related to this
setting. For more information write to
me at 600 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg,
MB R3P 0M4.
In addition to his work
for the Commission on
Education as secretary
for youth education,
Abe Bergen teaches
some courses at
Canadian Mennonite
Bible College in
Winnipeg.
THE MENNONITE 393
NEWS
Robert Hull, secretary for peace and justice for the Commission on Home Ministries of the
General Conference Mennonite Church, was part of a Christian Peacemaker Teams on-site effort
July 26-Aug. 2 to reduce tensions in the standoff near Montreal between Mohawk Indians and Cana-
dian and Quebec government officials. He continues to be involved with an international team of
observers to monitor negotiations. Tensions have run high since July 1 1 , when Mohawk Indians
defended a barricade to protest the expansion of a city golf course on land the Mohawks claim. The
parties in the conflict allowed John Paul Lederach of Mennonite Conciliation Service to help establish
direct communication by fax machine. On July 28 the Mohawks faxed a document listing three
preconditions to be met before formal negotiations could begin. The third and most controversial
condition of the document was to allow the presence of an international team of observers to ensure
implementation of the agreement and the process of negotiations. The Canadian and Quebec
governments felt that this would by implication acknowledge the Mohawks as an independent nation.
The governments' acceptance of the preconditions on Aug. 12 was attributed to public opinion in
Canada, which Hull believes "is keeping the government from assaulting the Mohawks." The Interna-
tional Federation of Human Rights, based in Paris, formed the observer team, and the first group
arrived in Montreal Aug. 14. IFHR had asked Hull to nominate several members to the team, which
consists of 24 international observers.
Evaluation completed
CKC: Assets outweigh liabilities
Newton, Kan. (GCMC) — A
three-member committee has
completed its evaluation of A
Call to Kingdom Commitments
(CKC), the fund-raising and
renewal campaign of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church and its related confer-
ences. In November 1988, the
General Board of the confer-
ence appointed Larry Voth,
North Newton, Kan., Jake
Fransen, Smithville, Ont., and
J.Winfield Fretz, North Newton,
to study the 1986-89 campaign
and report results. Fretz
served as chairperson.
General Conference dele-
gates approved plans for A Call
to Kingdom Commitments at
the 1986 triennial conference
sessions in Saskatoon.
Components of the develop-
ment campaign included a
$17.5 million goal for fund
raising and a spiritual renewal
program.
In its 27-page report, the
evaluation committee con-
cluded that "while the financial
results of the CKC campaign
are disappointing, the cam-
paign as a whole has numer-
ous positive aspects. The
campaign assets far outweigh
the liabilities. ...The basic idea
of a General Conference
renewal campaign was strongly
endorsed and supported in
many and varied ways." Some
specific benefits noted by the
committee were increased
awareness at the grass-roots
level of conference activities,
feelings of conference unity
achieved through the campaign
and the partial funding of 75
projects throughout Canada
and the United States.
As of May 31 , campaign
receipts were $5,267,956, or
95 percent of the committed
$5,542,009; total anticipated
income will be approximately
32 percent of the $1 7.5 million
goal. Campaign expenses are
approximately 1 5 percent of the
total income to date.
Phase I of the campaign was
designed to solicit large
donations of $1 0,000 or more.
Phase I raised only 10 percent
of its designated goal. The
evaluation committee marked
this as one of the campaign's
major shortcomings, namely
the failure to carry out personal
solicitations after initial group
meetings. The illness and
death of Kenneth Bauman,
then GC president, contributed
to this failure, but the work was
basically unfinished by others
when the campaign ended.
Phase II of the campaign to
solicit donations from "every
member," or gifts under
$10,000, raised 40 percent of
its designated goal.
The evaluation report
mentioned the hiring of Nike B.
Whitcomb Associates, Inc.,
Ken Bauman, then GCMC
president, helped launch CKC in
1986. His unexpected death in
December 1986 ended the
traveling he was doing on behalf
of the campaign.
who recommended a campaign
goal of no more than $1 2
million over a three-year period,
to be raised in addition to total
church needs of over $36
million. The evaluation
committee felt it was unwise to
not follow this advice.
The evaluation committee
noted that the process for
selecting projects to fund came
under criticism. Despite efforts
of the campaign committee to
explain the submission
process, many people ques-
tioned felt the goals and
campaign plans were not
clearly understood.
The late appearance of the
Spiritual Emphasis Committee
in the development of the
campaign led skeptics to
characterize the committee as
an afterthought to make the
campaign appear more
respectable. "Such criticisms
were not well-founded," the
report said. "Spiritual concerns
were expressed by board and
CKC staff in the earliest
discussion and planning."
The evaluation report also
noted that of the 155 churches
that did not participate in the
campaign (42 percent of the
total), the average membership
is 60.
The committee pursued its
assignment by gathering
information through an 1 1 -
question multiple-choice inquiry
sent to 1 ,600 randomly chosen
participants in the campaign,
conducting personal interviews
with leaders, studying appropri-
ate meeting minutes and
examining reports from
Whitcomb Associates. Sixty-
seven percent of the respon-
dents said their reaction to
CKC was favorable, 9 percent
were dissatisfied and 24
percent were undecided.
Forty-four percent said they
would approve of a future
campaign, 11 percent indicated
they would not, and 41 percent
were undecided. Ardie S.
Goering, Goessel. Kan., a free-
lance writer and journalist
394 SEPTEMBER 11, 1990
"The Bible is an African book containing
stories by and about the people of the land
of Canaan, who were blood brothers of the
people of Egypt and Ethiopia," G. Wesley
Raney, a United Church of Christ minister,
recently told a conference of black Chris-
tians at Greensboro, N.C. He said African
references begin with the Garden of Eden
linked to a river around the land of Cush,
which means "black" and represents
Ethiopia. He said biblical names denoting
people with dark skin include Ham, Hamite,
Hittite, Put, Libya, Nimrod, Jebusite,
Amorite and Sheba. (Mennonite Weekly
Review)
A Mennonite Central Committee Canada
"justice van" will tour Canada in 1992 to
inform Mennonite and Brethren in Christ
church members about unique ways they
can be involved in alternatives to the
country's criminal justice system. Accord-
ing to MCCC Victim/Offender Mediation
Program director Wayne Northey, the
purpose of the tour is to "stimulate people
to get involved with crime prevention pro-
grams, alternative justice models and
programs for victims and offenders." The
tour, being planned by Addison and Gerda
Klassen of Steinbach, Man., will feature
presentations to church and community
groups, schools, personal storytelling,
videos, group discussions and displays.
A memorial service will be held Sept. 22
for Harry Martens at the Sermon on the
Mount Chapel on the Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries campus in Elkhart, Ind.
It is scheduled for 6 p.m. on the day of the
Michiana relief sale. Martens died July 24
(see page 374 of the Aug. 28 issue of The
Mennonite). People will be invited to share
memories and stories about Martens at the
service.
NEWS
Kenneth Bauman Memorial
to provide scholarships in India
Newton, Kan.(GCMC) — The
Commission on Overseas
Mission of the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church has
contributed $25,000 to estab-
lish the Kenneth Bauman
Memorial Endowment Fund to
provide theological and biblical
training for students in India.
The fund is administered by the
Evangelical Trust Association
of North India.
"The purpose of this project
is to provide an ongoing grant
for church leadership training in
India," said John Sommer,
COM secretary for Asia. The
seed money came from two
sources: gifts in memory of
Kenneth Bauman and A Call to
Kingdom Commitments.
"Kenneth Bauman's legacy is
leadership training," said
Sommer. He noted that the
former GC president served 19
years (1954-1973) as a
missionary in India. "It is fitting
to establish this fund in memory
of Ken's work in India," said
Sommer. "He gave himself to
developing young leaders."
The church conference in
India is empowered to make
decisions regarding the
scholarship monies. Qualified
students must be approved by
the Bharatiya GC church in
Madhya Pradesh and attend
one of four seminaries in India.
"We have found that it is best
for students to take their
training as close to their home
as possible," said Sommer. He
said it makes sense to give the
church leadership in India more
autonomy in naming scholar-
ship recipients rather than
trying to make appointments
from North America. As
sponsor of the project, COM
can both ensure a solid
seminary education and
encourage training in India.
COM and Mennonite Board of
Missions of the Mennonite
Church annually co-sponsor
visiting Mennonite professors
at Union Biblical Seminary,
Pune, India, to lecture on
Anabaptism.
According to Sommer the
Indian church is "extremely
happy" to participate in the
project and said it has received
wide acceptance in North
America as well. "In my view
this was one of the more
popular projects of A Call to
Kingdom Commitments.
People carefully designated
their money to go to this fund,
especially former workers in
India," said Sommer. The first
scholarships will be awarded in
1991. Beth Hege
Covenant Mennonite Church,
Winkler, Man., invites applications
for a half-time pastor of church
with 44 members. Applicant
should have Anabaptist orientation.
Duties to include some preaching,
teaching, outreach and youth
ministry.
Send resume, including references
to Search Committee, Box 29,
Winkler, MB R6W 4A4, (204) 325-
7575.
Has someone you love
moved away?
Follow them with a subscription to
ThE MENNONITE,
Begin a subscription for
Name (please print)
Address
Bill me:
Name (please print)
Address
Return to Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14.
THE MENNONITE 395
Soviet tanks are being recycled into
agricultural tools. The Associated Press
recently published a photograph of a Soviet
T-55 tank, made in 1966, at a scrapyard in
Erith, England. The tank was the first of
1 ,000 Warsaw Pact tanks that could come
to Britain for recycling into agricultural tools
and steel girders as part of East-West
reduction deals, the caption said.
A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction
against the distribution of a pamphlet by Methodist
pastor Donald Wildmon and his American Family
Association in response to a complaint that it
allegedly took an artist's work out of context. U.S.
District Judge William Connor issued the order in a
libel case filed by David Wojnarowicz, an artist and
AIDS activist. The suit charged that Wildmon's
pamphlet, which he sent to church leaders,
religious media outlets and members of Congress,
distorted the artist's work by excerpting and
reproducing 14 homosexual and religious images
from seven larger photo-collages. Wildmon
distributed the pamphlet as part of his campaign
against the National Endowment for the Arts,
which had helped provide funding for a retrospec-
tive of Wojnarowicz's works. {Gospel Herald)
John Howard, pastor at Bethel
Community Church, Barrie, Ont.,
leads a Homosexuals Anonymous
support group and serves on the
board of New Beginnings Minis-
tries in Toronto. A former practic-
ing gay, he says, "Many people in
church and society are struggling
with homosexual desires and
activity." The church needs to be
involved with these people, he
says. (Christian Week)
NEWS
Larson advises
Botswana government
on health matters
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)— At the
invitation of the Botswana
Ministry of
Health and the
U.S. Agency
for Interna-
tional Devel-
opment
(USAID), Mary
Kay Larson
returned to
Botswana for
a one-month
consultation in August. Larson
and her husband, Jonathan,
are missionaries in Botswana
Larson
with the Commission on
Overseas Mission of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church and Africa Inter-
Mennonite Mission. They are
living in Towson, Md., while on
North America Assignment.
One of Larson's objectives
during the consultation was to
help integrate services offered
by urban hospitals and health
facilities in Botswana. Many
Third World health facilities
offer services on a rotating
schedule. This is difficult for
families who may have to travel
up to 1 0 miles to a clinic on one
day for immunization shots, for
example, then repeat the trip
the next day for another type of
treatment. In her previous
assignment with COM, Larson
helped integrate services in
rural clinics and enable people
to get anything they needed on
any given day.
Second, she was to evaluate
the current system for the distri-
bution of contraceptives. Often
the products do not arrive at
the clinics on schedule or there
are shortages. Larson will
suggest ways to eliminate the
hitches in the system to ensure
people get what they need on
time.
Larson planned to find ways
to improve services for mothers
FOR THE TOUR OF
YOUR LIFE...
Walk where Michael Sattler walked...
talk with brothers and sisters in other
cultures who share your faith story...
see the majestic beauty of God's
creation.
Call or write for more information
about our 1991 TourMagination tours.
Jamaica 91 A
Jan. 18-25
Jan Gleysteen
Jamaica 91 B
Jan. 25-Feb. 1
Wilmer Martin
Europe 91 A
June 10-30
Jan Gleysteen, Fern Yoder
Europe 91 B
July 1-19
Wilmer Martin, John Ruth
Eastern Canada 91
July 12-25
Hubert Schwartzentruber, Henry Landes
Europe 91 C
July 20-Aug. 3
Arnold Cressman, J. Denny Weaver
Europe 91 D
Aug. 29-Sept. 18
Jan Gleysteen, Henry Landes
TOUR-
1 210 Loucks Ave.
Scottdale, PA 1 5683
41 2-887-5440
412-887-9436
1 31 Erb St. West
Waterloo, ONT N2L 1T7
519-747-0517
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569 Yoder Road, P.O. Box 376
Harleysville, PA 1 9438
215-256-3011
215-723-8413
and young children. This was
a major project in her previous
assignment as a health worker
with COM.
Finally, she was to spend
time traveling and visiting
clinics to make general
suggestions and evaluations.
Larson served as a health-care
officer for the Botswana
government from 1981 to 1989.
While on North America
Assignment, Larson is enrolled
in a doctoral program at Johns
Hopkins University, Baltimore,
in population dynamics. Jon-
athan has been involved in
extensive itineration in
churches and colleges for COM
and Mennonite Central
Committee. The Larsons will
return to Botswana in mid-
1 991 . Beth Hege, news
service editor, General
Conference Mennonite Church
Mennonite Mutual Aid has an
opening for a vice president of
human resources. Person is
responsible for planning, admini-
stering and monitoring the
activities of the HR division, which
includes the personnel and office
facilities departments. Candidates
must have a bachelors' degree and
five years' management experi-
ence. Preference for graduate
education in counseling, theology
or human resources management.
Persons must have a commitment,
to Christian values as interpreted
by the Mennonite church.
Qualified women candidates are
especially encouraged to apply.
If interested, please contact
Personnel Department, MMA,
1110 N. Main St., Goshen, IN
46526, (219) 533-9511.
396 SEPTEMBER 11, 1990
The Kansas All-Mennonite Women's
annual meeting will be held Oct. 4 at Eden
Mennonite Church, rural Moundridge.
Theme for the morning and afternoon
sessions will be "A New Decade of
Opportunity: A New Decade of Dedication."
Julie Janzen, a former Mennonite Central
Committee worker in Somalia, and Irma
Siemans will speak. A nursery for pre-
school children is provided. People who
come should bring a sack lunch.
NEWS
"We're just striving to be good Anabap-
tists," says one planner for the third interna-
tional convention of the Brethren/Mennonite
Council for Lesbian and Gay Concerns.
The conference, entitled "Building Our
Community in the Gay and Lesbian
Nineties," is expected to bring over 200
people to Philadelphia Oct. 5-7. "It's ironic,"
the planner says, "that some Mennonite
and Brethren churches and institutions
react to our attempts to be faithful the way
the state churches of the 1 6th century did
to the Anabaptists — with repression."
Keynote speaker for the conference is
biblical and feminist scholar Virginia Ramey
Mollenkott. For information contact BMC,
Box 65724, Washington, DC 20035.
"Jesus Christ, Lord of the Universe,
Hope of the World" is the theme for Urbana
90, InterVarsity's 16th triennial student
missions convention. It will be held Dec.
27-31 on the University of Illinois campus in
Urbana/Champaign. InterVarsity Christian
Fellowship, an interdenominational campus
ministry, has 640 campus chapters in the
United States. It will celebrate its 50th
anniversary in 1991 .
Hymnal Project leaders test
selections at local hymn sing
A hymn sing highlighted the
festive side of Hymnal Project
proceedings as committee
members working on prepara-
tion of a new hymnal in the
Anabaptist tradition gathered
earlier this summer with
members of congregations in
suburban Chicago "to sing
praise to the Lord and sing for
fun."
Project chairperson Nancy
Faus invited participants to sing
"hymns that have already made
it into the hymnal — a little of the
old and the new" as well as
favorites from hymnals now
used by the three denomina-
tions involved in the project:
Mennonite Church, General
Conference Mennonite Church
and Church of the Brethren.
The first two use The Menno-
nite Hymnal, published in 1969,
and the latter uses Brethren
Hymnal, dating back to 1951 .
Calling the hymn sing "an
opportunity to remind ourselves
purely of the pleasures of
singing together," music editor
Ken Nafziger observed that
one of the reasons hymn
singing has fallen "into disfavor
is that we treat the 600 hymns
in our hymnals all alike," even
though they are representative
of 1 ,500 years of history.
That "we make our body of
music from many borrowings"
was evident; hymns sung
ranged from those original to
the Plains Indians and African-
Americans to an Irish love song
and "a shouting song from the
era of revival singing." Nafziger
concluded his musical overview
by telling participants, "We've
sung only a few familiar hymns.
They will be in the new hymnal,
but along with them will be
other hymns of many styles,
from many sources. Let's claim
them all, even though we may
like some more than others."
To help prepare congrega-
tions for maximum use of the
new hymnal, a series of
educational supplements,
including a "Hymnal Compan-
ion," accompaniment handbook
and demonstration tapes, will
be marketed with the hymnal.
Nearly 70 hymns were
approved for hymnal inclusion
at the recent meetings hosted
by Bethany Theological
Seminary, a Brethren school in
Oak Brook, III., where the
Hymnal Project chairperson
teaches. The additions bring
to about 450 the number of
hymns approved for the new
hymnal, scheduled for release
in June 1992. Another 200
hymns likely will be added
before the work of the text,
worship, music and publishers
committees is complete.
Worship committee co-chair
Jimmy Ross presented to the
Hymnal Project his committee's
collection of Scripture pas-
sages and other materials for
inclusion in the new hymnal.
Committee member Marlene
Kropf said, "It is important to
hear our own voice as we use
a wide range of sources."
Criteria for evaluating worship
materials, Kropf said, include
Maynard Shelly adds his
opinion, "Good work," to a
poster about the Hymnal
Sampler at a meeting of the
Commission on Education, a
sponsor of the Hymnal Project.
consideration of "what will
endure, what will express our
experience authentically and
what will be useful in a corpo-
rate setting."
Committee member John
Gaeddert introduced 64
Scripture passages for possible
use in the hymnal. The
majority are translations from
the New Revised Standard
Version, with a smattering of
passages from the New
International Version and
Revised Standard Version,
among others, as well as some
blended materials.
Despite considerable
transition on the worship
committee during the seven
years since the Hymnal Project
began, Faus observed that the
committee has produced "a
powerful, progressive set of
worship materials."
The Hymnal Project commit-
tees will meet again in October
and in January 1 991 , after
which a subcommittee will
finish "balancing the hymnal"
and do remaining "mop-up
work," which is expected to be
completed about a year before
the release date, said manag-
ing editor Rebecca Slough.
Jane Halteman
Roses for the president
On his last work day as president of Mennonite Biblical Seminary,
Elkhart, Ind., Henry Poettcker received a dozen roses from Marlin E.
Miller, president of Goshen Biblical Seminary, marking Poettcker's
12 years as MBS president. Miller has since assumed office as the
first joint president
of Associated
V'jHJi Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, the
school encompass-
ing MBS and GBS.
Henry and his wife,
Agnes, have moved
back to Winnipeg
from where he will
continue in a part-
time fund-raising
assignment with
AMBS.
THE MENNONITE 397
Government would have to prove a
"compelling state interest" before curbing
religious practices under a bill introduced in
the U.S. Congress July 26 by a bipartisan
coalition of Christian and Jewish members
of the House of Representatives. The
Religious Freedom Restoration Act would
limit the reach of the Supreme Court's
controversial church-state decision in the
so-called peyote case of April 17. (National
Catholic Reporter)
NEWS
Crosstown Credit Union, a Mennonite
financial cooperative based in Winnipeg,
was responsible for exchanging currency,
depositing registration and bookstore
receipts and collecting and counting
offerings at Assembly 12 of Mennonite
World Conference July 24-29. Crosstown
contracted the service of an armored car to
transport money. On opening night the
offering totaled $30,000, which
Crosstown's staff counted and assembled,
using high-speed coin and bill counting ma-
chines. That offering included nine
different currencies as well as checks. The
credit union donated the services of its staff
and absorbed the cost of the armored car
service.
The Latin America Anabaptist Semi-
nary (SEMILLA) in Guatemala City is
offering a study and service program for
North American students and church
workers who want to broaden their
studies with an intercultural experience.
Students may enroll from six weeks to a
year and study Spanish language and
culture and gain an understanding of
Anabaptism from a Third World perspec-
tive. For more information contact
Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions,
Box 128, Salunga, PA 17538-0268.
MCC sends aid to earthquake
victims in Iran and Philippines
Akron, Pa. (MCC) — Mennonite
Central Committee has pro-
vided material assistance to
victims of the earthquake that
struck Iran June 21 and the
Philippines July 1 6. The
quakes left some 40,000 dead
in Iran and over 2,000 dead in
video
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OS-
Street scene in Baguio, Philippines, following the July 16 earthquake
the Philippines. The homeless
figure quadruples that. MCC is
accepting financial contribu-
tions for these countries.
MCC initially sent 8,500
blankets, 1,500 sheets and
5,500 pounds of bandages to
Iran via the Islamic Center in
Toronto. Mennonites in Hong
Kong sent plastic sheeting to
the Philippines to make simple
tents. MCC also shipped
sutures, catheters and antibiot-
ics via the Islamic Center, and
supplies, including water
purification tablets, to the
Philippines.
In Iran the Red Crescent, the
equivalent of the Red Cross in
Islamic countries, had 5,000
search-and-rescue personnel in
the earthquake area and 62
branches in the region affected
by the quake.
In the Philippines members
of the Eastern Mennonite
Board of Missions youth team
helped distribute emergency
aid along with the Philippines
Council of Evangelical
Churches.
MCC is also exploring other
relief possibilities in both
countries.
In many countries youth cannot afford
to finish high school or learn a trade.
Your $180 (U.S.) or $240 (Canadian)
contribution to MCC's Global Family
program will support one student for a
year.
"v Mennonite
r Central
^ Committee
Mennonite Central Committee
Dept. G, 21 South 12th Street
PO Box 500
Akron, PA 17501 -0500
Mennonite Central Committee Canada
Dept G. 134 Plaza Dnve
Winnipeg. MB R3T5K9
398 SEPTEMBER 11, 1990
For nearly a decade Merle and Phyllis Good of Lancaster,
Pa., have been shepherding a feature film project based on
the book Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed by Philip Hallie. The
film is based on the true story of pastor Andre Trocme and
his wife, Magda, during World War II. The Trocmes and
many in their small French Protestant village formed a secret
network to save refugees from the Nazis. The Goods serve
as executive producers of the film. Lucy Jarvis and Leslie
Linder are producers. The current plan envisions a budget of
around $5 million. The seed money to date (about $1
million) has been invested by a group of Mennonite, Church
of the Brethren and Brethren in Christ people and investors
from Pennsylvania. The Goods expect the movie to be
filmed in France as an English-language feature for both
theatrical release and television.
From left, Phyllis and Merle Good, executive producers, and producers
Lucy Jarvis and Leslie Linder at a meeting in New York
NEWS COMMENTARY
Saddam Hussein and King Nebuchadnezzar:
Do we have constructive words?
News reports from Iraq have
overtones of ancient Babylon,
situated in the same locale.
Saddam Hussein's authoritar-
ian rule in Baghdad and
beyond recalls the rule of King
Nebuchadnezzar, the "strong
man" of 2-1/2 millennia ago.
How does the Christian
community in the United States
today assess its appropriate
role and voice in response to
the diverse and inadequately
understood Arabic peoples of
Muslim faith? How do we
respond to the news media's
characterizations of the Muslim
people in general and the
threatening of Iraq, Saddam
Hussein in particular? Are the
epithets "Monster in the
Making" and "Sadistic Killer"
helpful in restoring peace and
constructive change?
Are you lonely? Maybe Cross-
roads can help you too. Some of
the couples who have met their
mates through us include a nurse
and a minister, a teacher and a
carpenter, and a widow and a
farmer. Other clients are meeting
friends who share their interests.
Some are still waiting to meet the
right one. Perhaps they are
looking for you. How will you find
out if you don't join?
For information write to Cross-
roads, Box 32, North Tonawanda,
NY 14120.
Alternative voices and
initiatives are possible. Three
constructive examples are the
following:
•Gabriel Habib, General
Secretary of the Middle East
Council of Churches in
Lebanon (known to Mennonite
Central Committee and Men-
nonite mission personnel in the
Middle East), has constructive
words to offer. He recently
emphasized the importance of
nation states adhering to inter-
national law and the peace-
keeping role of the United
Nations in such conflicts.
•Recent conversations with
U.S. Senate offices revealed
that senators Arlan Specter of
Pennsylvania, Robert Dole of
Kansas and Howard Metzen-
baum of Ohio have in recent
months met with Saddam
Hussein in Iraq to share their
perspectives and to hear his
concerns. Such initiatives in
quiet diplomacy could, in the
longer term, be more construc-
tive than sending U.S. warships
to the Persian Gulf.
•Iraq's food supply was
unusually low even before the
invasion of Kuwait. The more
recent, almost total embargo on
Iraq's food imports may prove
critical to the total Iraqi popula-
tion. Iraq depends upon
imports for 70-80 percent of its
food grain supply to feed its 16
million people. Might the
church agencies of the United
States, while opposing Iraq's
armed invasions (of Iran in
1980 and recently Kuwait)
implement a conciliatory
gesture in the form of humani-
tarian food shipments to the
civilian population?
A significant educational
endeavor to better acquaint the
American public with the Middle
East and the long history and
aspirations of the Arabic/
Muslim people is an urgent
agenda for peacemakers and
the churches in the United
States. The U.S. media's
vilifying of Arabic peoples has
been deeply felt in the Middle
East. The $4 billion in annual
U.S. military and economic aid
allocations to Israel have
created deep resentments in
the poorer Arab countries.
The current gulf crisis will
have negative fallout. The
costly U.S. military deployment
in the gulf may become a
rationale for Congress to scrap
plans for significant cuts in the
U.S. military appropriations and
the pursuit of long-neglected
priorities for 1 991 . Environ-
mental, poverty, economic-
conversion funding efforts
could be short-circuited.
The preoccupation with Iraq's
intervention in Kuwait will fur-
ther undermine peace negotia-
tions between Israel and the
Palestinians, still key to long-
term peace in the Middle East.
Greater understanding by
Christians in North America of
the poorer and disenfranchised
Arab populations are required if
anti-Western feelings and
enmity are to be ameliorated.
On the positive side, this
crisis in the Middle East could
become the occasion for the
American public and the
churches in particular to
develop new perspectives of
our historic biblical family, as
the sons and daughters of
Abraham and the "cousins" of
Ishmael. Old prejudices and
animosities can yet give way to
enlightened efforts in
reconciliation. Delton Frantz,
MCC Washington office
A significant educational endeavor to
better acquaint the American public with
the history and aspirations of the Arabic/
Muslim people is an urgent agenda.
THE MENNONITE 399
Cheryl Thomas Fielding of Victoria, B.C.,
has been named the 1990 recipient of the
Canadian Japanese/Mennonite Scholar-
ship. Fielding, a graduate student at the
University of Victoria, will use the scholar-
ship to aid her study of pre-World War II
Japanese life in British Columbia. The
scholarship was created in 1984 to express
regret for injustices Japanese-Canadians
suffered at the hands of Mennonites during
World War II.
RECOIld
Rising from a squatter community at
Cape Town, South Africa, the Community
Church Movement sees itself as Anabaptist
and wants to explore associate member-
ship in Mennonite World Conference, says
founder Fanie Norowana. Because the
Community Church Movement's contact
with Mennonites is of recent origin, MWC
and Norowana want to engage in a period
of conversation before making a decision
about associate membership, says MWC
executive secretary Larry Miller. The
church group started in 1986 when
Norowana began implementing a vision for
a church that would not only preach
salvation through Jesus Christ but address
people's daily needs as well.
The Innu, peace groups and environmen-
talists are pleased about NATO's decision
not to build a controversial low-level flight
training center at Goose Bay, Labrador.
But even without the center, flights could
increase to 1 8,000 per year by 1 996
under bilateral agreements, says Peter
Armitage, a consultant for the Naskapi-
Montagnais Innu Association. "In addition
more camera targets and one other
bombing range would be built in Innu
hunting territory." (Canadian Press)
WORliERS
Craig and Karen Cressman
Anderson, Mennonite Fellow-
ship of Montreal, have begun
one-year MCC terms in
Kinshasa, Zaire, working as
interim country representatives.
His parents are Art and Marge
Anderson of St. Paul, Minn.
Hers are Elaine and Len
Cressman of Baden, Ont.
Christopher L. Arney,
formerly of Winkler, Man., is
beginning this month as
conference minister for
Conference of Mennonites in
British Columbia.
Angel Canon, Elkhart, Ind., is
one 61 African-American,
Hispanic, Native American and
Asian college-age youth who
participated in MCC's U.S.
Urban Community Develop-
ment Summer Service Program
this year. He served as an
administrator with the Spanish
Mennonite Church in Moline, III.
Others who worked with
Mennonite churches are
Amanda Falla and Dionisio
Orjuela, both church workers,
and Robert Garcia, a radio
broadcaster and accountant, all
at Comunidad de Fe, Chicago;
Zandra Guete, a Spanish radio
program assistant with General
Conference Mennonite Church,
# .
Anderson
Newton, Kan.; Gilberto Perez, a
church and community worker
with Shalom Church, Newton;
Roberta Lynn Bigback, a youth
recreation supervisor, and
Haroldine Fisher, a worker, at
White River Cheyenne Church
in Busby, Mont.; and Leslie
Todd Draper, a handyman at
Mennonite Indian Church,
Seiling, Okla.
Jonathan Cross, Wildwood
Church, Saskatoon, has begun
a one-year MCC SALT term in
Brazil as a child-care worker for
AMAS, a Mennonite social
service agency there. His
parents are Martin and Mary
Cross of Saskatoon.
Gary Daught has resigned
from the faculty of SCBI to
attend Union Theological
Seminary, Richmond, Va.
Elizabeth Domingues,
Dasmarihes, Philippines; Jacob
Loewen, Abbotsford, B.C.;
Wilma Bailey, Grantham, Pa.;
and Dorothy Friesen, Chicago,
were guest
Goerzen
Dawn Harms
Doug Harms Helmuth
CMBC — Canadian Mennonite Bible College
MCC — Mennonite Central Committee
SALT — Serving and Learning Together
SCBI— Swift Current (Sask.) Bible Institute
speakers at a
special MCC
leadership
seminar June
5-15 in Akron,
Pa.
Anita Fieguth, a student at
Conrad Grebel College,
Waterloo, Ont., participated in
the Ministry Inquiry Program
this summer at Waterloo-
Kitchener United Mennonite
Church.
Gordon Epp Fransen, St.
Catharines, Ont., is beginning
this month as the new treasurer
for the Conference of Menno-
nites in Canada, Winnipeg. He
succeeds Edgar Rempel, who
will be working for Mennonite
Foundation.
Mike Garde, jointly appointed
by Mennonite Board of
Missions and MCC, returned to
Ireland July 30 after a three-
month North American assign-
ment. He is involved in
ministries of Dublin Mennonite
Community and other peace
and justice activities.
Sue Goerzen, Harrow (Ont.)
United Mennonite Church, was
given an award in June for
excellence in teaching by the
Ontario Confederation of
University Faculty Associations.
Dawn and Doug Yoder
Harms, Mennonite Church of
Normal, III., began three-year
MCC terms in Whitesburg, Ky.,
in May as program coordina-
Ocampo Jantzen
tors. Their children are
Christopher and Matthew. Her
parents are Hazel and Tom
Yoder of Normal. His are Paul
and Shirley Harms of Upland,
Ind.
Elba and Galen Helmuth-
Ocampo, Tegucigalpa Church,
Honduras, and Southside
Fellowship, Elkhart, Ind.,
respectively, began three-year
MCC terms in August as
country representatives in
Honduras. Her parents are
Alejandra and Epaminondas
Ocampo of Olanchita, Yoro,
Honduras. His are Emery and
Irene Helmuth of Vassar, Mich.
Eric Hiebert-Rempel will
become pastor at Wanner
Church, Cambridge, Ont., in
January. He will succeed Paul
Martin.
Doreen and Hugo Hildebrand
became mission ministers for
400 SEPTEMBER 11, 1990
Joy Mennonite Church in Oklahoma
City will celebrate its official charter Oct.
7. The congregation was to begin using
a new facility Sept. 1 , a small church
building it is renting. The church has
added new people this summer, report
Mark and Gayle Wiens, the church-
planting couple there. Visitors are
welcome, as are prayers and contribu-
tions toward transition costs as the
church moves into a new meetingplace,
say the Wienses.
The Peace Lecture Series 1990/91, sponsored by
the Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolu-
tion at Bethel College, North Newton, Kan., will
again offer four lectures this school year. Michael
Klare, associate professor and director of the Five
College Program in Peace and World Security
Studies, will speak Oct. 4 on "Low Intensity Warfare:
the New Role of the Military." Walter W. Sawatsky,
professor of church history at Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind., will speak Nov. 15
on "Truth Telling in Eastern Europe: the Liberation
and the Burden." Sonia Sanchez, mother, poet,
professor, activist, international lecturer on black
culture and literature, women's liberation, peace
and racial justice, will speak Feb. 7, 1991 , on "The
Future of Young Black Women." The March 21 ,
1991 , lecturer has yet to be announced.
"Myriad of Memories" is the
theme for this year's Fall Fest at
Bethel College, North Newton,
Kan. Scheduled for Sept. 27-30,
the festival brings together artisans
and craftspeople, musicians and
dramatists, and alumni and friends
from across the continent for a
weekend of food, exhibits, demon-
strations, sales, performances and
competitions.
RECORtl
E. Kaarsemaker F. Kaarsemaker
Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada this summer.
J. Glen Hostetler, Mount Joy
(Pa.) Church, began July 1 as
director of member services for
Mennonite Economic Develop-
ment Associates.
Erica Jantzen, Waterloo
(Ont.) North Church, has begun
a three-year MCC term in
Neuwied, West Germany,
working as an administrative
assistant and secretary for the
MCC Europe office.
Chris Janzen, Mennonite
Fellowship of Rosthern, Sask.,
has begun a one-year MCC
SALT term in Zambia, working
in the community and teaching
at the Sikalongo Brethren in
Christ secondary school near
Choma. His parents are Jan
and Rick Janzen of Rosthern.
Eileen and Fred Kaarse-
maker, Langley (B.C.) Church,
have begun four-year MCC
terms in Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso, as country
representatives. Their children
are David and Katrine.
Brad Kipfer, Valleyview
Church, London, Ont., has
begun a one-year MCC SALT
term in Japan. He is a manual
laborer for six months at the
Owa Hutterite Colony, and an
English teacher for six months
with the Japanese Fellowship
* r
Kornelsen K. Penner
in Nakashibetsu. His parents
are Doris and Enos Kipfer of
Dorchester, Ont.
Helen Kornelsen, Watrous
(Sask.) Church, will teach
missions and theology at SCBI
during the fall semester.
J.B. Miller, Bahia Vista
Church, Sarasota, Fla., will
begin Sept. 18 as vice presi-
dent of stewardship services for
Mennonite Mutual Aid, Goshen,
Ind. He succeeds Greg
Weaver.
Jeremy Moyer, First Church,
Kitchener, Ont., has begun a
one-year MCC SALT term in
Taichung, Taiwan, as a
teacher's assistant at the Huei-
Ming School and Home for
blind children. His mother is
Eleanor Moyer of Kitchener.
Bernie Neufeld, Winnipeg, is
teaching music at CMBC for
one year.
Elsie Neufeld, Nutana Park
Church, Saskatoon, began in
July as the new president of
Canadian Women in Mission,
succeeding Phyllis Wiebe,
Winnipeg.
Jonathan Neufeld, Emman-
uel Church, Clearbrook, B.C.,
has begun a one-year MCC
SALT term in Limpio, Para-
guay, as a maintenance and
child-care worker at Kinder-
heim. His parents are Elinor
and Waldo Neufeld of
Clearbrook.
Don Penner began in August
as pastor at Hawkesville (Ont.)
Church. He succeeds Gary
Knarr.
Kaeti Penner, Eben-Ezer
Church, Clearbrook, B.C., has
begun a four-month MCC term
in Akron, Pa., working as a
puller and packer with Self-
Help Crafts. Her parents are
Frieda and Jacob Brown of
Clearbrook. Her children are
Heidy, Lucy and Victor.
Peter Penner, Winnipeg, is a
mathematics lecturer this fall at
CMBC.
John Perkins, president
emeritus of Voice of Calvary
Ministries, Jackson, Miss., will
be the keynote speaker at the
annual Bluffton (Ohio) College
Church Leaders' Conference
Oct. 29-31 . Other conference
resource people include Mark
Winslow, Allentown, Pa.,
Randy Grossman, Goshen,
Ind., and Regina Shands
Stoltzfus, Cleveland.
John Poettcker has com-
pleted his work as music
teacher at SCBI.
Ernie Regehr, Conrad G rebel
College, Waterloo, Ont., has
been appointed to a United
Nations study commission on
international trade. He is co-
founder and research coordina-
tor for Project Ploughshares.
Jalane Schmidt, New
Creation Fellowship, Newton,
Kan., participated this summer
in the Ministry Inquiry Program
at Community Church, Mark-
ham, III.
Kathleen Ann Smucker, Oak
Grove Church, Smithville, Ohio,
has begun a two-year MCC
Troyers
term in Kidron, Ohio, as an
administrative assistant in the
MCC Great Lakes office.
Jim Suderman, archivist at
the Heritage Centre, Winnipeg,
has completed his work there.
Elsie and Henry Troyer,
Rainbow Church, Kansas City,
Kan., have begun five-year
MCC terms in Laos as country
representatives. Their children
are Regina, Henry Jr. and
Tanya.
Eric and Laura (Wiens)
Unger, Faith Church, Leaming-
ton, Ont., are mission partners
in Nairobi, Kenya, with the
Commission on Overseas
Mission. He teaches math at
Rosslyn Academy; she does
community and church work.
Keith Wilcox, a student at
Messiah College, Philadelphia,
received $250, placing first in
this year's C. Henry Smith
Peace Oratorical Contest for
"The Banning of All Semi-
automatic Assault Weapons."
Kathleen Miller, a Hesston
(Kan.) College student,
received $150 for "Personaliz-
ing Peacemaking in Your
Church." Becky McKay, a
student at Bethel College,
North Newton, Kan., received
$75 for "The Violence of Home-
lessness on Children."
— compiled by Sharon Sommer
THE MENNONITE 401
Mennonite Biblical Seminary completed
the fiscal year as of June 30 slightly under
budget on the expense side. However,
unrestricted contributions fell short of the
budgeted need on the income side.
According to Virgil Claassen, business
manager, the seminary anticipates an
additional shortfall for the 1990-91 school
year of $150,000, which will have to be
covered through reserves and estate
contributions.
Mennonite Central Committee has
agreed to take the lead in establishing a
$1 .2 million loan fund for church building in
Germany. The money will go toward build-
ing and renovating church buildings of
Mennonite "Umsiedler" (recently arrived
German-descent emigrees from the Soviet
Union). This year 98,000 Umsiedler have
come to Germany, Siegfried Battel of
Agassiz, B.C., told MCC in June. In the
last two years some 145,000 Umsiedler
arrived in Germany. Between 10 and 12
percent are of Mennonite background. "It
is one of the biggest relocations of Men-
nonite families on record," Bartel said.
"Within a year more Mennonites will live in
Germany than in Canada."
Stating that a military draft is not needed
in Germany anymore, the free churches of
the Federal Republic of Germany have
adopted the Tempelhof Erklarung (Declara-
tion), calling for the abolition of conscription
in a united Germany. The declaration calls
for a professional army drastically reduced
in size. It also asks that the existing civilian
alternative service be replaced by a social
peace service open equally to men and
women. The Association of Evangelical
Free churches includes Baptists, Brethren,
Methodists, Salvation Army and the
Association of German Mennonite
Churches. It represents a membership of
about 250,000. (Reported in Bruecke)
RESOURCES
>ooks
Human Sexuality and the
Christian Life is being re-
printed. It will include a new in-
troduction and the statements
on sexuality passed by the
General Conference Mennonite
Church at Saskatoon '86 and
by the Mennonite Church at
Purdue '87. Due out the first of
next year, the book will be
available from Faith and Life
Press, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114.
Pastors, counselors and
social workers will benefit from
the information in Adult
Children of Alcoholics:
Ministers and the Ministries by
Rachel Callahan and Rea
McDonnell (Paulist Press,
1990, $9.95).
One Step at a Time by Bob
Wieland as told to Sarah
Nichols (Zondervan, 1990,
$12.95) tells the story of
Wieland's spiritual rebirth and
physical healing in the after-
math of stepping on a booby-
trapped 82-millimeter mortar
round. He later became a
champion weightlifter, mara-
thon runner, actor and advo-
cate for the sick and home-
Staff position available in Commis-
sion on Education: secretary for
children's education. Application
deadline: Sept. 1 5.
For more information call or write:
Norma Johnson, executive
secretary, COE, Box 347, Newton,
KS 67114, phone: (316) 283-5100.
less. "Praying is as important as
breathing," says Elaine
Sommers Rich, who wrote
Prayers for Everyday (Faith
and Life Press, 1990, $6.95,
$8.95 in Canada). The 90-
page book contains prayers
Rich collected while she lived in
communities in Indiana,
ones from contemporary
Christian artists like Amy Grant
and Michael W. Smith.
— compiled by Gordon Houser
Elaine Sommers Rich signs a
copy of Prayers for Everyday.
Kansas, Ohio and Japan. She
divides the prayers into seven
sections: morning, noon,
evening, special occasions, in
the congregation, table graces
and sentence prayers.
Anyone called upon to
speak — formally or informally —
at the time of death may
appreciate Speaking About
Death: Poetic Resources for
Ministers of Consolation by
William Fitzgerald (ACTA
Publications, 4848 N. Clark St.,
Chicago, IL 60640-471 1 ).
William Reynolds, composer,
writer, collector, in his book
Songs of Glory: Stories of 300
Great Hymns and Gospel
Songs (Zondervan, 1990,
$17.95) chronicles popular
hymns, from those based on
verses of the early church to
IT'S YOUR
VENTURE!
SEE and HEAR the excitement!
Experience Venture Clubs enriching the lives of children,
churches, and communities.
"A wonderful opportu-
nity for evangelism!"
— Jerry Kaiser, Pastor
"We learn about God
and it's fun!"— Melanie
Geisbrecht, Club
Member
"It's an exciting pro-
gram! It's a program
that's quite easy to
follow, It's very
flexible." — Connie
Loeppky Club Leader
This 25-minute video describes how children, parents, and
leaders feel about the spiritual nurture and outreach of Venture
Clubs. See why you need a Venture Club in your church or
community. It can be your venture too!
Order from:
Purchase Price
$9.95 (U.S.)
Rental Fee
$5.00 (U.S.)
Faith and Life Press
Box 347
Newton, KS 67114-0347
316/283-5100
600 Shaftesbury Boulevard
Winnipeg MB R3P OM4
204/888-6781
Produced by General Conference Mennonite Church
402 SEPTEMBER 11, 1990
Because we need
to remember and celebrate
Wilma McKee
In 1988 the Commission on Education
decided to create a General Confer-
ence historical committee. This
committee would be part of COE with its
overall purpose being to keep historical
concerns alive and current.
By March 1989 COE had appointed
five members: Steve Estes, Hopedale,
111.; David A. Haury, Topeka, Kan., chair-
man; Lawrence Klippenstein, Winnipeg;
David Rempel Smucker, Akron, Pa., and
me (from Hydro, Okla.). We left the
agenda open and brainstormed for
projects.
Our first meeting focused on our
mission and on setting goals. Robert
Kreider, chair of our predecessor, the
heritage committee; J. Winfield Fretz,
former executive secretary of COE;
Norma Johnson, current executive
secretary of COE; and Vern Preheim,
general secretary of the General Confer-
ence, met with us and described their
vision for the committee. Providing
resources for congregational and individ-
ual heritage education emerged as our
primary goal.
By our second meeting, a first issue of
the newsletter General Conference Heri-
tage, to be published semiannually, was
completed and sent to Mennonite
historical committees and societies to
share information about current activi-
ties and challenges.
In keeping with our primary goal of
congregational nurture, a major focus of
Assisting congregations in planning anniversaries and other historical celebrations: Germantown
Mennonite Church in Philadelphia
the historical committee, we made a
workbook to assist congregations in
planning anniversaries and other
historical celebrations. Dale Schrag,
John Thiesen, Ruby Funk, Maynard
Shelly and Ron Andres gave ideas.
Last May a gathering of people in
Pennsylvania reviewed the booklet
outline. People who had been involved in
some aspect of congregational celebra-
tions added insights: Peter Passage,
Akron Mennonite Church; Richard
Ebersole, Forest Hills Mennonite
Church; Carolyn Unruh, Emmanuel
Mennonite Church; Ada Nancy King,
Kennett Square Mennonite Church, and
Carolyn Wenger of the Lancaster
Mennonite Historical Society. These
people represented congrega-
tions in the Atlantic Coast
Conference* MC), Lancaster
Conference (MC) and Eastern
District Conference (GC).
We have been enthused by the
richness of each meeting. A be-
ginning draft of the booklet will
be available for the committee's
revisions in October. We will see
complete drafts at our spring
and fall meetings in 1991. We
plan to publish it late in 1991 or
early in 1992.
The new workbook will deal
with why we celebrate and with
the theological necessity of re-
membering. It will provide
suggestions for writing congrega-
tional histories, gathering oral
history and a wide variety of
special events related to anniver-
sary celebrations. Copies will be
distributed free of charge to all
congregations in the General
Conference Mennonite Church.
I have agreed to write the cele-
bration booklet with the commit-
tee advising and assisting me.
Wilma Entz McKee, Box 32,
Hydro, OK 73048, a member of
Bethel Mennonite Church,
Hydro, is also a former member
of the Western District historical
committee. She served as editor
of Growing Faith: General
Conference Mennonites in
Oklahoma.
THE MENNONITE 403
Letters
In all things countercultural
Parts of the "Three Responses to 'How
Much Land Is Enough?'" [July 24]
seemed to say, Exploit God's creation as
if it belongs to us; technology will save us
from the ruin we wreak on the environ-
ment, and we can happily trust God to
take care of us.
It is wonderful that some of our farms
have less erosion than 35-40 years ago.
Yet even current rates of erosion and
harmful chemical buildup is too much for
sustainable agriculture. True, our food is
cheap — too cheap. Hidden costs make it
more costly than we think: petrochemi-
cal resources used for machinery manu-
facture, fuel and fertilizers; death of
rural communities; environmental
damage; social/economic costs of dis-
placed farm families.
It is doubtful that ours is the "safest
food supply in the world." Lots of our
food is too processed to be healthy. Much
of it is packaged in dangerous containers.
We need to approach the question of
feeding the poor and sharing our technol-
ogy with humility. The majority of the
food consumed by poor people is pro-
duced in their own countries. Except in
extreme cases, most countries basically
feed themselves, importing only a tiny
percent for their needs. The poor cannot
afford to buy our food. Further, farmers
in many tropical countries have ex-
tremely complex agricultural systems.
Some Filipino farmers know and use 280
different plants on their farms. Ameri-
can agriculture is quite simple by
comparison.
While we do export a lot of food from
this country, America is also one of the
largest food importers in the world.
Though we have some things appropri-
ate to share with developing countries,
the bigness of today's agricultural
technology, which is partly to blame for
the death of many rural American
communities, is not one of them. We will
have more to share if we can develop a
technology of smallness that is economi-
cally viable and allows more families to
live on the land with less environmental
damage.
Though production was found to suffer
in Poland because of farms too small to
mechanize, this does not generally hold
true over the world. More intensive
agriculture is practiced and per-acre
production is often greater on smaller
farms. Draft animals do nine times more
work on the world's farms than tractors.
Though we will not likely return to
"primary agriculture" in this country, to
do so would not necessarily result in
mass starvation.
That community organization is a
social issue, not a religious one, is
precisely our problem. As Christian
stewards of God's created resources and
witnesses to salvation in Christ, we need
to see these issues as religious. Spiritual
insights should determine our commu-
nity organization. The question of
whether or not to buy another 80 acres or
a new tractor is spiritual as well as
economic for a farmer who would be
Christian. The same is true for Chris-
tians in all other professions.
Healthy communities do "depend on a
large majority of the people loving and
caring for the Lord and each other." But
I believe that this is impossible without
also loving and caring for the natural
resources whose stewardship God has
entrusted to us.
I am not picking on farmers; our lives
must all be countercultural (Romans
12:2). We must challenge cultural norms
that demand convenient, instant or
synthetic commodities at the expense of
whole peoples and ecosystems. We are
called to act responsibly. Even more
important than saving the earth for
human benefit is the motive of glorifying
the One who made us and it. Fremont A.
Regier, Box 96, North Newton, KS 67117
Proud of citizenship
I expect better, but each issue of The
Mennonite, in letters and sometimes in
articles, drips with venom. The modern
litany seems to say, "Let us now unite in
hating America." One article [July 10,
page 308] describes how a child seem-
ingly sits on the edge of the chair in
band, fearful that she might accidentally
play some phrase that expresses some
filthy, imperialistic sentiment. She must
stutter as she recites the pledge. She is
placed in one false dilemma after
another. Another Mennonite contem-
plates running for office but believes she
would not be elected and would be
unhappy if she were elected. Again and
again the mention of the American flag
seems expected to arouse nausea.
Really? What have we achieved if we
have taught our children to hate our
country? Is this the highest vision that
the parents, the teacher or the minister
has? This rancor comes at a most
inappropriate time. The events of the
past year have in many ways affirmed
American policy and the policies of the
Western world. Citizens in much of the
rest of the world continue to stream into
ours. Why? We live in a period of
unparalleled peace, which most believe
will last a long time. What will become
our goal, if our only goal is the elimina-
tion of war? What is the mission of a
peace church when the world is at peace?
I do not believe that this peace was
achieved by the policies of the Mennonite
church but rather is the result of intelli-
gent planning from some of the leading
and enlightened nations of the world.
If I were a Mennonite minister I would
display the American flag as well as the
Christian emblem. No one argues that
they are equal, but our flag has made it
possible for Americans to worship as
they wish for a long time. My forefathers
were drawn to that flag from the Old
World; it is a delight for me to keep faith
with them. If I insisted upon perfection
in my institutions, I would have to leave
not only America but the Mennonite
church as well. The apostle Paul was
proud of his Roman citizenship, as I
would have been had I lived then. His
spiritual insights are central to us.
I cannot expect great results from a
union of Mennonite denominations
unless there is a profound shifting of
certain Mennonite thinking. If I were a
minister I would urge my members to
run for political office, to participate in
an enthusiastic rather than a craven
manner in all sorts of public and volun-
teer activities and to face with confidence
a happy world they are helping to create.
Let them joyfully wave all sorts of flags.
"Conscience" and "Anabaptist" have
become buzz words in our culturally
incestuous society. They mean what we
wish them to mean. Conscience is not a
divine gift and varies widely from
individual and culture. I have talked
with men who told me their inner voice
applauded when they killed a wife or
robbed a bank. Some may listen to a
conscience that tells them not to pay
taxes; mine would give me a sound
lashing if I did not pay. Peter Hilty, 632
Bellevue, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701
(written July 13)
Women must be silent
Is it scriptural for a woman to speak in
the church? Sanford G. Shetler in Bibli-
cal Perspectives on Women in Ministry
(Fellowship of Concerned Mennonites,
Harrisonburg, Va.) says, "It is clear to
anyone holding a high view of Scripture
that the present crusade to ordain
women is not the result of some new
revelation or that it has taken the
Christian church nearly 2,000 years to
404 SEPTEMBER 11, 1990
come to the full understanding of the
Scriptures."
He continues, "In order to accomplish
the switch from male to so-called equal
leadership of males and females, whole
new interpretations of the Scripture are
[sic] required, with much emphasis being
put on a few prooftexts. The record of
historic Christianity is totally being
forgotten or considered as presenting a
misunderstanding of the Scripture for
1,900 years."
What Scripture? "Let your women
keep silence in the churches, for it is not
permitted for them to speak; but they are
commanded to be under obedience, as
also saith the law" (1 Corinthians 14:34).
A.C. Gaebelein in The Annotated Bible
says, "The public ministry of women is
not permitted by the Spirit of God." C.B.
Friesen, 415 E. First, Newton, KS 67114
If the flag could speak...
I've been listening to the flag-burning
hubbub in the United States and I'm
sure I heard Old Glory say the following:
1. Rescue me from politicians who use
me to divert attention from real national
scandals such as the saving and loan
bailout, the multitrillion-dollar national
debt and the 40 million of my children
homeless and in ghettos.
2. Rescue me from politicians who,
while wrapping themselves in my furls,
ignore my pledge of "liberty and justice
for all." I suffer burners more easily
than hypocrites.
3. Remove me from churches, where I
do not belong and never wanted to be. I
am no fit object for swastika-like deifica-
tion. God is above the nation, as my
pledge clearly states.
4. Let me take my place beside the
Statue of Liberty as a symbol of hope and
a model of freedom for other nations and
for political and economic prisoners
around the world.
5. The essence of the freedom for which
I stand is to pledge or to burn. If you
choose the latter, don't stop with the
burning. Instead, get on with correcting
the wrongs that incited you to such rash
action in the first place. However, if you
take the pledge, please be serious about
the words "under God" and "liberty and
justice for all."
Then I will be proud to represent you,
and the United States will thrive.
Lawrence J. Lange, Route 3, Highway 2
East, Devil's Lake, ND 58301
For future MWC assemblies
Having attended all but two Mennonite
World Conference assemblies, I feel led
to make a few comments.
Thanks and congratulations go to the
leadership and staff for their hours and
years of unselfish service and planning.
Our appreciation to the Mennonites of
Winnipeg and environs for the superb
organization, transportation and
hospitality.
We are overwhelmed by the atten-
dance of brothers and sisters of other
lands as well as by their testimony for
Christ. Since the facilities here [in North
America] are so adequate, we don't know
another place or circumstance where it
could be so. Therefore, I would favor
regional conferences, as suggested, with
greater emphasis on Bible classes,
shorter congregational sessions, acces-
sible concerts, special instructions on
how to witness at various levels and
places. Let it be a time of preparation as
well as communication.
My great concern is that Mennonites
worldwide embrace first of all the basics
of our faith: our need of a Savior, which
can only be met at the foot of the cross,
where we take Lord Jesus as Savior by
faith and in his finished work, arising in
the power of the blessed Holy Spirit to
tell others, awaiting and looking for his
soon appearing, when we will ever be
with him (Romans 10:9,10). Ted E.
Claassen, 400 Normandy, Newton, KS
67114
Will God destroy us?
The "homosexual" issue persists because
some believe that homosexuality is
inherent at conception, while others
believe it's a learned-behavior pattern.
The classic Old Testament text that
deals with the homosexuality issue is
Genesis 19, where God destroyed Sodom
and Gomorrah. According to some homo-
sexuals, God destroyed those cities
because of pride, plenty and idleness. I
agree, but that claim doesn't tell the
entire story.
In Ezekiel 16 the prophet speaks to the
people of Jerusalem, who were then held
captive in Babylon. According to verse
49 the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was
"pride, fullness of bread and abundance
of idleness — and neither did they
strengthen the hand of the poor and
needy." But Ezekiel didn't stop there.
According to verse 50, "They were
haughty, and committed abominations
before me" (cf. Genesis 13:13). The word
"abomination," without exception, is used
in the Bible to describe sexual immoral-
ity and idolatry. In other words, Sodom
and Gomorrah were destroyed also
because of sexual immorality, literally
"sexual perversion." This fact is under-
scored in Jude: Sodom and Gomorrah
"gave themselves over to sexual immoral-
ity and perversion." The New King
James Version says, "They went after
strange flesh."
In Romans 1:26-27 we read that God
gave an apostate people over to "shame-
ful lusts" where "even women exchanged
natural relations for unnatural ones."
Likewise, "men committed indecent acts
with other men and received in them-
selves the due penalty for their perver-
sion." God hates sin: murder, theft,
slander, homosexuality, adultery, etc.
However, God loves the murderer, the
thief, the liar, the homosexual, the
adulterer, etc. You see, God loves people
and offers forgiveness and healing to
those who come to him for it.
As a compassionate Mennonite pastor
I am committed, in faith, to the God of
the Bible, whose knowledge exceeds that
of any and all intellectual giants who
may appear on the scene in any age.
Thank God. The God of the Bible hates
sin but loves the sinner. "God commen-
deth his love toward us in that while we
were yet sinners Christ died for us"
(Romans 5:8). As those who have trusted
Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, let us
do all we can to bring lost sinners to the
Savior.
While the General Conference Men-
nonite Church has taken a stand on the
issue of homosexuality, what are you and
I doing, redemptively, to help those in
need? Could it be that God will destroy
us because of pride, plenty, idleness, lack
of hospitality, plus an unconcern toward
sexual immorality? Thank God for First
Mennonite Church, Allentown, Pa.,
which is sponsoring a Christ-centered
recovery center for gay men and lesbians.
Harold D. Burkholder, Box 65, Elbing,
KS 67041
A step of faith
A minor correction to the Hopi Youth
Venture article in the Aug. 14 issue: The
evening Bible teaching sessions were
held at the Hopi Civic Center in
Kykotsmovi, not in Bacavi.
The Hopi Mennonite Church Council
welcomed this opportunity to host the
Youth Venture. It was a great step of
faith for us to organize, plan and rely on
the Lord, since we'd never held such an
event on our Hopi reservation.
I also want to recognize those HMCC
people for their time and effort and
prayers during the week of this blessed
event: Ida Murdock, Annabelle Myron,
Wilbur and Thamar Goombi, Howard
Sinclair and Mennonite Voluntary
Service workers Deanna Goering and
David and Mary Lou Driedger. Nadenia
F. Myron, HMCC staff person, 4221 Palo
Verde Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85019
THE MENNONITE 405
REVIEWS
« sSsbooks
Transformation and hope
Journey With Justice by Paula Diller
Lehman (Faith and Life Press, 1990, 99
pages) and Journey With Justice, a
cassette tape by Road Less Travelled
(Faith and Life Press, 1990)
Reviewed by Leonard Nolt, 3016 Arthur
St., Boise, ID 83703
This book and tape have the same
message: Life is a journey, and if we are
sincere, responsible Christian travelers,
we must do what we can to create and
maintain relation-
ships accented with
justice. But though
the message is the
same, listening to the
tape and reading the
book are not repeti-
tious or redundant.
The book and tape
harmonize like the
crisp, clear singing of
Road Less Travelled,
and the music and
lyrics supplement the
thoughtful challenge of Lehman's brief
but incisive book.
Some of the music and some of the
writing is comforting, but not too com-
forting. More often they challenge us,
even convict us as we hear of the suffer-
ing caused by injustice. With the
convicting comes guidance for initiating
change, making this book and cassette a
source of transformation and hope.
The book is designed for individual or
group study, with 13 chapters centered
around the themes of call, conversion,
community and celebration. A complete
leader's guide is part of the book and
contains for each chapter numerous
activities suitable for youth or adults.
The author's goal is not simply to
stimulate discussion or intellectualize
about injustice but to motivate the
reader to act.
I especially appreciated the chapter on
imagination. Lehman writes, "Doing the
work of justice, then, calls for more than
opposing injustice; it calls for us to let
God dream in us a vision of justice." The
exercises in the leader's guide also
require us to use our imagination and
our bodies in confronting issues of
justice.
The songs, all original compositions by
Doug and Jude Krehbiel of Road Less
Travelled, correspond surprisingly well
with the focus of each chapter, and their
lyrics are included in the book as well as
with the tape. The songs appeal to a
wider audience than the book (even my
8-year-old likes to play the tape), and all
of them have an important message as
well as the musical quality to communi-
cate that message. The words and music
of "Plant Compassion" and "Turn It
Around" echoed in my mind long after
the tape had ended.
Any individual or group looking for
resources on justice for the '90s would do
well to start here. Journey With Justice
is sure to provide the focus and depth
needed.
Dramatic play for children
Who's Calling the Shots? How to
Respond Effectively to Children's
Fascination with War Play and War
Toys by Nancy Carlsson-Paige and
Diane E. Levin (New Society Publishers,
1990, 185 pages)
Reviewed by Karla C. Morton, Box 68,
Elbing, KS 67041
This parent's guide deals with the dra-
matic/war play of children and gives
helpful insights
, „ „. and suggestions on
Whos Calling 1f.t' ,
the Shots? the subject.
How to Respond Effectively The authors
present some
history of war play
and toys and
conclude that war
play today is
different from the
past. They
consider these
„a»o , «ii>N.p«ci s dwm t levin changes, how they
came about and
ways to encourage creative play.
Carlsson-Paige and Levin suggest that
war play is important for children to
make sense of the violence they encoun-
ter in society. However, the media and
toy manufacturers manipulate children's
creative play by producing single-use and
cartoon-character toys. Unfortunately
these "toys" break down a child's ability
to create new scenes and make sense of
what is violent in society.
The authors look into violence in the
media, sex-role stereotyping and sexism,
racism, consumerism in children, the
political lessons of war play, and public
policy and war play. Many chapters end
with helpful guidelines to enhance
dramatic play and put into practice the
chapters' themes.
to Children's f .iscirMtion
rith War IM.i\ ,ind Wjr Toy
The second part of the book offers
ideas, recipes and resources to develop a
more creative home environment for
play. It shows easy, basic plans to build
"sets" and costumes to give flight to a
child's imagination.
As the mother of three, this book
supports many of my convictions and has
given me new ideas for aiding my
children's dramatic play. Although I
don't advocate war play, the authors
believe that it may be necessary to a
child but need not be programmed by the
media's view of war. Who's Calling the
Shots? is a great help to today's parents.
Persistence and sacrifice
Don't Be Afraid, Gringo: A Hondu-
ran Woman Speaks from the Heart,
The Story of Elvia Alvarado trans-
lated and edited by Benjamin Medea
(Harper & Row, 1987, 192 pages)
Reviewed by Dennis Witmer, Box 376,
North Newton, KS 67117
Elvia Alvarado's story is powerful
because she is an ordinary person who
believes she can make an impact for
peace and justice in her world. She holds
no great decision-making position
whereby she can influence change but
tries to do what she can to make Hondu-
ras a better place for all.
She experienced the suffering brought
by being a campesina, seen as a nobody
by her society. It was the Catholic
church that first introduced her to
organizing and gave her the tools and
confidence to begin her work. She gives
them credit for opening her eyes to the
changes that needed to take place in her
country. But she is disappointed when
the church withdraws its support from
the organizing that many of the women
feel needs to happen.
Alvarado lists four important steps in
bringing about change: educating
people, forming small groups, dividing up
the task and making allies. The tech-
niques of her organization include land
recoveries, marches, sit-ins and hunger
strikes. It is her belief that the common
person must be organized in order to
counter the organization of society.
Change is a long process that she
hopes one day will result in benefits for
her grandchildren. It is this persistence
in the face of intense struggle that makes
this woman so outstanding. She leaves
us with a challenge that change and
peace can come if we are willing to
sacrifice and persist.
406 SEPTEMBER 11, 1990
For the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church
Integration exploration update
Jim Gingerich
Integration is happening. For example, when I go into 2500
Place in North Newton, Kan., to discuss an administrative
issue I now find Bill Zuercher, formerly a full-time employee
of South Central Conference (Mennonite Church), in the office
that had been occupied by Frank Keller, former Western
District (General Conference) conference executive. Bill now
works as a half-time administrator for each conference. This
follows a decision about a year ago for the two conferences to
share office space and a statement recently adopted by the
South Central and Western District leadership people commit-
ting themselves to closer cooperation and coordination.
The Houston Mennonite Church, like about 70 other
congregations, is dually affiliated. Leo Hartshorn, pastor
there, says that increasing numbers of people in the congrega-
tion have no sense of being either MC or GC. The more
important issues is how a congregation can strengthen the
sense of community and family within and have a strong
Anabaptist/Mennonite identity and witness in Houston. The
clear denominational distinctions that have been part of our
history are disappearing and are being replaced with an
Anabaptist/Mennonite identity.
Grass-roots movement: The process that began and contin-
ues as a grass-roots movement stimulates the two denomina-
tions to further explore the possibilities of integration.
A desire for closer cooperation between the two denomina-
tions has been voiced at many levels. Here are some examples:
the 70-plus congregations that relate to both bodies; the official
decision to meet jointly at Bethlehem '83, Normal '89 and again
in 1995; actions currently being worked on in various geo-
graphic areas; the decision to have one president at Associated
Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind.; the joint Hymnal
Project; the generation of young people reading With magazine;
the history (about 40 years) of the two denominations cooperat-
ing on vacation Bible school and Sunday school curriculum.
The need to learn to know each other better was certainly
evident in Bowmansville, Pa., where the bishop of the Lancas-
ter Conference recently invited a General Conference pastor to
tell him and his pastors something about what General
Conference is and how it functions.
The Normal '89 resolution encourages area conferences to
explore integration. Conferences from the two denominations
have created interconference committees to explore integration,
are learning to know each other better and share facilities and
program. I am aware of several examples. East Central States
Inter-Mennonite was created by Ohio, Illinois and Indiana-
Michigan conferences (MC ) with the Central District Confer-
ence (GC). An Inter-Conference Committee on Integration was
formed on the Pacific Coast by Southwest (MC), Pacific Coast
(MC) and Pacific District (GC) conferences. Office facilities are
shared by Eastern District (GC) and Franconia (MC) confer-
ences and by Western District (GC) and South Central (MC)
conferences. Joint ministerial reviews for licensing and
ordination have been conducted.
In an attempt to fulfill the action taken at Normal '89 the
general boards of the two denominations appointed an MC/GC
integration committee. Its task during 1990-1995 is to facili-
tate exploration of integration. Here is some of that work:
• There has been strong affirmation for us to have a common
mission/vision. Further discussion will take place when the
integration committee meets Sept. 17-18 in Chicago.
• A rationale for integration will be developed to further
identify the issues related to integration.
• Work is being done on a model or models for integration
without the development of a final model until after a positive
decision has been made for integration. Models for integration
will look seriously at the 49th parallel, regional conferences,
program boards, church agencies and the local congregations.
• Feedback from our area conferences and congregations is
important. James Lapp and Vern Preheim, the two general
secretaries, have written to area conferences, to churchwide
agencies, to various ethnic groups and to women's groups
encouraging them to meet with their respective counterparts to
Integration is a grass-roots happening
facilitated by agencies.
look at mission/vision and visualize how integration might
work. We hope that by 1995 area conferences will have tested
integration and express where they are on this subject.
• We are encouraging education and exchanges between our
two groups. A study will be prepared by early 1993 for use in
congregations. MC and GC writers will focus on communicat-
ing and discerning a vision. Second, we are planning for and
encouraging "people exchanges": utilization of the musical
gifts, speaking tours of church leaders, cooperative youth group
activities, congregational exchanges, tours, inviting people
from the other denomination to tbe triennial session or assem-
bly. And the committee will try to leam from other denomina-
tional mergers.
Three areas are a high priority for the integration committee.
We cannot go much further until we ( 1 ) further understand our
respective mission/visions, (2) articulate a rationale for integra-
tion and (3) have a concrete model or models to help visualize
what a new, integrated Mennonite church might look like.
A vote about whether to proceed with integration will be
taken at the joint GC triennial session and MC assembly in
1995. The option exists to put integration on hold or turn it
down until a plan to integrate is accepted after 1995.
The integration discussion has not been initiated by the
church agencies. My hope is that the MC/GC integration
committee can help process integration discussions. What
happens at the 1995 joint MC/GC sessions should come from a
broad decision-making process.
This is the first of two articles to be written by Nelson
Scheifele from Ontario and me, the co-chairpersons of the MC/
GC integration committee.
Jim Gingerich is pastor at First Mennonite
Church, 719 S. Christian, Box 66, Moundridge,
KS 67107.
V
THE MENNONITE 407
NEWS
01 0022 031 332
L I BRARY
ASSOC ME NN ft I 8L ICAL SEM
30 03 8 6 N HAM AVE
ELKHART IN 46517
EdiTORiAl
'Oh, for a [winsome] faith that will not shrink'
At least one of our pastors has a lament. The biologi-
cal sons and daughters of Menno, he says, are not j
readily coming to his (urban) congregation, even upon
invitation. Rather the newcomers are mostly people
from non-Mennonite backgrounds, people who come be- $
cause they are attracted to the Mennonite theology they
have heard or read. They want to be with the people
who espouse it.
The deduction from this paragraph is unsettling: In
general our children and grandchildren are not at-
tracted to Mennonite theology. Those presumably most
acquainted with Mennonite distinctives are leaving
them. They are church shopping (if they're in a church
at all) instead of coming to their theological homes.
Mennonite Church statistics state that between 35
and 40 percent of its young adults left the church be-
tween 1960 and 1980. Figures for the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church would be comparable.
My theory is that our children and grandchildren have
watched our theology more than they have read about it.
They have lived with it, seen it with overalls on, heard it
in the department store as we made our purchases,
overheard it on the telephone or behind closed doors.
They have seen the pain that results from unconfessed
and unforgiven sin. They know the people who claim to
be Mennonites. They know us all too well.
A step further: What made the faith of our forebears
winsome? What are Mennonite distinctives in the array
of Christian denominations? Why was a radical Refor-
mation necessary, taking reform and renewal a step
further than Martin Luther-and Ulrich Zwingli in the
16th century? What exactly did Michael Sattler and
Conrad Grebel and Hans Denck and Menno Simons (to
name just four Anabaptists) say that nobody else was
saying? What is it that attracts newcomers who read
about Anabaptism? What should we be saying as we
claim the name "Mennnonite"?
1. The decision to follow Jesus Christ must affect my
behavior. It is wrong to separate the spiritual from the
physical, Sunday from the rest of the week. Jesus'
words must have an impact on all of my life. Sattler
and company called this "following after." Menno
Simons called it holy living. Martin Luther saw the
moral demands of the Anabaptists as legalistic.
2. The decision to receive baptism must be preceded
by repentance. Therefore it is wrong to baptize infants.
What can an infant repent of?
3. The voluntary church membership that resulted
from adult baptism and freedom of conscience neverthe-
less signaled a commitment to the gathered congrega-
tion, frequently celebrating the Lord's Supper together.
If I claim to be a follower of Jesus, I am eager to be with
other followers of Jesus. I do not neglect the gatherings
of the congregation (Hebrews, 10:25).
4. God alone has authority 6ver life and death. If I
claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ, I must not kill.
The crucifixion of Jesus was a result of his non- violent
response to his enemies. "Following after" Jesus tells
me to be willing to act the same way.
5. "Following after" Jesus also indicates that I may
expect to suffer. Menno Simons wrote, "We prefer to
endure misery... in our mortal bodies and continue in the
Word of the Lord rather than to lead secure, easy lives
with the world and for the sake of a short, transitory life
ruin our souls." He was undoubtedly reflecting on
Jesus' caution about gaining the world and losing one's
soul. I believe that suffering gives one an understand-
ing heart and can qualify one to speak the Word of God.
A sixth Anabaptist distinctive, the separation of
church and state, is now widely accepted.
I add another; it's implied in the ones above. I believe
that the hallmark of a godly person is the willingness to
be vulnerable, to admit error, to ask forgiveness, to be
willing to give up territory, to hold things loosely.
Vulnerable parents: We can more legitimately expect
our biological sons and daughters to "come home" if our
behavior and economics are affected by our faith, if bap-
tism signals repentance; if we are commited to our
congregations, if we refuse to kill, if we are unafraid of
suffering, if we are vulnerable parents, willing to lay
down our lives for our children. Muriel T. Stackley
*William Hiley Bathurst's words are from #259 in The
Mennonite Hymnal.
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
105:18 SEPTEMBER 25, 1990
Work to do in
Central America
Miracle at 'Saint Mark1
The New Revised
Standard Version —
a review
Wise as a serpent,
innocent as a dove
■
■ V V,
pnoloquE
At press time the United States media con-
tinues to concentrate on the Persian
Gulf, while Canada is preoccupied with Native
Canadian concerns, principally in Quebec.
Thus we offer a corrective, adding to the
interest shown by an overflow crowd at one of
the Assembly 12 workshops in Winnipeg in
July: How does the church witness to Christ
in a revolutionary society? Reporter Menno
Hamm quoted a Nicaraguan pastor: "Our
troubles cause the churches to unite."
The rest of the world still exists. Here is
perspective on Central America. Much of it is,
at least symboli-
^ cally, like this
little girl, behind
barbed wire.
Lead writer
Linda Shelly has
worked for Men-
nonite Central
Committee since
1978, first in the
personnel office in
Akron, Pa., then
in Bolivia, and
since the mid-
1980s in Central
America. When I
heard her speak at
5 First Mennonite
s Church in New-
fton, Kan., I was
Q impressed by her
poise and insight and am proud to be repre-
sented by her in Honduras.
Most of us are descendants of refugees or
have been refugees ourselves. Read with joy
about the breakthrough that Linda describes.
CONTENTS
Sept. 16 marked the completion of A Call to
Kingdom Commitments. Just so, CKC stories
complete this issue.
Finally, you as a reader of The Mennonite will
be receiving an advertisement from four
Anabaptist publishers, of
which our Faith and Life
Press is one. The new
books advertised will add to
your gift-giving ideas.
The next issue of The
Mennonite will feature the
work of the Commission on
Home Ministries. Muriel T.
Stackley
Miracle at 'Saint Mark' in Honduras / 41 1
Hold our governments accountable / 413
A Bolivian 'mother' for MCC workers away from home / 416
Sabina Bader, a survivor / 417
News / 418
Hong Kong Mennonites face impending takeover / 418
Nicaragua: It is now a war of ideas / 423
Record / 424
Resources / 425
Reviews / 426
The Bible for the 21 st century / 426
'Already' and 'not yet' / 426
Help from NLP / 427
Sexual violence / 427
Letters / 428
Two kingdom commitment stories / 430
Wise as a serpent, innocent as a dove / 431
Where did CKC take us? / 432
Cover: Maria Auxiliadora Argueda, 24, is a high school mathematics
teacher in Managua and treasurer of the National Council of the
Fraternity Mennonite Conference. In the photo she is working with a
Mennonite Disaster Service team, repairing damage from the 1988
hurricane at Rama, Nicaragua. The MDS team was half Nicaraguan
Mennonites and half North American Mennonites. Marilyn Nolt, 508
Noble St., Souderton, PA 18964, took the photo.
(3D
MENNONITE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14, (316) 283-5100. Editor:
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410 SEPTEMBER 25, 1990
'Saint Mark'
Linda Shelly
Only seven miles separate the
Honduran town of San Marcos from
the huge Mesa Grande refugee camp.
Yet in nine long years no Salvadoran
refugee had ever been permitted to make
the short trip from the camp to town. A
Mennonite congregation in San Marcos
has been active in helping the refugees.
A breakthrough came last March 18.
For the first time local authorities
permitted a delegation of eight refugees
to go to San Marcos and participate in a
Bible study at the Mennonite church.
The eight included Roman Catholic
delegates of the word and Bible study
leaders.
"We arrived on the Honduran side of
the border on March 18, 1981," said
Maria Santos, one of the eight, upon
arrival at the church. "We are grateful
for the help we received from Honduran
families and internationals. Today on
this ninth anniversary you of the Men-
Rigoberto (left) is a Honduran Mennonite who worked in the refugee camp Mesa Grande. He
and his wife, Carminda, visit with Maria and Isabel, Bible study leaders from the refugee camp.
nonite church in San Marcos are again
receiving us well."
Peter and Cornelius: The San Marcos
Mennonite church happened to be using
the booklet Bienaventurados los Pacifica-
dores (Blessed are the Peacemakers) by
Delbert Erb for their Sunday school
lessons. The lesson for March 18
happened to be on equality. Mennonites
from San Marcos and Catholics from
Mesa Grande read together the story of
Peter and Cornelius from Acts 10.
Lucas, the Sunday school teacher,
began with the statement, "Paul says
there is no Jew or gentile, man or
woman. Before God all are equal.
According to Jesus there is no reason for
any of us to say that we are better than
others. All those who work for justice,
with love, are of God. However, in our
times also, barriers between races have
us trapped. For us in the Mennonite
church these barriers were broken when
God presented us with the opportunity to
serve you, our Salvadoran brothers and
sisters."
Luis, a refugee delegate from the
refugee camp, responded, "The Mennon-
ite church confronted these barriers.
People said we were dangerous, that one
shouldn't relate to us. They said we were
contaminated people. But you jumped
over these barriers to say, 'We are not in
agreement with this. We are in agree-
ment with the Spirit of God, which
demonstrates itself in service, in helping
those in need and in giving a hand to
those who have fallen.' Without doubt
you are fulfilling God's Word."
continued on next page
THE MENNONITE 411
Antonio, also from Mesa Grande,
added, "It has been almost 10 years now
that you have been fulfilling this text.
You have achieved it. It has not been
with words, but rather through deeds.
Jesus himself says it is not good to speak
only with words, but rather through
deeds. We have seen by your actions
what Mennonites do. You are committed
to breaking barriers."
"We are in a process," responded
Cesar, director of the Mennonite church
refugee program. "We have not reached
perfection in breaking down the barriers
of nationalism. But yes, we are seeking
ways to do it, and God is permitting
opportune moments to put into practice
what we are learning, historic moments
in which we can manifest our faith. We
can't say that we've arrived. We're
barely taking steps. But let's continue
forward."
"I see it as significant," said Luis, "that
Peter received the lesson. Now it's up to
us to do the same. Also in the religious
aspect there are barriers. Thanks be to
God that now different denominations
are permitted to be together, now we
don't see that one is Catholic and the
other Mennonite."
He continued, "This is a good light, a
reflection of the coming of God's kingdom
on earth. When I was young, there was a
great barrier between beliefs. Someone
of another denomination could not relate
with a Catholic. Catholics could not
relate to those of other denominations.
We were afraid of them. It was prohib-
ited. And yet we worshiped the same
God."
Breaking down barriers: After the Bible study the guests and hosts went for a walk through the
town of San Marcos. They drank coffee together in the homes of the Mennonites. Here several
gather in the home of Berta (second from left) and Luis Flores, long-term workers in the refugee
camps. Their son Cesar is coordinator of the Honduran Mennonite refugee work.
Then Maria Santos prayed, asking God
to "help us put into practice these words
and break down the barriers of fears."
In drawing to a close their time
together, each group shared a few songs
that spoke of their experiences. Then
"What we have is to share": From left at the pingpong table are Mery Carbajal, Reina Flores,
Moses Mast and Sadie Mast. Moses and Sadie were instrumental in helping the Catholic
Salvadoran refugees and the Honduran Mennonites meet in San Marcos.
Berta of the local church's women's group
explained, "What we have is to share.
Sometimes we don't have anything, but
then we sit together and visit. Today we
have a lunch to share with everyone."
After lunch Honduran Mennonite
women and Mennonite Central Commit-
tee workers accompanied the refugees in
a walk through the streets of San
Marcos. For most of them it was the first
time they had seen the town. They
visited a few of the homes of Mennonites
who work in the camps and drank coffee
together.
The Mennonites continue to serve the
camp even though many refugees have
now returned to El Salvador. Staying
behind at the Honduran refugee camp
are about 2,500 people, less than a
quarter of the peak population.
Linda Shelly, associate
member at First
Mennonite Church,
Newton, Kan., has
served as Mennonite
Central Committee
country director in
Honduras and has
returned to that country
for another term.
412 SEPTEMBER 25, 1990
A look at U.S. policy toward Nicaragua
\ Hold our governments
/ accountable
Robert O. Epp
Now is a good time to review
the policy of the United States
toward Nicaragua in the last
decade. What was the reason for
the war on Nicaragua? Did it have a
communistic government? Was it a
threat to U.S. security? Was the Soviet
Union dictating Nicaragua's moves?
To understand we need to understand
history. In the early 16th century, the
century of empire building by the
European nations, Spain invaded this
region and extracted wealth in many
forms. With the decline of the Spanish
Empire, England's influence rose,
especially on the East Coast. This was
followed shortly by the rising star of the
United States, which under the influence
of the Monroe Doctrine and the Manifest
Destiny concept claimed hegemony
(authority of one nation over others) in
the entire Western hemisphere. We in
the United States have successfully
avoided the appearance of empire by not
claiming territory. Nevertheless we have
successfully controlled the area militarily
and economically.
This Iglesia Evangelica Menonita is in San Jose de la Gracia, in Jinotepe. The pastor is
Ignacio Gutierrez. Attendance is about 45. It affiliates with the Evangelical Mennonite
Conference in Manitoba.
There have been nearly 100 U.S.
military interventions in and occupations
of Latin American countries since 1798.
This does not included U.S. -sponsored
military coups such as in Guatemala in
1954; destabilizing efforts such as in
Chile in 1970-73; or U.S.-financed wars
by mercenary troops such as that fought
in Nicaragua for the past eight or nine
years.1 We have sent marines into Nica-
ragua 12 times; they virtually occupied
the country almost from 1909 to 1933.
General Smedley Butler, who com-
manded the U.S. Marines, was disillu-
sioned about his role and wrote in 1935,
"It may seem odd for me, a military man,
to adopt such a comparison [war as a
racket]. Truthfulness compels me to. I
spent 33 years and four months in active
service as a member of our country's
most agile military force — the Marine
Corps. During that period I spent most
of my time being a high-class muscle-
man for Big Business, for Wall Street
and for the bankers. In short I was a
racketeer for capitalism. The record of
racketeering is long. I helped purify
Nicaragua for the international banking
house of Brown Brothers in 1909-12."
When the Marines were withdrawn
from Nicaragua in 1933, they first
trained a National Guard to take their
place and put Anastasio Samoza at the
head. The presence of the Marines had
created a guerilla counter-force led by
Augusto Sandino whose purpose was to
drive the Marines out of the country.
They continued their fight against the
National Guard, which they regarded as
an extension of the U.S. military. After a
meeting, ostensibly to establish a peace
of sorts, Sandino was ambushed and
killed by the Guard by orders of Samoza.
Samoza successfully established himself
as the president of Nicaragua, and the
Samoza family dictatorially ruled
Nicaragua for 43 years, amassing a
personal fortune of $900 million.3 During
the reign of the Samoza family we never
heard anything in the United States
about promoting democracy or freedom
for the Nicaraguan people. A good
climate for U.S. business existed; all
effort was made to maintain it.
In July 1979 the Samoza rule came to
an end when virtually the entire popula-
THE MENNONITE 413
tion rose up in an insurrection that had
been simmering for years. The best
organized group who then took charge of
the government was the Sandinista
party, which took its name from the
national hero Augusto Sandino.
The U.S. government, fearing loss of
control, immediately organized remnants
of the National Guard to form a counter-
revolutionary force, which became known
as the Contras. Further low-intensity
warfare tactics followed, including an
embargo, a boycott of goods and blocking
of international loans.
Were the Sandinistas communists?
What criteria do we use? Usually when I
ask what are the characteristics of a
communist state, people say that
religious repression is one. Churches are
flourishing in Nicaragua. A Mennonite
constituency is growing. Problems have
arisen where young men have claimed
conscientious objection to military
service, but compared to the record of El
Salvador, which has almost unlimited
support from the United States, Nicara-
gua's record is exemplary.
People say a communist government
takes control of all private property.
Here again Nicaragua does not seem to
fit that model. Thirty percent of the land
was still owned by landowners with no
risk to losing their land so long as they
followed land-use regulations. My land
here in Nebraska is subject to the right
of eminent domain. Twenty to 25
percent of Nicaragua's land is farmed by
people in cooperatives. Twelve to 13
percent of the land is held by the govern-
ment itself, which is a smaller percent
than the U.S. government owns of U.S.
land. The rest is owned and farmed by
the small campesinos (farmers), mostly
in the mountains.4 True, Nicaragua
under the Sandinistas began socialized
medical care, but Canada has socialized
medicine. They nationalized the banks,
but so has North Dakota. Nicaragua's
banks were nationalized to control credit.
They provided credit for small- and
medium-sized farmers who never before
had access to credit.
Finally, people say that Nicaragua was
controlled by the Soviet Union — a sure
sign of communism. From the beginning
of their accession to power the Sandinis-
tas have established certain guidelines
by which they hoped to operate. These
were political pluralism, mixed economy
and non-alignment. The policy of the
United States made this latter goal
almost impossible. To defend against the
Contras they felt forced to go somewhere
for arms, and this mostly ended up being
the Soviet Union. However, this was not
the only country which provided assis-
tance. I have seen Spaniards, Canadi-
ans, East and West Germans, Italians
and Dutch workers in Nicaragua.
ROMAN
CATHOLIC
DELEGATION
(Feb. 17- March 1)
This map of Nicaragua shows
some of the extensive international
observation of the crucial
Feb. 25 election. The
observer delegations
sketched in here were
under the auspices of Witness for Peace
OPINION
LEADER
DELEGATION
(Feb. 22 - March 1)
INTERFAITH
DELEGATION
02
(Feb. 18 - March 4)
Nicaraguan churches ask for aid,
dialogue and prayer
The evangelical churches of Nicaragua have called their members, the govern-
ment, opposition forces within the country and the international community to
show "calm and a spirit of national reconciliation." The call came via a July 17
letter from CEPAD, the churches' relief and development organization.
"The letter demonstrates the prophetic witness the evangelical churches of
Nicaragua have consistently taken over the past 10 years," says Rich Sider,
secretary for Mennonite Central Committee programs in Latin America and the
Caribbean.
The churches are calling for increased assistance to help rebuild Nicaragua,
"especially from U.S. churches because of destruction caused by the eight-year
U.S. government attempt to overthrow the Sandinistas," says Sider.
The CEPAD letter notes the "commendable attitude of the [Chamorro] govern-
ment in convening a national dialogue to resolve the problems of Nicaragua
through a nationwide bringing-together of commitment and effort. We hope the
results will guarantee what the people have achieved through many years of
struggle, without discrimination and in favor of the poorest."
CEPAD also calls the Nicaragua government to "maintain a sensitive attitude"
toward the poor, the armed forces to "remain prudent," workers to "be construc-
tive for the good of the whole" and "Christian believers of all points of view to be
relevant and timely in the search for solutions that are pleasing to God."
The Sandinista government was voted out of power in Nicaragua last Febru-
ary. Since then Violeta Chamorro, who was inaugurated April 25, has had to
deal with right-wing elements intent on abolishing all Sandinista symbols,
programs and policies, and the Sandinista party, which has vowed to protect the
gains of the revolution by "ruling from below."
"The hardest work of overcoming political and economic problems has only
begun in Nicaragua," says Sider, but news from that country has faded from U.S.
media. "We must resist the temptation to forget Nicaragua now that the election
is over," he says.
In June MCC sent 900 metric tons of rice, beans, corn, oil and milk powder to
the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, where many people are now returning to their
homes from refugee camps in Honduras. Another food shipment is being planned
for this fall. CEPAD coordinates distribution of all MCC food shipments to
Nicaragua.
MCC will also continue supporting Mennonite church service, peace and
development projects in Nicaragua. Ten MCC workers serve in Nicaragua.
Sider urges North Americans to pray for the Nicaraguan people, encourage
their government to provide additional aid, and support MCC efforts that
respond to requests from Nicaraguan churches.
414 SEPTEMBER 25, 1990
Victims of war: A family holds a wake for its father, killed in a Contra ambush.
Recently the major financial assistance
has come from the Scandinavian coun-
tries, principally Sweden.
Was the Sandinista government
Until recently a familiar scene: A youth
stands guard to protect the family farm
against Contra attack.
repressive of its citizens? I did not find it
that way. I was free to travel anywhere.
I did need a permit to enter the war
zone. I was not allowed to leave towns
located in the war zone between 3 p.m.
and 8 or 9 a.m. because of Contra
activity, but even this was relaxed in
case of emergencies. I was once allowed
to leave Rio Blanco after 5 p.m., when I
had to transport a patient to Matiguas. I
have been stopped three times by police
to check my driver's license. My license
had been stolen on a bus in Managua,
and when I explained this I was never
issued a citation. There have been
documented reports of violence against
citizens sympathetic to the Contras,
which I cannot condone, but it was never
government policy. The Sandinistas did
make some bad moves on the East Coast
in the first year of their government but
have negotiated an autonomy treaty with
the region which could serve as a model
for Mikhail Gorbachev in his problems
with republics wanting to secede from
the Soviet Union.
What is the future of Nicaragua?
This is difficult to say. UNO, a coalition
of 14 parties formed by U.S. pressure for
the purpose of defeating the Sandinistas,
ranges from the communist party to the
extreme right, which would like to return
to a somocismo-type (Samoza-like) gov-
ernment. The National Assembly has 41
percent of its seats assigned to the
Sandinistas by virtue of their showing in
the election. The UNO alliance holds 51,
with no single party of the coalition
holding more than six.5 This makes it
necessary for Violeta Chamorro to have a
good working arrangement with the
Sandinista party.
A constitution is in place that was first
drafted in 1986 by the National Assem-
bly elected with that mandate in 1984. It
was then subjected to a year of extensive
debate, revised and finally ratified in
January 1987. It provides for national
elections. Violeta Chamorro's family was
divided in its loyalties during the
campaign. Her daughter Claudia,
although respectful of her mother, wrote
in Barricada International, Nov. 11,
1989, "The political interests gathered
together in the UNO do not correspond to
Nicaragua's best interests."
What is the mission or attitude of
the Christian in all of this? Jack
Nelson-Pallmeyer says that the Chris-
tian must guard against idolatry and
that the Scripture is a call to conversion.
We are tempted to allow the myths of a
nation to seduce us into idolatry of a
system. Certainly the Sandinistas did
not usher in the reign of God. Neither
does the United States stand as the
arbiter of righteousness on earth. The
Sandinistas were in danger of producing
a burgeoning bureaucracy and of mili-
tarization. Petty bureaucrats were
temptated to flaunt newly found power.
This happens in North America, too.
Even if the Sandinista government had
been the worst on earth, it did not justify
a U.S. policy based on killing women and
children. "Real criticism begins in the
capacity to grieve because that is the
most visceral announcement that things
are not right," writes theologian Walter
Brueggeman.6 And grieve we must.
Grieve for the suffering of the poor and
our complicity in power structures.
A degree of tension should exist in any
country between Christians and their
government. This tension holds govern-
ment accountable and speaks with a
prophetic voice to the seat of power. It is
a voice that claims the powers of truth
and righteousness.
Envio: Instituto Historico Centroamericano,
Vol. 9, #103
2Major General Smedley D. Butler,
"America's Armed Forces: Part 1, Military
Boondoggling," Common Sense, October
1935, pp. 6-7, 10
3Holly Sklar, Washington War on
Nicaragua (South End Press, 1988)
4 These figures come from David Dye, an
economic analyst and U.S. citizen living in
Nicaragua.
JEnvio: Instituto Historico Centroameri-
cano, Vol. 9 #104
6Walter Brueggeman, The Creative
Imagination (Fortress Press, 1978) pp. 20-21
Robert O. Epp, Route 1, Box 215, Henderson,
NE 68371, was a long-term volunteer with
Witness for Peace in Nicaragua in 1988. Here
he is with the ambulance he drove as part of
his assignment. The girl, he says, is the
daughter of Don Luis and a resident of
Paiwas.
THE MENNONITE 415
TOqETllER
A Bolivian 'mother' for MCC workers away from home
Andrea Schrock Wenger
This summer Mennonite Central Com-
mittee Bolivia workers and alumni
pooled resources to bring longtime
Bolivian workers Tito and Yolanda
Castro to North America.
For two weeks the couple and their two
sons, Marcos and Miguel, visited friends
across Canada and the United States,
attending an MCC Bolivia alumni
reunion and participating in Mennonite
World Conference in Winnipeg.
"I am thankful to God because I know
MCC," said Yolanda during an Aug. 9
interview in Akron, Pa., at MCC head-
quarters. "We've learned to know more
than 300 MCC workers and we love them
all because they have shared their lives
with us."
Yolanda is secretary in the MCC Santa
Cruz office. Tito is trained as an econo-
mist and serves as MCC accountant.
Yolanda, a Baptist from the Bolivian
highlands, first learned about MCC in
1971 from Ethel and Jerry Shank of
Ephrata, Pa. The Shanks were doing
social service work in Cochabamba,
Bolivia. They encouraged Yolanda to
apply to MCC's International Visitor
Exchange Program.
"I had a beautiful time in IVEP," says
Yolanda, who spent a year in Elkhart,
Ind., working in a day-care center and
with a Spanish-language social service
organization.
As a result of the year in the United
States, Yolanda believes she is able to
play an important and helpful role as a
"mother" to new MCC workers in Bolivia.
"When they arrive they are like babies,"
she says warmly. "Because I understand
the American way and know the differ-
ences between our cultures, I am open to
sharing the Bolivian way and am ready
to answer any questions."
One of Yolanda's many responsibilities
is organizing three-month orientation
stays in Christian Bolivian homes for
new MCC workers. She takes seriously
the task of finding an environment
where the MCC workers can study
Spanish and learn local customs. "I find
homes where people don't know English
so the MCC workers aren't tempted to
cheat and speak English," she says.
The Castro family lives in a poor
barrio (community) about six miles from
the MCC center in Santa Cruz. Many
barrio residents were drinking contami-
nated water when the Castros first
moved there in the early 1980s, Yolanda
says. "Frogs would fall into their
uncovered wells and then they would
have to drink that water."
The Castros invited MCC workers to
come and teach barrio residents how to
drill, cover and maintain clean wells.
Six years ago the Castros and others
from their Evangelical church helped
start a breakfast-feeding program. The
program served some of the 600 barrio
children, many of whom suffer serious
malnutrition. MCC workers have helped
serve the meals, and MCC has donated
milk powder.
The Castors' church also started a
children's library several years ago
because most barrio schools have few
books or other learning materials. The
volunteers collected donated books, maps
and puzzles from people in surrounding
communities. "Now many children come
to the center when their parents are at
work and have a wonderful time of
learning," says Yolanda.
MCC has supported the library by
providing North American workers
through its Serving and Learning
Together program. Tito and Yolanda
hosted SALT participants in their home
several years. "Even though it is a lot of
work I loved having the SALT volun-
teers," says Yolanda. "I wanted to give
them the kind of experience I had in
America, and," she smiles, "I taught
them a beautiful Spanish."
"Come to Bolivia, " urges Yolanda at
the end of the interview, "and I will
welcome you like this," she says, opening
her arms.
Andrea Schrock Wenger works in
information services for Mennonite
Central Committee in Akron, Pa.
With open arms: Yolanda Castro with husband, Tito, and sons Miguel (left) and Marcos
416 SEPTEMBER 25, 1990
Sabina Bader, a survivor
Anabaptist
saints
with
feet
of clay
Fifth
in a
series
of six
The heroic early period of the Anabap-
tist movement sheltered all kinds of
people. There were the trained leaders,
like Hans Denck and Balthasar Hub-
maier, and the self-taught but intellectu-
ally less-disciplined leaders, like Hans
Hut and Melchior Hoffman. A host of
others of whom we have record included
fervent disciples of Jesus, ready to suffer
all. Others, who were socially dissatisfied
or simply adventurous, saw in the move-
ment some possibility for themselves.
Often we cannot clearly see what moti-
vated people to enter such a dangerous
life.
Sabina Bader was one such person
with clay feet, although she always
managed to conceal them. We meet her
first in Augsburg in 1526, wife of a
weaver of some distinction. They owned
a house and other property. Both were
well-educated by the standards of the
time, especially Sabina. She was
physically attractive, alert, vigorous,
decisive and of above-average intelli-
gence. She was an accomplished
seamstress.
She was baptized in 1526 along with
her husband, Augustin. About a year
later authorities arrested her because of
her faith, but she refused to recant and
went into exile, taking her youngest child
(eight weeks old) with her. Before long
she petitioned to return to Augsburg.
The authorities gave her permission, but
only if she promised to abandon her
faith. She agreed but just as quickly dis-
regarded her promise. Even when her
husband fled from Augsburg she stayed
and looked after the children despite the
danger. Her husband continued in
leadership roles, driven from place to
place by the persecution.
But he had been stimulated by the
ideas of Hans Hut that the world would
soon end. He gradually developed a
timetable of events that included an im-
portant role for himself and his wife. In
1528 Augustin and Sabina quietly settled
in a small place near Ulm, having
separated themselves from all Anabap-
tists because they would not accept
Bader as a prophet. There Bader
revealed to a small group of associates
that his newly born son was to be a new
messiah and that until the messiah could
take over he, Augustin, would be leader
in a new divine kingdom that God would
set up within months. The Baders had a
royal ring, goblet, crown and scepter
fashioned of gold made for the new
monarchy. Sabina created some royal
robes and assisted her husband in clever
sleight-of-hand visions to convince their
followers. Meanwhile she had also been
back to Augsburg to negotiate the
successful sale of their Augsburg
property.
The whole group was betrayed and
arrested soon after. Sabina managed to
escape with the gold and the money.
Then she had the boldness to petition the
authorities that the children should be
returned to her care, since only their
mother could look after them properly.
She also asked for the return of her cow
and some clothes. Her husband and
his associates were put on trial and
executed.
Sabina's trail gets lost until 1530,
when we find her in Strassburg in the
home of the Reformer Wolfgang Capito.
He came under the spell of the attractive
woman as she told him that she had been
forced into the error of Anabaptism by
strong leaders. He and the Reformer
Martin Bucer then provided her with a
letter to the Augsburg Council in which
they petitioned the council to allow her to
settle there. The council agreed, again in
return for a recantation of Anabaptism,
to which Sabina consented but which she
just as quickly again ignored.
When Capito's wife died, he was all set
to marry Sabina, but Bucer dissuaded
him because, he said, it would not be
proper for a Reformer to be associated in
any way with a discredited "prophet."
Sabina lived in modest circumstances
in Augsburg until at least 1547 and
seems to have gotten her children back
after years of trying. She was a survivor.
Walter Klaassen's
address is Site 12A, C.
23, Route 7, Vernon,
BC V1T 7Z3.
THE MENNONITE 417
Helga Klaassen-Horsch, a Mennonite from Germany,
came to Nicaragua in 1984 as a member of a construction
brigade that built a children's park in Masaya. With assis-
tance from the International Mennonite Organization she
returned late that year and worked one year with the
Sandinista Children's Association. In October 1988 she
returned with her husband, Traugott to work with CEPAD,
the Council of Evangelical Churches of Nicaragua. She
suffered a broken back in a traffic accident in May 1989.
Now 31 , Klaassen-Horsch says she is impressed by
CEPAD's commitment "to work with the poorest children" in
the nation. "As a teacher, I want to work with children who
aren't privileged. That's why I'm here and not back in
Germany." (The CEPAD Report)
Christian Peacemaker Teams is calling on Mennon-
ite, Brethren in Christ and Brethren churches to make
Oct. 21 an "oil-free Sunday." The CPT office released
a statement Aug. 31 that urges church people, in
response to the crisis in the Middle East, to not use
gas- or oil-fueled vehicles as a means of transporta-
tion that day. "We want to deepen our spiritual
commitment to work to restrain warmaking now in the
Persian Gulf and to ready ourselves for long-term
witness against war preparations," the statement
reads. The oil-free event is meant "to condemn the
invasion of small nations by more powerful nations."
Congregations that want background information on
the Middle East, Bible study and worship materials
and suggestions for action may contact Christian
Peacemaker Teams, 1821 W. Cullerton, Chicago, IL
60608, (312) 421-5513, FAX 312-421-5762.
NEWS
In anticipation of 1997
Hong Kong Mennonites face impending takeover
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)— Paul
and Connie Wong have made
their message clear: They will
stay in Hong Kong and
continue their work with the
Agape Mennonite Church,
undaunted by the 1997
takeover of the city by the
Chinese government. "Many
people are leaving Hong Kong,
including many Christians,"
Paul reported Aug. 15. "I feel I
need to stay, at least for now.
We will commit ourselves to
stay as long as the Lord wills.
The church will still be there
after 1997, and the sheep need
a pastor. The field is huge."
The Wongs were on a U.S.
tour of churches following
participation in Mennonite
World Conference in July in
Winnipeg. A leadership team
at Agape (formerly Lok Fu)
Mennonite Church, the Wongs
had been visiting Chinese
churches from Philadelphia to
San Francisco.
The Tiananmen Square
incident in June last year was a
divisive event for Hong Kong
churches. Fearful of the highly
restrictive Chinese government,
many Hong Kong citizens have
chosen to flee. The Wongs
have chosen to stay but don't
force their viewpoint on others
in the congregation. "It is a
personal decision, " said Paul.
"I encourage them to seek the
will of the Lord. They should
Paul and Connie Wong, left, with John Sommer, secretary for Asia
for the Commission on Overseas Mission
go according to the guidance of
the Lord." Connie noted that in
other churches members
simply inform the pastor that
they are leaving and don't allow
any room for discussion. She
is glad their members are
willing to discuss the issues.
In addition to wanting to
continue the work of the
church, Paul cited two other
reasons why they want to stay
in Hong Kong. "I don't want to
be a 'second-class citizen' in
another country. And I don't
want to see my sons and
daughters grow up far away
from the Chinese culture. I
want them to live as Chinese,"
he said.
Despite this challenging
issue for the Hong Kong
congregations, the churches
are healthy and progressing.
The Agape Church started in
1976 with a group of 10
students. Paul, now the pastor,
was one of those students. A
second congregation (Grace)
was added in 1 986 and a third
(Hope) in 1988.
Last year the Agape Church
was forced to move because
the government tore down their
building for a rebuilding project.
The government issued them a
new flat, which serves as a
study room during the week
and a church on Sundays.
Agape opened the new church
with a Christmas Eve celebra-
tion that featured a barbecue
and games. In February they
opened the reading room for
students. This fall English-
language tutoring will be
available.
Both women and men are
welcome to take leadership
roles in the Hong Kong
churches. Connie serves as an
elder and youth leader at
Agape, and she said there are
also female elders in the Grace
Church. "There is no discrimi-
nation," Paul said. "Our elders
know their responsibilities and
are qualified."
A recent boost to the
churches is official recognition
by the Hong Kong government.
The process of registering an
organization takes 18 to 20
months and requires many
legal documents. After a year-
and-a-half of waiting, the
Wongs expected the govern-
ment papers to be waiting for
them when they returned
home.
"We [the Conference of
Mennonite Churches in Hong
Kong] are now an official legal
organization," Paul said. "For
the past 15 years, most
decisions have been made by
missionaries and local leaders
together. We decided there
needs to be more local control.
After 1997 there may be some
restrictions, and we have to
prepare for that."
The Wongs described Hong
418 SEPTEMBER 25,1990
About 1 ,000 people demonstrate last
spring in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, to
protest the firing of 200 workers at a
brick-making factory. This demon-
strator's sign reads, "The people
need work." High unemployment and
underemployment has caused many
people in Bolivia to turn to the drug
trade to support their families,
workers say.
As part of the U.S. "war on drugs" the
Bush administration is pushing for an
increase from $8 million to $39.7 million in
U.S. military aid to Bolivia. But Mennonite
Central Committee workers in Bolivia say
that Bolivians want economic, not military
aid. The projected increase in U.S. military
spending would be better used to provide
alternatives to campesino (peasant)
farmers who resort to coca farming out of
economic need.
NEWS
Kong society as fairly ame-
nable to Christianity. "Most
Hong Kong people do not think
of Christianity as foreign. They
want to know missionaries and
make friends with them. They
are open to different influ-
ences," said Paul. Connie
added that the popular religion
is a mixed religion: Not purely
Buddhism or Taoism, it
incorporates thoughts from
Confucianism and ancestor
worship.
"Hong Kong is an interna-
tional city, and people accept
foreign things easily," said
Connie. Because of the
Western influence on the city,
Paul said that there is an
attitude among mainland
Chinese that Hong Kong
citizens are not truly Chinese.
"My identity is quite compli-
cated," Paul laughed. "I am
Chinese, I am Hong Kong, I am
Christian. I admire the Chinese
culture very much, and I enjoy
the Hong Kong lifestyle. And
being a Mennonite Christian is
interesting, too."
Paul stressed the need for
more Christian workers in Hong
Kong. "I will be happy to see
new missionaries come to work
with us," he said. "I am a
witness to the work the
missionaries have done in
Hong Kong."
A favorite song expresses
Paul and Connie's steadfast
hope and faith in God as they
face a future that is uncertain.
It begins, "I know who holds my
future, I know who holds my
hand... I trust the God of
miracles." Beth Hege, news
service editor, General
Conference Mennonite Church
MCC sends
$10,000
to Jordan
for refugees
from Iraq
Akron, Pa. (MCC) — Amman,
Jordan, is flooded with refu-
gees fleeing Kuwait and Iraq,
said Mennonite Central
Committee worker Jerry Martin
in a phone call to MCC
headquarters here Aug. 23.
MCC initially allocated
$10,000 (U.S.) to purchase
tents, mattresses, blankets and
food for refugees in Amman,
Jordan's capital.
In another phone call Aug.
29, Martin said he anticipates
the $10,000 will be used up
within a week. He noted that
most Jordanians are predicting
the refugee situation will
continue and get worse,
particularly if the current
political standoff continues for
several months, as expected.
Ed Martin, MCC secretary for
the Middle East program, says
MCC will continue to allocate
funds as needed.
Most of the refugees in
Jordan are Egyptian. But y
refugees of other nationalities
have come to Jordan from Iraq
as well, said Martin. Five
Filipino refugees stayed with
Martin and his wife, Jeanette
Hertzler Martin, in their Amman
apartment for several days.
The five had previously been
sleeping in the courtyard of the
Filipino embassy in Amman.
The United Nations develop-
ment program says that
100,000 to 120,000 refugees
are moving through Jordan
from Iraq every day.
Many Egyptian refugees are
stranded in Aqaba, a seaport in
southern Jordan. Earlier plans
for MCC workers to travel to
Aqaba to explore possible MCC
responses were canceled, said
Martin. The European Commu-
nity, United Nations and Red
Cross are meeting needs of
refugees in Aqaba and at
border crossing areas, he said.
Martin is working with
Anglican Church and Middle
East Council of Churches
representatives in Amman to
coordinate a response to the
refugee situation. He also has
consulted with other non-
governmental organizations in
the country. Martin has also
consulted with the Jordanian
Ministry of Social Development,
through which other MCC work
in Jordan is coordinated.
Martin said he is concerned
about long-range effects of the
crisis on Jordan. He questions
how long food supplies in
Jordan will hold out.
Denise and Larry Epp,
members of Nutana Park
Mennonite Church, Saskatoon,
also work in Jordan with MCC.
The Epps, who have just
arrived in the country, will teach
in an Anglican girls' school and
an Anglican boys' school in
Amman. MCC work in Jordan
has focused on aiding local
agriculture cooperatives and
farmers' groups, plus providing
aid for people with disabilities in
Palestinian refugee camps in
Jordan. Ardell Stauffer
Which coffee huller is better?
Akron, Pa. — Tom Olfert, who recently completed a Mennonite
Central Committee term in Guatemala, demonstrates a coffee huller.
The steel, factory-made huller on the left was imported for a cost of
$277. The wooden huller on the right was built by Guatemalan
farmers from locally available materials for $55. MCC workers
helped develop plans for the locally made huller. "The new huller
means that campesino farmers can prepare their own coffee for
market, avoiding the costs of paying someone else to hull," says
Olfert of Hays, Alta. "This means they can sell their coffee at a
much higher price, or they can store it until prices increase."
1990 is the 200th anniversary of the first
modern prison, Walnut Street Jail in Phila-
delphia. Because of the often brutal bodily
punishment by the existing criminal justice
system at that time, American Quakers
started the prison with the hope that it
would help offenders by reaching their soul
through repentance and conversion.
Since 1986, women from the Villa Vene-
zuela Mennonite Church in Managua, Nica-
ragua, have run a social service project.
The project started when the women
reached out to the husband and three
children of Martas Orozco, who died in an
accident. As the group worked to address
other needs in their community the project
grew. The women raise funds for their
work by running a sewing cooperative,
using cloth provided by Mennonite Central
Committee. They sell the clothes they
make to church and community members
at affordable prices. They use profits to
buy rice, beans, sugar, oil and soap, which
they distribute to some 25 children.
"Affirming God's Agenda in the Home,
Church and World" is the theme for
Chicago '90, the 25th annual National
Christian Education Conference, sponsored
by Urban Outreach. Scheduled for Oct. 25-
27 in Chicago, the conference will address
issues such as the future of the African-
American church, spiritual leadership, the
African presence in the Bible and evangel-
ism. For more information contact Urban
Outreach, 1439 W. 103rd St., Chicago, IL
60643, (312) 233-4499.
NEWS
Brazilian
farmers
tangle with
deforestation
laws
Recife, Brazil (MCC)— Poor
Brazilians are suffering
because of laws forbidding
deforestation in that country,
reports Mennonite Central
Committee worker Kari
Scheirer, a public health nurse
serving in northeast Brazil.
Landless people of Pitanga II
are unable to plant crops
because of the laws.
Pitanga II, a 2,904-acre
forest, is home to 150 poor
families. The people of Pitanga
II occupied the forest Aug. 23,
1987, in the hope of obtaining a
small plot of land on which to
farm. But to plant crops,
Pitanga residents must cut
down the forest.
On July 24, Carlos Wilson,
governor of the state of
Pernambuco, declared that
deforestation in Pitanga II must
stop, Scheirer reports. He
called on military police, federal
police and representatives of
the justice department to stop
tree cutting in the community
and set up check points at
community exits to stop trucks
hauling wood.
Since Pitanga ll's beginning,
confrontations have occurred
between Brazil's national land
reform agency and the national
environment agency, Scheirer
says.
Brazil's national land reform
H5T f . '■kit'' if J VNvHE*: iA
MCC worker Robert Hettler stands in an MCC-operated tree nursery.
MCC provided Pitanga community members with 20,000 to 25,000
low-cost tree starts in the last year. They planted papaya, passion
fruit, pitanga fruit, guava, acerola cherry, orange and lemon trees.
agency expropriated and
bought the land for Pitanga II
from Tecidos Paulistas, a
company owned by the
Lundgren family, which owns
about 30 percent of the land
along the coast of several
states in northeast Brazil. But
the environmental agency has
maintained that the forest must
be kept as a permanent
reserve even though only 1
percent of the trees are more
than 40 years old.
On an international level,
Brazil "follows reluctantly
behind on environmental
issues and concerns," says
Scheirer. "It is a country not
particularly dedicated but
pushed by international
pressure." MCC workers in
Brazil see the government
there as "trying to pacify the
international community by
focusing attention on small
subsistence farmers rather than
on the powerful 2 percent who
own 60 percent of the land."
MCC's approach is to
support and promote an
ecological focus yet maintain a
commitment to serving people
who have enough land,
especially the poor.
No water for a week: Recent
problems in Pitanga acceler-
ated after the city of Recife was
without water for a week. The
country's ecological agency
played up the idea that water
supply is affected by deforesta-
tion in Pitanga II. They have
proclaimed the area's soil unfit
for subsistence farming. "But, "
says Scheirer, "Pitanga's resi-
dents recently enjoyed their
first harvest of corn, beans and
manioc."
Politics also play into the
complex issue, Scheirer says.
In October, residents of the city
of Recife will vote for a new
governor and state legislators,
Scheirer says. "The ex-
superintendent of Brazil's
ecological agency is waving the
banner of 'ecology' to get
votes," she says. "If the people
of Pitanga II are thrown off their
land and the deforestation is
stopped, the people of Recife
may vote for the man who
has 'preserved' their 'water
supply.'
"Soon a federal judge will
decide if the people of Pitanga
II will be able to stay on their
land," Scheirer says. "I will
stand with them."
420 SEPTEMBER 25, 1990
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There is a story told of a man who is caught in his home in a flood. As the waters
rise higher and higher he climbs out onto the roof of his house and prays for
deliverance. A boat comes by and its occupant asks if he needs help. "No, thank
you; the Lord will provide," the man replies confidently. Another boat passes by
with an invitation to climb aboard. Again the man replies he will wait for the Lord
to save him. Even when the waters reach his neck, the man refuses an offer of
rescue from a helicopter, repeating that he is sure the Lord will help him. The
man drowns and when arriving in heaven he asks God in great consternation why
his prayer for rescue wasn't answered. "I don't know what happened," the Lord
replies. "I sent two boats and a helicopter."
This little story is meant as a joke but in reality it illustrates a spiritual truth
more than it amuses. Too often we pray for something and are too blind to
recognize when the answer comes in an unexpected form. Conditioned to think of
answered prayer as something divine, miraculous or supernatural, we might be
reluctant to admit that God more often works through ordinary circumstances and
fallible human beings to accomplish his purposes.
Some religious sects believe that to seek medical treatment for any disease or
illness is wrong. They put their faith in God to the point where they will allow
members, even their own children, to die rather than to be treated medically. Most
of the rest of us, however, believe that physicians and medications are God's tools
to be used for our good. This is an obvious example. But can we see God work in
more ordinary happenings every day? Amy Dueckman
COVER
Living our peace, we fit the pieces into life's puzzle.
CONTENTS
Close the Bypass 3
Prayer for Peaceliving 5
Living our Peace 6
Widening the Circle Through Prayer
Review— Program 1 and 2 8
A Cup of Sharing 9
Window On the World 10
Looking In, Looking Out 11
COE Prisms i2
Mothering the Mothers 13
Round Table I4
Contributors, Credits, Forecast 15
Window Shopping 16
Published by Women in Mission of the Gen-
eral Conference Mennonite Church, Box
347. Newton, KS 67114.
Editor: Lois Deckert
Coordinator: Susan Jantzen
Office Secretary: Doris Schmidt
W-2 THE MENNONITE
Close the
Joyce Wyse
On Tuesday I usually eat lunch with my
husband Don at a little Vietnamese pho
(noodle soup) shop. The soup is won-
derful and it makes us think we are in
Vietnam again. We are often the only
people speaking English in the restau-
rant.
The restaurant is located in an area of
San Francisco known as The Tender-
loin. This is perhaps the seediest, most
heavily populated area in the city. . . .
It is an area which has many old hotels
that are home to poor elderly, many of
whom are alcoholic. And now it has
become home to many Southeast
Asians. It is an area where a lot of drug
dealing goes on, and at noon on our
way to lunch we often pass a corner
frequented by prostitutes. I'm not at all
comfortable with this situation (I think,
"How young they look; they could be
my daughters!"), so like the priest and
the Levite in Jesus' story of the good
Samaritan, I simply pass by on the
other side of the street.
Passing by when the situation is un-
comfortable is a pretty common way of
reacting, particularly if we think the
situation calls for a moral judgment on
our part.
Not long ago a young couple in a
Mennonite congregation went through
the trauma of a divorce. While the hus-
band left the congregation the wife
continued to be part of the church and
became the focus of care and compas-
sion from the people in the congrega-
tion.
One Sunday morning she brought
with her the man with whom she was
developing a relationship. Suddenly
Bypass
the warmth she had experienced was
turned off like a thermostat. People
hurried past her without speaking or
even looking at either of them. What
made the difference? I believe it was
because people subconsciously linked
care with moral approval. People who
felt strongly that remarriage was not
okay for Christians, felt uncomfortable
with this new situation and feared, per-
haps unconsciously, that their friendli-
ness would communicate approval.
They certainly didn't want to do that.
So they avoided a difficult situation by
simply passing by on the other side.
What their behavior did communicate
was a message they did not intend at
all.
I wonder ... If Jesus had linked car-
ing for people with approval of their
behaviors, how much shorter the Gos-
pels might have been. It was for the
very reason that he did not, that he
drew so much fire from the religious
purists. Jesus dared to sit down and eat
with people, an act which in that time
gave a strong message of acceptance,
of willingness to trust, to be in cove-
nant with people. To eat with someone
could certainly have been interpreted
by many as approval of moral behavior.
Yet Jesus didn't shrink from relating in
authentically caring ways. Jesus
refused to take the easy way out . . .
and simply pass by.
The city is full of opportunities to
pass by and it is also teeming with op-
portunities to care. Sometimes the lat-
ter seem overwhelming. In my own
neighborhood, not far from where I
live, are two young women. Both are in
SEPTEMBER 25, 1990 W-3
HUM
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I
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HI
their early thirties; both are attractive
and bright. Both women have held re-
sponsible jobs with good salaries in the
past. But now they are unable to work.
Both women have AIDS.
I say that they are my neighbors but
the fact that I know them is mere coin-
cidence. City life does not lend itself to
the free easygoing openness of small
town neighboring. Anonymity is the
rule of the city except in rare occa-
sions. I am connected to these women
through an AIDS support group with
which I am a volunteer. In this case I'm
assigned to be a practical support per-
son. That means doing things like gro-
cery shopping, cleaning, washing
dishes, doing the laundry or sometimes
just sitting down for a good talk.
I'm lucky. It's easy for me to get to
their houses since we live so close to
each other. (They live right across the
street from each other.) And they are
very easy to like. I feel blessed to have
Jane and Barb share their lives with
me.
The particulars of how they became
infected with the HTV virus, however,
are completely irrelevant to my caring
about them now. Perhaps it is easier
because they are not my daughters. But
it would be no less important if they
were. Compassion and approval of
moral behavior are not linked. Caring
and control do not go together.
That doesn't happen easily nor with-
out intentionality. For me, caring
means I have to make a conscious deci-
sion to let go of my own agenda and let
my clients say what they need: i.e. I'd
like to give the refrigerator a sound
scrubbing. In fact, I'd like to give the
whole kitchen an old-fashioned-
Mennonite housecleaning. But this is
Jane's house, not mine. And that is not
what she wants or needs from me. I
have to let her decide what she needs. I
don't decide that. I can decide what
I'm willing or not willing to do but she
has the say about what she wants done.
I don't.
Jane tells me that her mother came to
see her just once since she became ill.
Obviously uncomfortable with the fact
that her daughter has AIDS, she
avoided all talk on the subject and bus-
ied herself making changes in her
daughter's house, fixing this and buy-
ing that to make it look more like she
herself would want it to look. What
Jane really wanted was to sit down and
talk about what it means to have AIDS,
to cry together and feel her mother's
care for her. Instead she felt passed by.
Caring, unlike passing by, does mean
that we have to be willing to bear the
pain of another person. I don't have
AIDS. Yet I feel the pain of the disease
when I push Jane's vacuum cleaner and
know how much she would like to have
the energy to do it herself rather than
lying weakly in her bed. I experience
the pain when she talks about her little
girl and knows that she will not be able
to see her grow up. I experience the
pain of helplessly sitting with her and
not being able to make it all right. I can
only choose not to pass by but to be
with her and trust that in the end, God
whose love is infinitely more than we
can conceive, will make it all right.
W-4 THE MENNONITE
vmwrfvr
Joyce Wyse
Loving One,
You who have created the universe, - ^
who have welcomed human beings
into your gracious presence*
Today I need the power of your creative love.
Break through the crust of my stereotypes,
the barriers of my interpretations of truth,
the cocoon of my own self-centeredness.
I want to be able to see you at work
even in the midst of pain and unfairness,
even in the most destructive, places,
in the most unlikely people. \
Let me pass over from the side of
haughty setf-righteous preoccupation,
Let me see people as you see them;*. \
Let me experience anew how unconditional
is your love for all the world; *,
Let me this day 'experience forgiveness, ,'
healing, wholeness.''
* # t
Grant me the courage to move away from
the safety of my tiny circles— •
to take the risks of caring and listening,
to follow and trust the model of the One
who is hopelessly in love with humankind.
Amen \
SEPTEMBER 25, 1990 W-5
Hii
Living Our Peace
Bek Linsenmeyer
On a fall afternoon I broke up a fight in
front of our house, involving several
elementary school boys. In sorting
through this fight with them, one child
used particularly objectionable lan-
guage about another boy. In asking how
that must make the other boy feel, I
learned the same kind of language was
used in the home of the boy with whom
I was talking.
Recently our 10-year-old, Eliot,
came in quite upset that a teenage
friend and neighbor had been (literally)
pushed out of the house in an argument
with her mother. This is the world we
live in, a reality I cannot deny. I must
acknowledge that for many there is pre-
cious little peace and try in that context
to understand how to live together—
peacefully— at home and how we can
work at bringing some peace to our
world.
Although there is much I am not sure
of, I know that this peace living will
only happen intentionally. What can we
give to our children so that they can
live peacefully? My strongest sense is
that they need love and affirmation.
Anna (eight) and I talked about God
creating her and knowing her even be-
fore she was born. I shared with her
how important Psalm 139 has been to
me. I asked if she remembered John
3:16, and after demonstrating her
"yes," she noted that God even loves
the boy who causes so much trouble in
her class.
In our desire for them to be con-
cerned about others, it seems impor-
tant to help them learn about what goes
on in our world and how others are
working at peace. Therefore, I bless
the people that produce resource
guides and book lists that introduce me
to the many good materials available
for children.
The dining room table is where we
frequently talk about our concerns. On
our dining room wall are prayers and
songs and other things we want to
memorize or reflect on. Recently we
have been considering the "I" page of
We Can Do It! A peace book for kids of
all ages, which begins with "I is for
the things / can do to find peaceful so-
lutions to my own problems."
I wish every church would prioritize
peace publications for children. I
would rejoice if Sunday schools in-
cluded a time when books and tapes
would be made available.
The reality of what children are ex-
posed to in the neighborhood, at
school, on the TV news, calls for an
active commitment on our part to show
them a better way. In addition to what
we talk about and do at home, we go
with them, or have them accompany
us, to activities in which they can begin
to feel they are participants in the pro-
cess of peacemaking.
For our family part of that process
was a summer of Voluntary Service,
working along with African Americans
in rural Mississippi. We realized how
that experience had an impact on our
worldview when, at a school confer-
ence, a teacher noted Eliot's unusual
sensitivity to the issues the African
American community faces.
Working at peace living has some-
times caused confusion. Because of
our efforts to reach out in peace and
friendship to children in the Soviet
Union and the wonderful response
from people there, our children do not
W-6 THE MENNONITE
view these people as enemies. When
they hear enemy language, it some-
times elicits an angry response and
there are always questions.
As we try to actualize our beliefs, we
go through many changes. The way we
value others changes; our use of re-
sources changes; our work changes. As
that happens, some Christian friends
have acknowledged this to be threaten-
ing, for they then question whether the
same process must happen with them.
We as a family need support. My
mother-in-law prays for all her grand-
children. She holds that as the work
God has now given her. I wonder how
many families would be enriched if
they asked for the special prayer sup-
port of the grandmas and grandpas?
When we are with them and they pray
for all of us, I am touched and blessed
by their caring. I am encouraged to
know that others pray for us as we try
to understand and live out our call.
Finally, I am encouraged that there is
forgiveness. I am only learning peace
living, I do not already know it. It is a
gift to know that despite all our mis-
takes, with forgiveness, we can begin
again.
A resource
Morrison, Dorothy, and Roma Dehr,
and Ronald M. Bazar, We Can Do It! A
peace book for kids of all ages. Namchi
United Enterprises, Vancouver, B.C.,
1986.
Peace Resource Books:
Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
The simple words to this familiar
song speak of the two elements of
effective peacemaking— conviction
and action. We as Christian educators
and parents often find ways to help
children develop a conviction to
peace. But do we also provide oppor-
tunities for them to translate that
conviction into action, specific con-
crete action that can make peace a
daily reality in their lives? This is the
challenge!
Friendly Classroom for a Small
Planet by Priscilla Prutzman,
M. Leonard Burger, Gretchen
Bodenhamer, and Lee Stern. Phila-
delphia: New Society Publishers,
1988 (Revised Edition). $12.95.
Peace by Carole MacKenthun and
Paulinus Dwyer. Carthage, IL:
Shining Star Publications, 1986.
$4.95.
Young Peacemakers Project Book by
Kathleen Fry-Miller and Judith
Myers- Walls. Elgin, IL: Brethren
Press, 1988. $9.95.
Peace Works: Young Peacemakers
Project Book II by Kathleen Fry-
Miller, Judith Myers-Walls, and
Janet domer-shank. Elgin, IL:
Brethren Press, 1989. $9.95.
These books can be purchased
through: Faith and Life Bookstore,
724 Main Street, Box 347, Newton,
KS 67114-0347. Phone: 316/283-
2210. Postage for mailing will be
included.
(Words to the song "Let There Be
Peace on Earth" are by Sy Miller
and Jill Jackson, Copyright 1955 by
Jan-Lee Music.)
—Lisa Loganbill
Faith and Life Bookstore
Newton, Kansas (316) 283-2210
(Reprinted by permission from RESOURCE,
September/October/November 1990 Quarter.)
SEPTEMBER 25, 1990 W-7
Widening the
Circle Through Prayei
Review— Program 1 and 2
■ayer is
hich we
Widening the
our theme for
look at prayerxbf six biblipal women.
In our first-two programs/ve study two
5rent Old Testamejrt women, Mi-
riam and Deborah.
How do you/envision a group of
womejLpfaymg? Probably sitting qui-
etlywith heads bowed and certainly not
dancing and swaying joyfully, chanting
and shaking tambourines. In Miriam:
With Timbrels in Our Hands, writer
April Yamasaki explains that this latter
scene is descriptive of the way Israeli
women prayed, led by Miriam.
The program is divided into several
sections. First, participants are to
study Exodus 15 where Miriam's
prayer appears. Moses' prayer also ap-
pears here and similarities and differ-
ences between the two are noted.
Individuals are then asked to share
how God has worked in their lives and
how they responded celebratively.
Other topics for discussion include
how we pray, how we praise and how
we react and respond to God.
The worship time which follows has
the group praying together respon-
sively and singing together respon-
sively, in the style of Miriam's prayer.
As participants leave, they take with
them a greater consciousness of prayer
in their lives.
Lesson Two is Deborah: Friends of
the Lord, taken from Judges 4 and 5.
Here Yamasaki focuses on the two-way
communication which ideally is
prayer: listening and response. An ap-
propriate model is to listen to God in
prayer, follow God's leading with faith-
ful action, speak to God in prayer and
praise.
Participants are to note that the two
Judges' accounts tell the same story,
one in prose and one in poetry. They
are to listen carefully for evidence of
Deborah's prayer life as an act of lis-
tening to God.
In Deborah's prayer, the poetic use
of repetition is apparent and adds inter-
est to the story. It is meant to be read
aloud.
Yamasaki also points out that this is a
formal, liturgical prayer, a type which
we may think is somehow less desir-
able than the spontaneous prayer. But
this type of prayer can also have its
place.
In conclusion, the group is asked to
compose a corporate prayer involving
relevant local, church and world con-
cerns. This will help confirm God's
presence and interaction in the events
of our everyday lives.
Amy Dueckman
W-8 THE MENNONITE
Lois Deckert
Something unexpected and unpleasant happened to me one day. A
harsh critic told me exactly what she thought of me. I felt like my
front teeth had been kicked in. Crying with pain and spitting
blood, I plotted revenge. A tooth for a tooth, tit for tat was all I
thought about day after day.
But God stepped into the middle of my conflict with Jesus'
words, "But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those
who persecute you" (Matt. 5:44 RSV). Those words entered my
mind and, like a Kansas wind, blew hard to disperse my anger. I
prayed for healing. I had to replace tit with love and tat with
kindness. I allowed forgiveness to blow away the evil of my
vengeance. I opened myself to the winds of love. God's spirit
entered the place of conflict, helping me clean up the destruction
and begin rebuilding relationships.
Peaceliving isn't easy living. It is easier to bash each other in
frustration and anger than it is to kneel together in prayer. But as
children of God we must choose prayer, forgiveness, healing, love
and kindness and by that choice reflect the image of God im-
printed on each of us.
SEPTEMBER 25, 1990 W-9
T
COM
Window on
Jeannie Zehr
"It was good to have you
here today for our pro-
gram," I cheerfully pro-
claimed as I shook her
extended hand. "How are
you?" I continued, thinking
she looked fit and perky
compared to some of her
nursing home companions.
"Pretty good," she responded gaz-
ing downward.
"You sure look good," I added.
"Ohh— I'm okay. Had one of my
eyes removed last week but I'm pretty
good. " Her face turned upward to meet
my surprised look.
Again I learned the lesson that things
are not always as I assume or think I
wisely perceive. I wondered how often
my perceptions don't receive the fur-
ther amplification needed for real un-
derstanding. I often miss the boat in
communication because I don't really
know the needs of the people, their
backgrounds, the understandings they
have about what I am trying to share?
Two weeks later I got the same mes-
sage as I sat down across from the 40-
year-old woman I tutor in reading
through my community's literacy pro-
gram. I had been on the road for three
weeks for the Commission on Overseas
Mission. Her head was in her reading
book as I entered our cubicle. Her big
smile and jolly greeting convinced me
that those had been a good three weeks
for her too.
"I'm excited about being back at my
reading session," she exclaimed.
"This is my favorite thing to do!"
"How have things been with you
while I was gone?" I asked.
"Good!" she replied. "I was in the
the World
hospital twice, one week
with a collapsed kidney and
another because I passed out
at work and they couldn't
find out why ... but I'm
doing fine now." Her voice
told me she didn't want sym-
pathy.
Missionaries overseas
need to be careful not to make assump-
tions about their newfound culture until
they have really sought to know and
understand the people with whom they
live and work. The effectiveness of
their work for the Lord is in direct rela-
tionship to their sensitivity to the peo-
ple, the culture, the context in which
they live and work.
We North Americans who want to
energize people for various kinds and
levels of mission involvement, also
need to check out the facts. We com-
plain because the young adults and
youth don't have the interest and enthu-
siasm for missions which our congre-
gations once exhibited.
We need to open our eyes to the new
day. The day is here when dollars are
needed more often than material aid.
We must see the realities of what mis-
sions are and what missionaries do
now. We have come to the day when
people are interested in supporting in-
dividuals and causes, thus feeling per-
sonally involved. Today people are
interested in holistic ministries and be-
ing a part of the solution to problems.
As we plan mission education, let us
see through the eyes of those we hope
to educate. Let's seek to know their
needs rather than basing our programs
and plans on perceptions without am-
plification of reality.
W-10 THE MENNONITE
c . I
Robert Hull
What anniversary does the year 1992
suggest to you? For native peoples,
1992 will be the 500th anniversary of
the year that Christopher Columbus
washed up on their shores. Did you
know that Old Oraibi, a Hopi village in
Arizona, was settled at least 150 years
before Columbus left Europe?
The staff of the Commission on
Home Ministries is finding many expe-
riences of the grace of God this year as
they walk with native peoples.
In February, Bob Hull, the Secretary
for Peace and Justice, helped lead a
Christian Peacemaker Teams confer-
ence in Ottawa supporting the Innu
people of Labrador. Their small tribe is
suffering from the loud and startling
roar of low-flying military aircraft that
trains over the traditional hunting and
fishing lands of the Innu. Bob is work-
ing through the Congregational Re-
sources and Native Ministries boards
of the Conference of Mennonites in
Canada on such Canadian projects.
At the March commission meetings,
Ted Risingsun, staff person for the
Mennonite Indian Leaders Council in
Montana, brought his passionate con-
cern for recognition ceremonies at the
1992 General Conference triennial ses-
sions (to be held in Sioux Falls, South
Dakota). In the winter of 1879, sol-
diers massacred his Northern Chey-
enne ancestors at Ft. Robinson,
Nebraska, when they set out unarmed
to return to Montana. The commission
and staff is working on appropriate ac-
knowledgements of the "conquest and
displacement of the native peoples of
the Americas and the destruction of
their cultures."
Hopiland was the scene in June for a
week-long cross-cultural work camp
for some 49 youth from Western Dis-
trict and the Markham, Illinois, con-
gregation. The youth taught in the
vacation Bible school, weeded gardens
and cornfields, painted church build-
ings, and experienced a good introduc-
tion to the Hopi culture and people of
faith. Elmer and Nadenia Myron, Hu-
bert Brown, and Les Tolbert were the
CHM staff among the adult leaders.
Youth reported significant spiritual ex-
periences to their home churches. One
youth's baptism at Hopi was written up
for the With youth magazine.
During Mennonite World Confer-
ence in Winnipeg in July, Bob Hull was
called to Montreal to explore setting up
a Christian Peacemakers Team pres-
ence between the armed Mohawks and
the Quebec police barricades circling
their territories. Mennonites from sev-
eral North American and international
communities are continuing work with
the Quebec Mennonite churches to
seek means of tension reduction, while
also being closely involved in media-
tion efforts.
The CHM staff anticipates sharing
stories of God's leading in the lives of
native peoples with whom we walk our
faith journey, and sharing our own ex-
periences of God's leading.
SEPTEMBER 25, 1990 W-11
COE
Prisms
Commission on Education
Norma Johnson
Newspaper headlines and TV news,
overwhelming at times, remind us of
the pain, suffering and injustice in our
cities and nations. Closer to home we
find lack of harmony in neighbor-
hoods, congregations and families.
"What can I do? Is it possible for one
person to make a difference?" we ask.
Songwriters and musicians Doug
and Jude Krehbiel asked those same
questions in their song "I'm only
one."
I'm Only One
What can I do? I'm only one
In an angry world of bombs and guns
One small voice praying for peace
Won't make all the hatred cease
I am no saint to show the way
I haven't the time or the right words to say
Fear's everywhere, so few care
It's a heavy cross and hard to bear
Innocent who have no rights
Death squads coming in the night
The only thing we seem to learn
is how to keep on burnin' and burnin'
Hungry child with empty plate
Cold and cruel hold her fate
And I'm connected to it all
Yes, I'm a builder of the wall
So many oppressed by so few
What can anybody do?
Everywhere I turn I see
Doomsday closing in on me
But God says, "Come, obey my voice
From life and death make life your choice
Do all you can, that's all you can do
I'll be there to see you through"
I'm only one, but I'm inspired
Within my heart there's a fire
To show God's love will never cease
I'm just one, one more voice for peace
©1990 Doug and Jude Krehbiel/RLT Music
This song is one of 11 which the
Krehbiels recorded on the tape Journey
with Justice. The lyrics for "I'm Only
One" are included in Paula Diller
Lehman's book Journey with Justice.
The book and the tape are designed
to be used by individuals as personal
devotional resources or by groups. The
13 units in the book each have three
sections: meditation, reflection and
action. Call, conversion, community
and celebration are the four major cate-
gories around which the Bible studies
are organized.
A leader's guide is included in the
book. Specific ideas are presented for
clarifying justice themes, meditation,
Bible study and active follow-up. Sug-
gestions are given for incorporating the
Journey with Justice music into the ses-
sions. The margins of this book are
rich with additional Old and New Tes-
tament texts, quotes from Richard Fos-
ter, Frederick Buechner and others,
litanies and prayers by Ruth C. Duck
and practical ideas from 50 Simple
Things You Can Do To Save the Earth.
The Commission on Education of-
fers the Journey with Justice book and
tape as one resource to challenge us on
our faith journeys.
W-12 THE MENNONITE
Mothering the Mothers
Valerie Klaassen
Motherhood is a challenging and com-
plex opportunity, one we can acquire
without a resume or a college degree or
any advanced training. Yet it is within
the role of motherhood that we make a
tremendous impact on vulnerable, de-
veloping human beings. It is impera-
tive, then, that we receive guidance
and support as we undertake this im-
portant role. It is also crucial that the
church support the role of motherhood
and nurture those who are mothers.
Together is a support group for moth-
ers who have preschool children (chil-
dren from birth to school age). It grew
out of my own need to share and listen
and laugh and cry with others who
were undertaking the significant role of
motherhood. It grew out of my need to
feel accepted and affirmed in my deci-
sion to stay home with my children. It
grew out of my need to have a play
group for my children.
Together is a community group that
meets bimonthly at the Grace Hill
Mennonite Church east of Newton,
Kansas. We strive to provide an atmo-
sphere of acceptance and love for
mothers and their young children. The
children meet for free play, singing and
stories or for rocking, pacifiers, bot-
tles, cheerios and naps in two staffed
nurseries.
With their children in competent,
caring hands, mothers take a needed
and refreshing break from mothering.
It's a time for the mothers to be moth-
ered, to be looked after, cared for and
refueled. We start the morning with
visiting and devotions. We acknowl-
edge God's presence and seek God's
leading in our role as mothers.
Our roll call at each meeting gives us
a glimpse into each other's lives.
We've shared such things as favorite
recipes and books, embarrassing mo-
ments and ideas for winter fun. Each
meeting also includes either input from
a speaker or a craft session. Speakers'
topics have included games and music
for children, stages of child develop-
ment, enriching your marriage, build-
ing self-esteem, safety and health
issues and human interest topics. Dur-
ing our craft sessions we have made
fabric boxes and baskets, necklaces
and Christmas ornaments.
Mothers have frequently expressed
appreciation for the group. One mother
commented, "The speakers give me
ideas and enthusiasm. After hearing
Blanche Spaulding, former librarian at
the Western District Loan Library in
North Newton, Kansas, I ran to the
library and checked out a book to read
to my children!"
Another told me, "My children ask
every week if this is the week for To-
gether. As we drive along they make a
game of who can see the church first! "
When asked why she comes to To-
gether a friend said, "It's so important
to know I'm not alone, that others
value the contribution I'm making to
my young family."
Together depends on volunteers to
keep the program running smoothly.
We have struggled with and been fortu-
nate in finding enough caring people to
help with the children. Speakers have
been supportive and enthusiastic about
the group. The church too has sup-
ported the program through the use of
the facility and through monetary con-
tributions.
Together is our way to nurture those
who nurture the children God has en-
trusted to them.
SEPTEMBER 25, 1990 W-13
Susan Jantzen
I have held a child's hand. I have sung.
I have played a Bach Fugue in its full-
ness and its resolve. I have been so hot
that I've quit all work and waited for
evening. I have felt a boat rise beneath
me as die breeze filled the sails. Leav-
ing my child on the sidewalk, I have
walked toward my husband, the last
masters class finished, and embraced
him with tears in my eyes and no words
to speak. I have massaged the feet of an
African woman. I have heard the shots
that killed our neighbors. I have trem-
bled in terror at low-low-flying jets. I
have lost my friend. I have asked for-
giveness and been forgiven. I have
cried out to God, I have whispered to
God. I have waited. We have talked and
I have listened.
These moments stack up like sea-
sons, evidence of life greater than my-
self, of knowing I exist in a context.
My faith, my readiness to believe in
God or to trust more fully, is strength-
ened. The five senses convince me that
my God knows me as a human being
and understands how I experience the
world. When these life moments hap-
pen, the time feels full and I sense
God's presence. The familiar voice re-
sounds in my heart, soul and mind that
I abide in the Creator, a woman made
in God's image, a Child of God.
This sense and ownership of my own
belief is what guides my life, my deci-
sions and reactions. Because I am sure
God is there, I can assume that when I
whisper or cry out, or wait and listen, a
relationship is in place. More than an
if-you-bless-me, I'll-be-loyal dialogue,
the experiences of God's presence be-
come a blend of God living in me and I
abiding in God. It is when my belief
structure is at a weak point, when it is
difficult to recount moments of God's
presence that I avoid talking to God as
I'm not sure there is a reliable God
listening.
What events have shaped your belief
in God or have convinced you of God's
presence? How did they happen to you
and how did you respond?
What if we asked the same of our
organization, Women in Mission?
When have we sensed God speaking to
us? What is God saying to us now?
We stand together as sisters in Christ
as we journey in faith, toward greater
faith. God waits for us. Let us look at
what God has done. Let us keep imag-
ining what we will do in our women's
groups, and with Women in Mission,
with God in Jesus Christ as our trusted
Guide and Friend.
Susan Jantzen,
the new coordina-
tor for Women in
Mission, and her
husband Jim live
in Newton, Kan-
sas, with sons
Peter and Robert.
They served with
MCC in Chad,
Africa, for three
years.
W-14 THE MENNONITE
contributors
David Ediger (cover) spent his early life in Colombia,
the son of missionaries. David works at Mennonite
Press in Newton, Kansas. He and his wife Shannon live
in Newton.
Amy Dueckman (The Open Window, Review-
Program 1 and 2) lives in Abbotsford, British Colum-
bia, with husband Wayne and their two sons. She is a
member of the WM Literature Committee.
Joyce Wyse (Close the Bypass, Prayer for Peaceliving)
is co-pastor with husband Don at First Mennonite
Church, San Francisco, California. They have three
grown children. Joyce enjoys the mountains, the sea-
shore, needlepoint and cooking.
Bek Linsenmeyer (Living our Peace) is a full-time
student in peace studies at AMBS. Her husband Dean is
also studying at the seminary. Bek, Dean and their chil-
dren attend Prairie Street Mennonite church in Elkhart,
Indiana. Bek receives a Peace Studies Scholarship from
WM and CHM.
Lois Deckert (A Cup of Sharing) edits Window to Mis-
sion from the WM office at 722 Main, Box 347, New-
ton, Kansas.
Jeannie Zehr (Window on the World) is Secretary of
Mission Communication for the Commission on Over-
seas Mission. She and her husband, Marvin, have been
involved in planting Hope Mennonite Church in Wich-
ita, Kansas.
Robert Hull (Looking In, Looking Out) serves as Sec-
retary for Peace and Justice for the Commission on
Home Ministries. Bob and his wife Carole and their
sons attend Faith Mennonite Church in Newton, Kan-
sas.
Norma Johnson (COE Prisms) is Executive Secretary
of the Commission on Education. She is a member of
the Bethel College Mennonite Church.
Valerie Klaassen (Mothering the Mothers) lives in rural
Newton, Kansas, with her husband John and their four
children. Besides being a busy mother and writer, Vale-
rie works part-time as a nurse at Newton Medical Cen-
ter.
Susan Jantzen (Round Table) is the new Coordinator
for Women in Mission. She, her husband Jim, sons
Peter and Robert live in Newton, Kansas, and attend
New Creation Fellowship.
credits
Art: Jim Friesen, pp. 4, 5
David
Ediger
Amy Joyce
Dueckman Wyse
Bek Lois
Linsenmeyer Deckert
forecast
Our Prayers include repentance which leads to renewal. Renewal gener-
ates thanksgiving and so we will find expressions of renewed thanksgiv-
ing in the winter issue.
SEPTEMBER 25, 1990 W-15
1990 is the 200th anniversary of the first
modern prison, Walnut Street Jail in Phila-
delphia. Because of the often brutal bodily
punishment by the existing criminal justice
system at that time, American Quakers
started the prison with the hope that it
would help offenders by reaching their soul
through repentance and conversion.
NEWS
Brazilian
farmers
tangle with
deforestation
laws
Recife, Brazil (MCC)— Poor
Brazilians are suffering
because of laws forbidding
deforestation in that country,
reports Mennonite Central
Committee worker Kari
Scheirer, a public health nurse
serving in northeast Brazil.
Landless people of Pitanga II
are unable to plant crops
because of the laws.
Pitanga II, a 2,904-acre
forest, is home to 150 poor
families. The people of Pitanga
II occupied the forest Aug. 23,
1987, in the hope of obtaining a
small plot of land on which to
farm. But to plant crops,
Pitanga residents must cut
down the forest.
On July 24, Carlos Wilson,
governor of the state of
Pernambuco, declared that
deforestation in Pitanga II must
stop, Scheirer reports. He
called on military police, federal
police and representatives of
the justice department to stop
tree cutting in the community
and set up check points at
community exits to stop trucks
hauling wood.
Since Pitanga ll's beginning,
confrontations have occurred
between Brazil's national land
reform agency and the national
environment agency, Scheirer
says.
Brazil's national land reform
Window Shopping
My Dreams
Across Manitoba there are many
women involved in the work of the
church. Some are tired, overworked
with many responsibilities and have
lost the joy of serving.
I pray for a spiritual awakening, a
mighty moving of God's Spirit to put
the joy back into our serving. We need
to feel the "fun" of being Christian, of
volunteering to do jobs rather than feel-
ing obligated to do them. Such joy is
contagious and will infect others, even
to the point of outreach. That is my
dream!
Helga Froese, MWM President
Iter;, iii-'M
ch\wl ijew prayers emibiut h :<pfitU us
:
Some Women in Mission groups are
having to disband, often because mem-
ber's ages keep them from being as
active as they once were. Agnes
Friesen, WM president in Sardis, Brit-
ish Columbia, began the custom of giv-
ing a certificate to members of these
groups which gives them the status of
honorary WM members.
MCC wor
MCC pro
low-cost
fruit, pita
agency expropriated and
bought the land for Pitanga II
from Tecidos Paulistas, a
company owned by the
Lundgren family, which owns
about 30 percent of the land
along the coast of several
states in northeast Brazil. But
the environmental agency has
maintained that the forest must
be kept as a permanent
In several of the provincial Women in
Mission Conferences, memorial ser-
vices are part of the program. At the
British Columbia conference last Feb-
ruary a basket of real roses was placed
on a table next to a vase. There was a
rose for each member who had died
during the past year. As a woman's
name was read, a member of her group
came forward to place a rose in the vase
in her memory. After the service the
roses are given to family members of
the deceased.
reserve even though only 1
percent of the trees are more
than 40 years old.
On an international level,
Brazil "follows reluctantly
behind on environmental
issues and concerns," says
Scheirer. "It is a country not
particularly dedicated but
pushed by international
pressure." MCC workers in
vuies, sue says. 11 me peufjie
of Pitanga II are thrown off their
land and the deforestation is
stopped, the people of Recife
may vote for the man who
has 'preserved' their 'water
supply.'
"Soon a federal judge will
decide if the people of Pitanga
II will be able to stay on their
land," Scheirer says. "I will
stand with them."
420 SEPTEMBER 25, 1990
"Mennonites and Alternative Service in
World War II," a conference sponsored by
The Mennonite Quarterly Review, will be
held May 30-June 1 , 1 991 , at Goshen
(Ind.) College. The event will include pres-
entations of major papers and personal
experience stories. Topics include
"Mennonite Military Experience in World
War II," "Mennonite Women as Conscien-
tious Objectors," "Relation of Mennonites to
Governments, World War II" and others.
For more information write to MQR editor
John Oyer, Goshen College, Goshen, IN
46526.
NEWS
In an attempt to highlight their plight,
8,000 homeless Guatemalans (about 2,000
families left homeless by the 1976 earth-
quake) moved onto an abandoned piece of
land in Zone 7 of the capital on the
weekend of Aug. 5. Another group of 125
campesino families have been camped
outside the office of the Special Attorney of
Human Rights in Guatemala City's Zone 2
to protest their forcible eviction July 27 from
the garbage dump where they had been
living. Interior Minister Carlos Morales
Villatoro claimed that these two groups of
protesting families are motivated by "dark
political forces" that are trying to provoke
the security forces to respond with vio-
lence. {Central America Newsline)
The Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind., are looking for a
superintendent of facilities and grounds for
this fall. They want someone with supervi-
sory ability and at least basic skills in a
number of these areas: plumbing and
heating, electrical work, carpentry and
mechanics. Anyone interested should
send a resume with references to Virgil
Claassen, AMBS, 3003 Benham Ave.,
Elkhart, IN 46517, or call (219) 295-3726.
U.S. conference marks
50 years of conscientious
witness against war
Washington, DC (NISBCO)—
"In 50 years some million
young men and women have
refused armed service. All this
came about because believers
kept working to assure that
young men have an option to
act according to their convic-
tions," said Eva Michels at the
national conference of the
Celebration of Conscience at
Bryn Mawr (Pa.) College
Aug. 3-5.
This year marks the 50th
anniversary of the legislative
provisions for civilian-based
alternate service for people
conscientiously opposed to
war. The pattern has been
followed around the world and
included in the standards of the
United Nations Commission on
Human Rights in 1989.
Commemorating this
continuous witness against
war, the national conference
attracted 380 people. Partici-
pants included Civilian Public
Service men and some who
went to prison during World
War II as well as non-regis-
trants now in their teens and
20s. Many conference
participants are actively
protesting the portion of their
income tax that supports the
military.
David Dellinger, who refused
cooperation with the draft along
with seven other divinity
students in 1940, was a
keynote speaker. Former
U.S. Congressman
Parren Mitchell, leader of
the Congressional Black
Caucus, spoke about
commitment to non-
violent solutions to
conflict.
Mennonite Central
Committee was a
sponsor of the Celebra-
tion of Conscience, along
with Action Reconcili-
ation/Service for Peace,
Central Committee for
Conscientious Objectors,
Church of the Brethren
(Commission on World
Mission and On Earth
Peace), Fellowship of
Reconciliation, National
Inter-religious Service
Board for Conscientious
Objectors, and Peace
Tax Foundation.
YEAR
OFTH
The story of the
devastating Kansas weather
of 1990, and the tireless ef-
forts of volunteers from the Mennonite
Disaster Service and other agencies
who aided in the massive cleanup and
rebuilding. It is to them that this book
is dedicated . . . and a portion of the
proceeds from the sate of each copy
will be donated to the MDS.
■ Quality Soft Cover Book, 128 pages,
available in November.
■ More than 100 photos, including 24
pages ;n full color.
SPECIAL PRE-PUBLICATION OFFER!
Featured are the massive March 13 tornadoes that struck central Kansas . . . ripping through Hesston and through
the areas of Pretty Prairie, Burrton, Buhler, Inman, Moundfidge, Goessel, Hillsboro and areas north ... and the spring
tornadoes that hit near Durham, Tampa Lorraine, Claflin, Hays, Emporia, and Ulysses. Also covered are the wind
and hailstorms that pelted Hutchinson, Valley Center, Wichita, and large areas of Southcentral Kansas causing
millions of dollars in damage.
I Hearth Publishing, Box L, Hillsboro, KS 67063
SPECIAL PRE-PUBLICATION OFFER GOOD THRU OCT. 31, 1990 • MAIL ORDER ONLY
j Yes, I would like to order my advance copy(ies) of "Year ol the Storms" and Save $2.45 off the Regular Price of $12.95 (US Funds)
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OR CALL 800-658-1655 TO PLACE YOUR ORDER
THE MENNONITE 421
Six days of "democracy". ..then another bloodletting is the real story
behind the current round of "democratic reform" in Zaire, according to a
harsh human-rights report issued Aug. 12 by the New York-based Lawyers
Committee for Human Rights. The report may strengthen a drive to halt
U.S. aid to the government of Zairean President Mobutu Sese Seko. The
231 -page report by LCHR lawyers Peter Rosenblum and Makau wa Mutua
depicts Mobutu as a devious leader who has "repeatedly promised reform in
order to mute international criticism of his repressive policies." It character-
izes Zaire as a land whose 35 million people are ruled by terror, where
brutal soldiers and police use "political killings, torture" and other "wide-
spread gross violations of human rights" to maintain Mobutu's near-absolute
power. {National Catholic Reporter)
On Aug. 8, as U.S. troops began arriving in Saudi
Arabia, the Los Angeles office of the American-Arab
Anti-Descrimination Committee found a threatening
message on its answering machine. Among other
things, it linked Arabs to excrement and Arab women to
prostitution. This is the same ADC chapter where, five
years ago, poet and activist Alex Odeh was killed when
a bomb exploded in his office. For the prejudiced, all
Arabs, including Americans with Arab roots, have now
become so many "camel jockeys," "ragheads" and
"sandsuckers," writes Jack G. Shaheen in the Aug. 19
Washington Post. "Such violence, whether in deed or
language, obviously arises from stereotyping... .For
decades image-makers, particularly motion picture and
television writers, have perpetuated these negative
Arab images," Shaheen writes.
NEWS
R. Neufeld
MVS opens
new units
in Winnipeg
and Chicago
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)— One
person can make a difference.
Just ask Rachel Neufeld, a
Mennonite Voluntary Service
volunteer. Upon the Sept. 4
arrival of
Neufeld, a
new MVS unit
in Winnipeg
was officially
opened. For
the past two
years First
Mennonite
Church there
has been
struggling to open its own unit,
a sister to the MVS unit
sponsored by Bethel Menno-
nite Church. MVS is a program
of the Commission on Home
Ministries of General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church.
The unit did not open until
now, according to Canada
associate director Miles
Reimer, because MVS staff
people were looking for the
right volunteer to launch the
new unit. MVS found the right
combination of qualities in
Neufeld, a Bethel College
(North Newton, Kan.) graduate
in English and German.
"Rachel is intelligent, open-
mined and willing to learn," said
Reimer. "She is eager to apply
the knowledge she gained in
school to practical experience."
Neufeld's assignment is
working in the administration of
tucajnI
From left: Kaufman, Burkholder, Hunsberger
the Osborne House, a provin-
cially sponsored crisis shelter
for women and children. She is
responsible for coordinating
volunteers, reception, corre-
spondence, intake counseling
and other administrative tasks.
"Rachel has a keen interest
in women's issues," said
Reimer, "but it's going to be
hard. A women's shelter is a
hard place to work."
Across the border in the
United States, a new unit in
Chicago opened Aug. 1 . It is
named the Little Village unit
after the neighborhood where it
is found. The first volunteers
are Dawn Kaufman, Kim
Burkholder and Susan
Hunsberger, all Goshen (ind.)
College graduates.
The beginnings of the
Chicago unit are unusual, a
case in which the volunteers
set their sights on working at
the Chicago Mennonite
Learning Center, then found an
agency to support them. "We
went at it backwards," said
Burkholder, "We decided to go
to the learning center, but they
didn't have money to pay us
and asked if we'd be willing to
work voluntarily. They got us
hooked up with MVS.
"I wanted to teach at the
learning center because most
people don't want to teach in
Chicago. And I didn't want to
try to fight my way into a
middle-class public school
where there's a surplus of
teachers," Burkholder said. "I
would rather go someplace
where I'm needed."
CMLC is an alternative
elementary school that seeks
to offer quality education with
an Anabaptist perspective and
to bring together people of
different cultural, racial and
ethnic backgrounds. CMLC
representatives recruited the
three volunteers from Goshen,
then contacted MVS. "I'm
really thrilled about helping in
this way," said Chuck Neufeld,
MVS director. "Kim, Dawn and
Susan expressed such
enthusiasm for teaching and
being part of MVS."
The Little Village unit is the
fifth MVS unit in the Chicago
area. Beth Hege
Church
leaders bid
farewell
to Kraybill
Winnipeg (MWC)— Paul
Kraybill, who for 1 7 years
crisscrossed the world for Men-
nonite World Conference,
received tributes here just
before Assembly 12. Million
Belete of Kenya (originally of
Ethiopia) said. "I came to know
Jesus Christ through the
missionaries sent by the
mission board [Eastern Men-
nonite Board of Missions] of
which Paul was executive
secretary." Later Belete was
elected president of MWC.
"[Kraybill] would say, 'Million, I
want your counsel.' This is
humility in practice."
Jake F. Pauls, pastor at
Bethel Mennonite Church,
Winnipeg, said, "When
obstacles came in the way, or
illness, he has not hesitated to
say, 'I ask you to pray for me.'"
The mention of illness alluded
to Kraybill's continuing battle
with melanoma. After two
recent surgeries, doctors feel
they have removed the cancer.
Treatment continues.
Kraybill has accepted a part-
time position as executive
director of Mennonite Health
Association in Goshen, Ind.
David Shelly
422 SEPTEMBER 25, 1990
The Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
Immigration and Refugee program (IRP)
will conclude its work Sept. 30. Future
MCC U.S. assistance to refugees and
undocumented people will be done via
workers in the regional offices or the U.S.
Service Program rather than a centralized
immigration and refugee program. Men-
nonite and Brethren in Christ churches in
the United States have sponsored more
than 5,000 refugees through IRP since it
began in 1975. Another 5,000 have been
sponsored via MCC Canada programs.
Lloyd King (left), Tofield, Alta., and LaVerne
Eby, Calgary, load medical supplies, canned
beef and layette bundles for an MCC
shipment to Bucharest, Romania.
Canned beef, layette bundles and medical
supplies were loaded June 21 for shipment
to Romania at the Mennonite Central
Committee material resources center in
Ephrata, Pa. The supplies are bound for
two Bucharest hospitals that have not
received any outside aid and are in
desperate need, reports John Wiens of
MCC's Europe office in Neuwied, West
Germany. Other 1990 MCC shipments of
medical supplies have gone to Afghanistan,
Taiwan, the Soviet Union, Haiti, Honduras
and Nicaragua.
NEWS COMMENTARY
Nicaragua: It is now a war of ideas
Sally Weaver Sommer
The 10-year civil war has
ended in Nicaragua, but the
country remains in economic
and political turmoil.
A major problem facing the
new government is hyperinfla-
tion. When we arrived in
Managua, the exchange rate
was 440,000 cordobas to a $1 .
Less than two weeks later the
rate was 520,000 cordobas.
The price of a restaurant meal
doubled during that same time.
President Violeta Chamorro
and her UNO party are trying to
control the situation by cutting
government spending.
Hyperinflation was one cause
of the general strikes in mid-
July, when workers barricaded
streets with paving stones.
The strike was a crucial test,
because everyone wondered if
the army (controlled by the
Sandinistas) would fire on the
strikers. The strike was
resolved peacefully and
confirmed that the army is
committed to being a national
army for national security and
will not turn on its own people.
Although the Sandinistas are
no longer in office, they remain
a strong political force and
control the army and the
national police. According to
press reports, about 80,000
people attended a Sandinista
rally in late July. Nicaragua's
entire population is 3.5 million.
The Sandinistas are going
through a time of self-examina-
tion. They lost more of their
political base than they realized
and lost touch with the farm
workers. They still have much
support and plan to come back
in the 1996 election.
Nearly all of the Contras who
fought the Sandinistas have
come down from their remote
camps and demobilized.
Those afraid to return to their
home towns now live in
"development poles," towns
where they have been re-
settled to receive food and
clothing and wait for land
claims to be settled. Some
serve as rural police in the
security zones.
The Contras were open in
speaking with us and said they
are frustrated with hanging
around waiting for land and
because the United States is
no longer sending them
economic aid. The fighting is
over, and now they feel used.
A common theme of all the
Nicaraguan people we talked
with was a desire for reconcili-
ation. Their intent is to live
together and move beyond the
war. It seems to be working,
but I don't want to paint the
picture too rosy because
resentments are still there.
For example, we visited a
cattle cooperative run by
Sandinistas. There are no
weapons on the co-op, and
their cattle were stolen four
times by Contras, once after
the accord. The government
threatened to break up
cooperatives, but the people
who are on the land are
determined not to let it happen.
They have their papers in order
and will respond if they are
threatened again with losing
their land.
Meanwhile, the Contras are
waiting for the land they have
been promised. The govern-
ment must also decide if it will
provide additional help to the
Contras, while the Sandinistas
in the same area need funds
for a school and a health
center.
President Chamorro also
faces opposition within her own
government. She favors
negotiations with the Sandinis-
tas, but the vice president
favors eliminating the Sandinis-
tas completely.
Chamorro was a good
candidate because she was
apolitical, and people were
attracted to her. She is
showing leadership ability and
is not being pushed around.
Yet the UNO spokesman we
met called her a stupid
housewife. Additional opposi-
tion comes from religious
groups within Nicaragua.
Nicaragua remains at war — a
war of ideas. The Nicaraguan
people have strong religious
ties, and those are being
played on to carry out ideologi-
cal battles. For example,
Project Light, a Protestant
fundamentalist group, and the
Nicaraguan chapter of the
Catholic Sword of the Spirit
group stress that you should
not work for social and political
change now because things
will be better by and by.
At the same time, there are
strong elements within the
church working for reconcili-
ation. A Catholic Mass we
attended in Managua with both
Contras and Sandinistas
stressed liberation theology:
God is the God of the poor, and
we should work for justice.
Mennonites are also working
in the area I visited, and
Sharon Hostetler, Managua
coordinator for Witness for
Peace, is a Mennonite.
I feel much better about the
situation in Nicaragua than I did
before I went down. I think that
peace groups in the United
States could learn a lot by
seeing what the Christian base
communities and the peace
commissions have done in a
short time in Nicaragua.
Sally Weaver Sommer, associ-
ate professor of economics at
Bluffton (Ohio) College, toured
Nicaragua July 20- Aug. 4 with
a delegation from Witness for
Peace.
THE MENNONITE 423
According to a newspaper report (Siglo
Veintiuno, Aug. 3) the Guatemalan military
discovered a cache of arms belonging to
the rebels. The report said there was a fair
amount of "Marxist literature" with the arms.
Titles included (translated from Spanish)
Four Years of Christian Democrat
Government, The Way of Christ in
Guatemala and Christian Reflection in
Guatemala: Presence and Commitment
RECORd
For the first time in more than 40 years
the Church of the Brethren has issued a
specific call for overseas planting of
Brethren congregations. Delegates
meeting July 3-8 in Milwaukee, Wis., for the
denomination's annual conference called
on the General Board to begin church-
planting efforts in Korea and the Dominican
Republic. In other actions, delegates
sought to reach out to three groups with
specialized needs by appointing a commit-
tee "to propose a strategy to help the
Church of the Brethren attract more black
Americans," approving a statement on deaf
ministry and directing the General Board to
devote more resources and personnel to
young adult ministry.
"An Open Letter to the People of Iraq,"
signed by 267 people, most of them Men-
nonites, appeared in the Lancaster, Pa.,
Intelligencer Journal on Aug. 31. The letter
attempts to bring into focus the ordinary
Iraqi people with whom we risk going to
war. It decries both the Iraqi military
invasion of Kuwait and the potential of a
massive military assault by the United
States. Mennonite members of the Just
Connections Community in Lancaster
drafted the letter. For a copy, send a self-
addressed, stamped envelope to The
Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14.
dE/vrhs
June (Straite) Graber, 69, died
Aug. 27 of cancer. She and
her husband, Glen, were COM
workers in Taiwan from 1956 to
1964. Their son Dan is a
current COM worker in Recife,
Brazil.
E. Frose R. Frose
Preheim
WORliERS
Michael and Marlene Bogard
have joined the Western
District Conference staff. Mike
is the conference youth
minister. Marlene is director of
the resource library.
Elinor Ewy, First Church,
Halstead, Kan., began in July
as the new material resources
assistant for MCC Central
States in North Newton, Kan.
Ben Friesen is serving as
supply pastor at First Church,
Burns, Kan.
Rudy and Elsie (Spenst)
Frose, First Church, Sardis,
B.C., are scheduled to begin a
four-year COM term in Brazil.
After language study, they will
move to Florianopolis, where
they will be involved in evangel-
ism and church planting.
Louis Goertz will continue to
serve as interim pastor at
New Hopedale Church, Meno,
AIMM — African Inter-Mennonite Mission
COE — Commission on Education
COM — Commission on Overseas Mission
MVS — Mennonite Voluntary Service
Okla., until Jan. 31, 1991.
Jean Hawk, professor of
education, Gary Schiefer,
assistant professor of econom-
ics and business administra-
tion, and Sharon A. Showman,
assistant professor of English
and communication, have
begun teaching at Bluffton
(Ohio) College.
Ken Hawkley, secretary for
adult and young adult educa-
tion for COE, is the new editor
of Feedback, a quarterly
"young adult congregational
ministry resource," jointly
published by COE and Men-
nonite Board of Missions,
Elkhart, Ind.
Liz Hunsberger, Akron (Pa.)
Church, will begin in February
1 991 as director of the Interna-
tional Visitor Exchange
Program (MCC), succeeding
Doreen Harms.
Mark Kroeker, Columbia,
Mo., has begun a two-year
Overseas Mission Volunteer
(COM) term as
administrative
assistant at the
Center for New
Religious
Movements at
Selly Oak
Colleges, Birmingham. His
parents are Duane and Lois
Kroeker of Columbia.
Julie Janzen, Rainbow
Church, Kansas City, Kan.,
began a two-year term Aug. 1
as coordinator of community
ministries at Sharing Commu-
nity in Kansas City.
Ulli Klemm, pastor at Albany
Park Church, Chicago, has
resigned effective Oct. 31 .
Doug Luginbill, Grace
Church, Pandora, has been
appointed executive director at
Camp Friedenswald,
succeeding Curt Bechler.
Gary Martin, church develop-
ment consultant with Central
District Conference, resigned
effective Dec. 31 . He contin-
ues as instructor in evangelism
and church planting at Associ-
ated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind.
Alison McDaniel and Jenny
Schumacher, Grace Church,
Pandora, Ohio, participated this
summer in a three-week
service venture in Belfast,
Northern Ireland.
Ed Nyce is the assistant
director of Lombard (III.) Peace
Center. He coordinates its
educational programs and the
Friends for Peace Network.
Gail Pjesky, McPherson,
Kan., began in August as
admissions counselor at Bethel
College, North Newton, Kan.
Beth Preheim, Faith Church,
Newton, Kan., a student at
Bethel College, North Newton,
Kan., has received a Men-
nonite Nurses Association
scholarship.
Kathryn Goering Reid began
Sept. 1 as pastor at Austin
(Texas) Fellowship.
Henry Sawatzky was
ordained July 15 at Mount
Royal Church, Saskatoon.
Jane Schmidt, North Newton,
Kan., has begun a temporary
position entering data for COE
at the General Conference
central offices in Newton.
Tom Sine, Creative Futures
Center, Seattle, presented the
1990 Staley Distinguished
Christian Scholar Lecture
Series at Bethel College Sept.
10-11. His topic was "Getting
Your Act Together and Taking
It on the Road."
Jon Tieszen, Lorraine
Avenue Church, Wichita, Kan.,
led a Youth Venture team this
summer in Portland, Ore.
Janinne Unruh, Bethel
424 SEPTEMBER 25, 1990
More people than ever before from
outside North America are serving with
Mennonite Central Committee. More
people from outside North America are also
applying to serve with MCC. This year the
MCC team includes 39 people from outside
North America; in 1981 the number was
only 18. (This number does not include
national staff employed by MCC in various
countries.) And in 1989, 68 people from
countries other than Canada and the
United States applied to serve with MCC.
The Bienenberg Bible School in Liestal,
Switzerland, last June celebrated 40 years
of operation. It is the only Mennonite-
related Bible school in Europe. Currently
some 40 students, from nine countries and
12 denominations, study theology, Anabap-
tist history, ethics and other topics in
German- and French-language classes.
Mennonite Central Committee joined
European Mennonites in starting the school
in 1950. Following World War II, church
leaders felt a need to provide a place for
young people to study the Bible, particu-
larly peace and non-resistance, from an
Anabaptist perspective.
"Come Holy Spirit — Renew the Whole
Creation" is the theme for the Seventh As-
sembly of the World Council of Churches.
It will be held Feb. 7-20, 1991, in Canberra,
the federal capital of Australia. About
3,500 people from all over the world are
expected to come to worship together,
"listen to what the Spirit is saying to the
churches" and discuss spiritual, social,
political and economic issues.
RECORcJ
RESOURCES
Unruh
College
Church, North
Newton, Kan.,
has begun a
one-year term
with COM and
AIMM,
assisting in
the hostel for
AIMM mis-
DOES HE KNOW
WHAT HE'S IN FOR?
looks
sionary children in Kinshasa,
Zaire. Her parents are Don
and Naomi Unruh of Newton.
Jake and Susan Wall,
Kelowna (B.C.) Gospel
Fellowship, began a 10-month
MVS term Aug. 1 at Hopi
Mission School, Kykotsmovi,
Ariz. He does maintenance
work. She teaches first grade.
Sherri Waugh, Koinonia
Fellowship Church, Chandler,
Ariz., completed a three-week
Mennonite Service Venture
term in July at Ridge Home,
Arvada, Colo.
J. Richard Weaver has been
named chairperson of the
Chicago Mennonite Learning
Center board.
David Whiter more is the new
church planter/pastor in
Johnson County, Kansas. This
is an outreach of the South
Central and Western District
conferences. He and his wife,
Debra, live in Olathe, Kan.
— compiled by Sharon Sommer
Notice: Terry, Mont., CPS
reunion to be held at Coe College,
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Aug. 10-11,
1 991 . Information will be sent to
all on our mailing list.
Direct questions to Ellis Swartzen-
druber, Box 323, Kalona, Iowa
52247.
Managers with God: Continu-
ing the Work Christ Began by
Daniel Kauffman (Herald Press,
1990, $9.95, $12.50 in Can-
ada) begins with a biblical
theology of stewardship, then
moves into contemporary
applications.
Robert Epp (see his article
beginning on page 413 of this
issue) makes these sugges-
tions for further reading on
U.S. -Nicaragua relations: War
Against the Poor: Low-
Intensity Conflict and Christian
Faith by Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer
(Orbis, 1989, $9.95), Inevitable
Revolutions: The United
States in Central America by
Walter LaFeber (Norton, 1983,
$18.45) and "The Relevance of
Anabaptist Non-Violence for
Nicaragua Today" by C. Arnold
Snyder (MCC Peace Section,
Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-
0500).
International Songbook
1990, featuring 86 songs,
almost all of them translated
into four or five languages, is
available for $8 (U.S. or
Canadian) from Mennonite
World Conference, 465
Gundersen Drive, Suite 200,
Carol Stream, IL 60188. Also
available from MWC are
Mennonite World Handbook
1990 ($10) and Mennonite
World Membership Map ($1).
A charge for postage/handling
will be added to cover mailing
costs for the books or maps.
The Evangelical Church
Library Association publishes
Librarian's World, a quarterly
magazine that offers reviews
and promotional ideas. The
membership fee is $15. Write
to ECLA, Box 353, Glen Ellyn,
IL 60138.
Peter and Paul in the
Church of Rome: the Ecu-
menical Potential of a Forgot-
ten Perspective by William R.
Farmer and Rock Kereszty
(Paulist Press, 1990, $11.95)
uses New Testament and early
church sources to support the
view that Peter and Paul co-
founded the church of Rome
and that Popes must represent
the apostolic interests of Peter
and Paul.
Anyone called upon to
speak — formally or informally —
at the time of death may
appreciate Speaking About
Death: Poetic Resources for
Ministers of Consolation by
William Fitzgerald (ACTA
Publications, 4848 N. Clark St.,
Chicago, IL 60640-471 1 ).
The Gospel of Coincidence
by John Boykin (Zondervan,
1990, $9.95) challenges the
traditional assumption that God
controls all our circumstances.
"For God to cause anyone and
everyone to do things regard-
less of whether they consent or
not is rape," he says.
"When I was 18 years old. ..I
wish there was someone who
thought enough of me to sit
down and say, 'Do you know
what war is all about?'" says a
Vietnam veteran in Choice or
Chance, one of several
resources on militarism and
alternatives from CCCO, 2208
South St., Philadelphia, PA
19146. Besides this 20-minute
video/slide presentation ($82,
$17 rental), CCCO offers Real
War Stories ($2), a 50-page
full-color comic book, Delayed
Entry Program Self-Help
Guide ($3), a 30-page booklet
written by experienced military
counselors, Facts About
Military Life: Guide for
Speaking in the Schools, and
Youth and Militarism Direc-
tory 1990 ($5)
The 1990-91 Mennonite
Yearbook is available in soft
paperback for $1 1 .95 plus
postage and in spiral bound for
$12.95 plus postage. Order
from Mennonite Publishing
House, 616 Walnut Ave.,
Scottdale, PA 15683.
Two children's books from
Good Books are Silly Tillie by
Jeanine Wine ($12.95) and It's
Summertime! by Elaine Good,
illustrated by Susie Shenk
Wenger ($12.95).
— compiled by Gordon Houser
THE MENNONITE 425
r
REVIEWS
* —books
The Bible for
the 21st century
The New Revised Standard Version
Reviewed by Maynard Shelly, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114
Arriving 10 years early, the New Revised
Standard Version is the Bible for the
21st century. Sept. 30 is its official
birthday, but it has been in the book-
stores since the first of May. The six
publishers licensed to print this new text
all wanted to be out of the starting gate
early.
How do you take the measure of a new
Bible? Much of its value is in things that
you cannot see — being, as in a car, under
the hood. The Dead Sea Scrolls were
uncovered in Qumran near the Dead Sea
in 1948, just as the RSV Old Testament
was in its last draft. After some 40 years
the benefits of this new resource add new
light to the NRSV. For example, 1
Samuel 10 in the NRSV has six lines
from the Dead Sea Scrolls that were not
in the traditional texts on which earlier
translations were based.
While we keep learning more about the
ancient languages, today's English keeps
changing as well. Translators need to
pay attention. "Dumb" was a word that
used to mean "unable to speak," as in
Psalm 39:9, "I am dumb." But now the
word is usually understood as "stupid."
So now the NRSV says, "I am silent."
Forty years ago the Revised Standard
Version took a long step forward when it
removed "thee" and "thou" from the text
where people were being addressed.
That was the way people talked to each
other in the days of King James in the
1600s. But those forms had already
fallen into disuse for more than 100
years. In the 1940s the RSV committee
decided to keep "thee, thou, thine and
hast" in speech directed to God, even
though this English form was not
supported by parallel forms in the
biblical Hebrew or Greek. In the NRSV
God is addressed as the people of Israel
and the people of the early church spoke
to God.
The Bible is a book for reading aloud
at home and in public worship. There-
fore, the NRSV has given special atten-
tion to the choice of words not only for
correctness but also for the way they
sound. When reading "because there
God had revealed himself from Genesis
35:7, it is not clear
whether that
second word is
"there" or "their."
It is better to
translate, "Be-
cause it was there
that God had
revealed himself."
Some written
sentences look
neat but do not
sound right.
"Those that were sent went" in Luke
19:32 is one example. The NRSV
improves this with, "Those that were
sent departed."
Whether read or heard, some word
orders can confuse. "Now Joshua was
standing before the angel, clothed in
filthy garments," says Zechariah 3:3 in
the RSV. To make clear whose clothes
were dirty, the NRSV says, "Now Joshua
was dressed with filthy clothes as he
stood before the angel."
Not only is language tricky, it is often
an imperfect medium. For the first time,
a major translation of the Bible has
tackled the bias of our form of speech
toward the masculine gender. The
original Greek and Hebrew languages do
not have this same bias. This has been
generally understood for many years,
and if questions arose about the KJV or
the RSV, one could say that, of course,
when verses like John 12:32, had Jesus
saying, "And I, when I am lifted up from
the earth, will draw all men to myself,"
he meant women and girls as well as
men and boys. If that explanation was
once all that was needed, it will be less
and less so in the 21st century. If most
of these passages intend to include
women as well as men, shouldn't we say
so clearly?
Masculine pronouns in the NRSV have
been changed where it is clear that both
women and men are meant. "Let him
who boasts, boast of the Lord," clearly
means, "Let the one who boasts, boast in
the Lord." When counsel was given in
Ephesians 4:28, the intention was surely
for both women and men. "Let the thief
no longer steal, but rather let him labor,
doing honest work with his hands," says
the RSV. But the anti-crime message
doubles its impact when the NRSV says,
"Thieves must give up stealing; rather let
them labor and work honestly with their
own hands."
While inclusive language is used in the
NRSV on the human level, the pronouns
for God remain as in former versions.
After 15 years of hard work, the NRSV
Bible is now ready. Will it be received
even more enthusiastically than was the
Revised Standard Version 44 years ago?
Yes, though we can expect some heated
debates, just as those experienced by the
King James Version when it was first
introduced.
'Already' and 'not yet'
Christian Theology: An Eschatologi-
cal Approach by Thomas N. Finger
(Herald Press, 1985 and 1989, Volume I,
367 pages; Volume II, 544 pages)
Reviewed by Dan Liechty, 418 Pleasant
Mills Road, Hammonton, NJ 08037
Systematic theology has been largely
ignored by Mennonite theologians, who
have much preferred to work in biblical
studies, social ethics and church history.
Only Gordon Kaufman and J.C. Wenger
have produced substantial works of
systematic theology among Mennonites.
Now we have Thomas N. Finger's two-
volume contribution.
Finger is an ordained minister in both
the Mennonite and the General Confer-
ence Mennonite churches. Although his
background is Evangelical and this work
was written while teaching at a Baptist
seminary, his Mennonite commitments
shine through. It is not simply philo-
sophical erudition he seeks. For Finger
the main task of theology is to facilitate
congregational worship, fellowship and
missionary activity.
Systematic theology sees all of Chris-
tian doctrine as flowing from one or a few
basic principles and attempts to eluci-
date how this is so. Therefore systematic
theology most often begins with the
doctrine of God and moves through
toward eschatology, the doctrine of last
things. But Finger saw that for many of
the earliest Christians a strong fervor for
God's final judgment against an evil
world was primary. He thus reverses the
order of his theology, taking the doctrine
of last things first and ending with a
doctrine of God. Theology in Finger's
hands become interplay of the "already"
(that part of God's final judgment
accomplished by the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus) and the "not yet"
(the part of God's judgment still to come).
This work is balanced, fairly present-
ing representative views on each topic,
along with biblical data, before he builds
his own case. On the whole, Finger's
work is thorough, biblical and theologi-
cally conservative (though not necessar-
ily politically conservative). He most
426 SEPTEMBER 25, 1990
REVIEWS
■ I * T I A N
an eschof ohgkal approach
THOMAS N. FINGER
often affirms, though redefines, the
doctrines of the Reformed Evangelical
tradition. Yet the interplay of the
already and the not yet, along with his
sincere attempts to bring the often
ignored Anabaptist voice into the
discussion, prevents the work from
becoming predictable. For example,
while Finger argues for biblical iner-
rancy and these volumes are backed by
copious biblical
citations, he follows
Menno Simons in
citing not only books
from the Catholic
canon but unambigu-
ously apocryphal
books as well.
While his eschato-
logical approach to
theology is novel,
Finger is not aiming
simply at novelty. He
believes that in our
time of "crisis," an
eschatological approach best speaks to
the hopes and fears of this generation
and is the best avenue for making
biblical thought relevant to our time.
Yet I have to wonder if this really does
bridge the gap between the earliest
Christians and ourselves. After all, the
earliest Christians saw themselves as
initiators, as the vanguard of a faith
community on the verge of eschatological
confirmation. Christianity now appears
to many as a once-great tradition well on
its way to its demise. Likewise, while
the earliest Christians also faced a world
of extreme religious pluralism, they faced
it with a believer's confidence of member-
ship in a body on the threshold of
triumphant vindication. Christians
today must affirm faith as one among
multiple perspectives that have arisen
after the disintegration of Christianity's
position of pre-eminence. Therefore, I
am less convinced than Finger that an
eschatological approach is indeed the
answer for our times.
Finger has produced a work that
demonstrates the radical implications of
a theology for which the Bible is the
norm. There is much here for reflection
and discussion. Although perhaps too
long and involved for everyone's tastes,
these volumes will benefit preachers,
teachers and others both as a reference
tool and guide to the issues.
Help from NLP
Heart of the Mind by Connirae and
Steve Andreas (Real People Press, 1989,
264 pages)
Reviewed by Wendy Funk Sehrag, 923
N Poplar, Newton, KS 67114
Thinking differently may be a way to
solve your problems. Connirae and Steve
Andreas describe ways that people can
do this through neurolinguistic program-
ming. NLP methods result in rapid
change for people with various problems.
Some of these problems have tradition-
ally required long-term therapy.
For example, this book describes how
to overcome grief, phobias, past abuse
and negative reactions to criticism. Be-
sides solving emotional difficulties, NLP
can also help people learn to spell better,
eliminate allergic responses and activate
the body's natural ability to heal.
The Andreases suggest seeking
medical advice before expecting NLP to
cure physical ailments. NLP is unique
because many people can overcome their
problem in just one session of NLP
methods. NLP does not work with all
people, but the Andreases see this as a
challenge to discover new NLP methods
instead of seeing NLP (or the person) as
a failure.
An introduction to NLP at the begin-
ning of the book would have been helpful.
The Andreases use NLP methods in so
many ways that it is difficult to define
what it is. As I understand it, NLP
works by making people aware of how
they emotionally respond to situations
and the way they "code" information in
the brain. By "recoding" information and
practicing until this recoding is auto-
matic, the behavior and emotional
response change. The brain is "think-
ing" about the situation in a new way.
The Andreases view NLP as a science
of the mind: "People become more
capable and more human by adding
alternative perceptions, responses,
behaviors and ways of thinking, not by
subtracting or inhibiting them. ...This
expanded internal sense of ourselves also
makes us more sensitive, resourceful,
responsive and creative in our relation-
ships with others." They cite examples of
people they have followed for a period of
years who have been freed from problems
by using NLP.
Hea rt of the Mind is an easy-to-read
book without professional jargon.
Anyone will find it interesting, and some
may find hope in it.
Sexual violence
Preventing Child Sexual Abuse — Age
9-12(United Church Press, 1990, 125
pages)
Reviewed by Katherine Burkey Wiens,
122 SW Third, Newton, KS 67114
"One out of every three girls and one of
every 11 boys will experience the
nightmare of sexual violence. How many
of the children in our church school
classes already have experienced abuse?
How many of their friends at school have
experienced abuse?" This quote is from
Preventing Child Sexual Abuse — Ages 9-
12, a curriculum book to be used as
Sunday school material for children.
This is not an issue the church can turn
its back on or deny is affecting its
members. Are Mennonite churches
willing to deal with the emotions and
confrontations, plus the open discussion
about sexuality that this curriculum
presents?
Preventing helps children learn to talk
about their bodies in positive ways;
seeing themselves as special to God and
created in God's image. The book
explains what sexual abuse is and how
children can protect themselves from
being abused. The book also stresses
that God wants children to be safe and
"seeks justice for the victim and repen-
tance for the offender."
Each of 13 sessions includes theologi-
cal and biblical concepts and objectives
for the lesson. An activities outline,
resources, Bible readings and activity
sheets are also provided. The sessions
are participation-oriented and encourage
discussion and questions.
Meetings for parents are encouraged,
and I believe they are a necessity.
Parents should also be educated in how
to handle potential questions or com-
ments their children have. The leaders
of the sessions must be educated on child
sexual abuse. If they are not profession-
als in this area, the book suggests, they
should have some training prior to the
sessions. They should have taken
several courses or workshops on child
sexual abuse or at least have read books
on the subject.
Preventing tends to be a little idealistic
in the examples it gives about how
sexual abuse is treated once the child
reports it. The book should prepare
children for the fact that they may not be
believed. Also more stress should be put
on children continuing to tell until
someone listens and believes them. It is
mentioned in the book, but no examples
are given, of the abuser being a biological
parent of the child. Children need to be
prepared for the fact that even if they do
tell and something is done, the abuse
may not stop permanently. This is often
true if the abuser is a parent.
The use of this book would be good for
any church with children. If members
feel that the children in their church
have not experienced abuse, the book is
still necessary because all children need
to know how to protect themselves.
THE MENNONITE 427
Letters
Tears for God's bottle
I am on a two-year Mennonite Central
Committee assignment with the Saska-
toon Sexual Assault and Information
Centre. My job as victim services worker
involves meeting one-to-one with people
and giving support. I do court prepara-
tion with children and accompany them
to court.
My room has seen many tears, tears
from women who come from different
walks of life, women who have never
met: the Native woman from the
reserve, the white woman from the
suburbs, the young child, the adult
woman. No matter how different these
women are, they share tears and a
common legacy of deep pain; they have
all been sexually assaulted.
God, attend to the suffering of your
daughters. They are weighed down with
heavy burdens and their hearts break
with pain. Each is in need of your
motherly nurturing and your healing
touch. Every tear that is cried in this
room you save in your bottle (Psalm
56:8). Turn their tears of sorrow into
tears of joy. Fulfill again the promise
you made to your servant of old, "I have
heard your prayer, I have seen your
tears, behold, I will heal you." Christine
Kampen, 1303 10th St. E, Saskatoon, SK
S7H 0J2
Ecological urgency
Everyone's help is needed to heal the
earth. I feel the urgency of quick action.
I have just learned that amphibians are
disappearing. They are an indicator
species [their disappearance indicates
ecological disaster], so this is a very
serious warning. Jim Rich, Route 1, Box
36, Hillsboro, KS 67063
Prompt service
We have just received the Aug. 14 issue
[on Aug. 18]. Can you believe it?
While at Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind., in
1986 I saw some of the art of Elizabeth
Wenger. I was interested in the article
by her. Gary Isaac, Box 65, Umtata,
Transkei, South Africa
Weeping over Winnipeg
Why did someone born and raised in
Winnipeg and whose family has been
part of the Anabaptist/Mennonite story
since the 1540s choose not to attend this
summer's Mennonite World Conference?
I am a graduate of Canadian Mennonite
Bible College and Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries and a former
Mennonite Central Committee worker. I
grew up as an active member of the
Winnipeg Mennonite community.
Simply stated, I am profoundly disturbed
by all the Mennonite triumphalism on
display, especially the glorification of the
Winnipeg Mennonite experience.
Leo Driedger in Mennonites in Win-
nipeg regales us with. ..Mennonite
accomplishments in Winnipeg: "more
Mennonites in Winnipeg than any city in
the world (9,350 members in 47
churches). ..upwardly mobile Mennonites
have moved into the suburbs. ..more than
1,000 Mennonite businesses in Win-
nipeg." He goes on to mention the
Mennonite names teaching at the
universities and listed in the who's who
of business and the arts, all in a manner
that smacks of sectarian triumphalism.
Is there another side to this story?
Here are some stories that deserve
telling:
In 1874 the first Mennonites came to
Southern Manitoba barely a year after
the Canadian Indians were forcefully
removed from their ancestral lands. The
first Mennonite settlers were brought in
under armed guard by the Royal Cana-
dian Mounted Police, who had cam-
paigned against the Native way of life so
that the West might be opened to
"civilization."
Until the 1920s most Mennonites
stayed on their Southern Manitoba
farms, avoiding the evils of Winnipeg.
But an event in 1919 was momentous for
both Winnipeg and Mennonites. Men-
nonites in Russia were enduring the
Russian Revolution, which culminated in
the beginning of Mennonite migration to
Winnipeg around 1923, when my parents
arrived in the city. Winnipeg was still
reeling from the 1919 general strike, the
only one in North American labor
history.
Ironically one of the key strike leaders
was a former Methodist minister by the
name of James S. Woodsworth. He had
written a shocking portrayal of life in the
north end and center slums that Russian
Mennonites would soon be entering. His
classic Strangers Within Our Gates
should cause us to reflect on the harsh
fact that the injustice he describes in
1918-19 still exists.
Woodsworth went on to become a
Member of Parliament, representing
Winnipeg North Center during the 1920s
through 1940. He was also an ardent
pacifist, champion of social justice and
founder of the CCF/New Democratic
Party (Socialist) and described by most of
his contempories as the most Christlike
man they had seen in the Canadian
Parliament. Yet while Woodsworth's
riding had a heavy Mennonite population
through the 1950s, he never carried the
Mennonite vote. In the 1930s Menno-
nites were busy organizing the Canadian
Nazi Party and voting conservatively at
every opportunity.
Mennonite pastors, including one of
my uncles, a prominent bishop, cele-
brated Hitler's achievements in Germany
and filled their sermons with anti-
Semitic rhetoric, while Woodsworth
sought peace and justice for all. During
World War II, many of my relatives even
enlisted in the German army with only a
small handful of Winnipeg Mennonites
choosing to become conscientious
objectors.
While Winnipeg is home to the largest
colony of Mennonites in the world, it is
also home to the largest Native colony in
the world. An estimated 30,000 Natives
live in downtown Winnipeg. An amazing
contrast exists between Mennonite power
and Native powerlessness. Mennonite
pastor Harold Peters Franzen noted in
The Mennonite (Aug. 8, 1978) that "there
is probably no provincial or state juris-
diction where Mennonites are more
influential than Winnipeg. Winnipeg
Mennonites are one of the main compo-
nents in helping elect Conservative
governments."
How have these so-called "Progressive
Conservatives" treated the poor? Most
Winnipeg Mennonites have chosen to
support the status quo at the expense of
Native people and the poor. Assembly 12
should have been a time of collective
repenting over our history in Winnipeg:
the treatment of Native peoples, the
support of Nazism, the support for
Conservative parties, the rampant
materialism (How many Mennonite
millionaires are there in Winnipeg? How
did they make their money?), the
celebration of sectarianism.
Had Jesus attended Assembly 12, 1
believe he would have wept at the
Winnipeg Mennonite story. For me
(having lived there most of my life) it is a
sad story of a church that has sold out its
once radical Anabaptist heritage. The
ancestors of Winnipeg Mennonites were
brought firewood for their torture.
Today's caesers brought Winnipeg
Mennonites and their guests golden keys
to the city. Maybe a miracle will yet
happen and the golden calves that
Winnipeg Mennonites have rushed into
428 SEPTEMBER 25, 1990
embracing will be smashed. Our
collective repentance is still a possibility.
All Mennonites can choose the path that
leads to peace and justice for the power-
less or they can place their lot with the
powerful as they seem to have done in
Winnipeg. Robert V. Peters, 13 Quiat
Road, Mt. Dale, NY 12763
Say no to war
As the United States rushes off to war,
not long after we were saying, "No more
Vietnams," let us Mennonites just say
no.
Despite Arab pleas to stay out of the
Middle East, we have amassed forces
there. We know that in war, bodies are
returned home and hatred builds.
"Paying them back" overshadows
whatever the conflict was at first.
Let Christ's followers be agents of
understanding, not pawns silent in ca-
lamity. Let's begin to hear the Arab and
Islamic world as much as Israel's con-
cerns. Let's reduce our need of fossil
fuels and make known to our leaders and
neighbors that we oppose this course.
We admired the citizens who said no to
oppression in Eastern Europe. Now it is
our turn to say no to U.S. intervention in
the Middle East, saying yes to the God of
all peoples and to Jesus, who offered
himself for us all. Eldon Epp, 309 Lynn
#6, Ames, I A 50010
Cheers for ministry inquiry
First Mennonite Church, Reedley, Calif,
has made use of Ministry Inquiry
Program students from Bethel College
[North Newton, Kan.] for two years,
Steve Friesen in 1989 and Carmen Pauls
this year. The benefits for the pastors
and congregation have been significant.
Both the congregation and the pastors
have a heightened sense of being "other
oriented" as well as deriving much
gratification by the knowledge that we
contributed to a young person's consid-
eration of ministry in the church. Giving
to another, encouraging another, turns
peoples' gaze to the larger picture and
their part in it. We were edified as we
played our role in enhancing the Men-
nonite church's future. Our self-esteem
grew and, with it, a joy in doing kingdom
work.
Having an identified learner in our
midst continually reminded us that
learning is significant. This orientation
has a spillover effect to other aspects of
church life: individuals at all levels test,
discover and develop their gifts. Young
and old see someone like them actively
searching and they in turn reflect on
God's leading in their own lives.
Giving the Ministry Inquiry Program
student a satisfying placement raises the
chicken-and-egg question of which comes
first. Are we a positive congregation
because we have practiced encouraging
and nurturing others, or do we encourage
and nurture others because we are a
positive congregation? I think the two
impulses feed off each other and gain
strength in the doing. By enabling,
equipping and encouraging the student,
we learned to do that more readily and
effectively with one another.
A benefit of the Ministry Inquiry
Program for leadership comes as the
practice and philosophy of ministry is
continually reshaped under the scrutiny
of having to explain what and why
something is done. When a student asks,
"How do you write a sermon?" I identify
and conceptualize my methodology,
which might otherwise remain unarticu-
lated. Articulation, with a view toward
replication, leads to evaluation, and
evaluation, hopefully, to improvement.
Having a student for the summer
countered the traditional "summer
slump" mentality that can pervade a
congregation to its detriment. The
student brings fresh energy and impetus
to make things happen. Both Carmen
and Steve provided good leadership
resources at levels that would have
suffered without their commitment:
adult Sunday school electives, youth
programming, worship planning, to
mention a few. Nancy Brubaker, co-
pastor, Box 111, Reedley, CA 93654
David Foncannon spent the summer of
1989 with us here at Bethel Mennonite
Church. David's ability in music and art
gave the church a good taste for addi-
tional ministerial staff. The spirit in
which he led worship services with music
often set the tone for worship.
Our youth gained confidence in David.
[He showed them] how a youth minister
could relate to them. Our senior citizens
found in him someone who had the time
and took the time to visit with them.
David also took some of my responsi-
bilities, which allowed me to do other
tasks needing my attention. With his
quiet spirit he gave our congregation a
feeling of confidence in someone other
than its pastor. He showed and taught
our congregation how to care for one
another.
The congregation was challenged to
see the need to help develop the gifts God
has given to young adults for ministry.
Out of this summer experience with
David the congregation formed a commit-
tee to study the needs and benefits for
additional ministerial staff. D.A. Raber,
pastor. Box 306, Inman, KS 67546
Preserve the heartland
The article "How Much Land Is
Enough?" [June 12] hurt. It hurt the
farmers who have struggled for many
years to improve quality at a reasonable
price to the consumer. It hurt those who
live in proposed expansion sites. Many
have fought financial ruin in the past to
save their family farming operations.
After finally breaking even, these
families are being sent another blow: the
proposed expansion, by land acquisition,
of the Fort Riley Military Base near
Junction City, Kan.
The facts and issues are too many to
list in a letter. But people should know
that land acquisition will not only hurt
the families involved but the communi-
ties around the site, including schools,
churches and other organizations.
I felt that Raymond Epp's article was
inferring the question, Which of the two
evils is worse (farming or military expan-
sion)? And I ask, In this day and age of
hunger all over the world and world
peace, how can you ask this question?
Today's farm and ranch families are
concerned about taking care of God's
land and the hunger issue involving
God's people.
Everyone should study this subject and
write their congresspeople. For more
information write Preserve the Heart-
land, Burdick, KS 66838. Lisa Jantzen
Donahue, Route 1, Box 48, Lincolnville,
KS 66858
Air mail The Mennonite
Just a quick note to let you know how
much I appreciated The Mennonite while
studying Chinese in Taiwan the first half
of 1990. Imagine my surprise and
pleasure when The Mennonite arrived
via air mail, thanks to the thoughtful-
ness of the Bethel College Mennonite
Church in North Newton, Kan. That is
one good way of helping overseas people
keep in touch with what is going on. I
hope many other churches are doing
what BCMC does. Herta Funk, 110-2425
Church St.. Abbotsford, BC V2T 5K8
Grateful for grace
A word of gratitude to Elizabeth Wenger
and to you for the article "Now Grace Is
Everywhere" [Aug. 14 issue]. We
marveled at the needlepoint pieces by
"Liz" at Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries when we were there a few
years ago. Thanks for sharing a fresh
and precious glimpse of God's grace with
us, Elizabeth, both through your art and
the testimonial. Jessie and Larry Kehler,
440 Best St., Winnipeg, MB R3K 1P3
THE MENNONITE 429
Two kingdom commitment stories
The birth of a
clown for Christ
Doug Reichenbach
I have been a bit of a clown for years.
I To make a pastoral point I have had
myself bound and gagged, and preached
at the top of a ladder or upside down.
These are all a kind of "clowning," for
which there is biblical precedent — like
the Old Testament prophet Isaiah going
around naked for three years, or Jere-
miah wearing a yoke.
During my "listening" in response to A
Call to Kingdom Commitments, I sensed
God calling me. Christian clowning
seemed to be a natural way to express
Identity: Shalom (left)
and Doug Reichenbach
joy and boldness.
Thus, putting
together a simple
wardrobe, using my
wife Paulette's
make-up and
steeping myself in
prayer, I began.
My first clown ap-
pearance was at a church party. The
second was during worship. Since then,
my clowns have appeared on the streets
here in Wayland, Iowa, at a public cele-
bration, at a family reunion, at various
church gatherings.
Clowning has nurtured within me a
spirit of freedom — freedom from words,
freedom to passionately express joy and
praise, freedom to enter certain spaces
that had seemed off limits.
Sometimes it is hard for us Christians
to see where the freedom of Christ is
breaking through in our lives. So it has
been with me. Christian clowning has
helped to free me up.
Ethereal: The clown within me that
most often comes alive is named Shalom.
Shalom is worshipful, ethereal. He is a
healing presence, both prophetic and
The spirit of freedom: The clown Shalom,
says Doug, "freed me to raise my hands in
praise to God." Here he leads the children of
Pulaski (Iowa) Mennonite Church in worship.
evangelical. Clearly God desires
Doug Reichenbach to be this as
well, and I seek to be. Yet in
mysterious ways Shalom helps me
along the way.
Doug Reichenbach once was not
particularly comfortable raising his
hands in worship or doing liturgical
movement. Shalom has both taught
and freed Doug to do such things.
As a pastor, and not a very pushy
one at that, Doug Reichenbach does
not always find easy entry into
some people's lives. Shalom has been
welcomed with open arms into homes
where Doug had never been invited.
Doug Reichenbach is inclined to be a
wordy person. Shalom has nurtured
Doug in the arts of silence, touch,
visualization. I know that the Lord is
asking me, ultimately, to be a free and
bold witness (whether in the sanctuary
or out on the streets ) without having on
"white face" make-up. For now, though,
Shalom is a good guide and mentor.
Clowning is not always well-received.
Some people are plainly turned off and
consider it unbecoming of a pastoral
leader. On the other hand, a variety of
people have had something deep within
them touched and softened. Children
have been especially responsive. Several
of my nieces, who are inclined to give
only passing attention and token affec-
tion to their Uncle Doug, literally jump
into the clown's arms and hug him to life.
One person wrote me, "Every time
Shalom, or any of the clowns, appears it
brings tears to my eyes. It makes me
feel so innocent, free and vulnerable to
God's Spirit." Another told me, "I've
been touched by your clowning. It helps
put me in the same spirit of boldness. I
wonder how I am a fool for Christ. Is
it time for me to hear 'Send in the
Clowns'?"
Such responses encourage me. But the
important thing has been my sense of
being obedient to the call of God.
Doug Reichenbach is the pastor at
Wayland (Iowa) Mennonite Church.
A ton of tuna
Donna Lehman
A Call to Kingdom Commitments
inspired Maplewood Mennonite
Church, Fort Wayne, Ind., to cooperate
with other city churches in collecting a
ton of tuna and crackers to feed the
hungry. In a worship service someone
told a children's story that included the
Bible story of Jesus multiplying the
A CAM, I'll KJNGWOM
COMMITMENTS
loaves and fishes to feed the multitude
and that explained the project.
The church gave lunch-size sacks to
each family to take home as a reminder
to bring tuna and crackers the following
Sunday. On each sack was a picture of a
fish and crackers, plus a written Bible
verse.
When the people brought the sacks
back with food, the cans and boxes were
stacked on a table for the project under a
kingdom commitments banner. People
took the bags back home and brought
more tuna and crackers each Sunday
during Lent.
The Fort Wayne-area churches
gathered 5,514 cans of tuna and 2,240
boxes of crackers. Children enjoyed the
weekly challenge of multiplying food
collected.
Donna Lehman lives at 3213 Ponema
Court, Fort Wayne, IN 46815.
430 SEPTEMBER 25, 1990
bible
Wise as a serpent, innocent as a dove
David Morrow
My wife, Irene, and I have served here in El Salvador
with Mennonite Central Committee for four years,
working with a small Evangelical congregation. I have
taught Bible classes, trained Bible teachers and worked with a
small agricultural cooperative. But more important is what we
have learned from the people and their faith.
The people of our church and community have suffered much
in the 10-year-old Salvadoran civil war. The bullet holes in the
roof and walls of our church symbolize that suffering.
Like the members of our church, the rural poor or "campesi-
nos" (peasants), have been the victims of the war. Of the more
than 70,000 people who have died in the war, most have been
campesinos; the vast majority of them have been killed by the
military. The military believes that by destroying the base of
support among the campesinos, they can defeat the rebels.
Soldiers view the poor with suspicion. Suspect guerrilla
collaborators are captured, tortured and sometimes killed.
As I read the Bible here I discover that the same was proba-
bly true in Jesus' day. The New Testament is filled with
incidents of interrogation. Whenever I see a Salvadoran being
questioned, I am reminded of how the parents of the man born
blind responded to interrogation by synagogue authorities:
"We know that this is our son and that he was born blind; but
how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened
his eyes" (John 9:20-21). Stay calm; speak politely; reveal
nothing. It is a way of survival for campesinos of any age.
But the campesino most interrogated in the Bible is Jesus
himself. First he is questioned repeatedly by unofficial reli-
gious authorities such as the Pharisees, then by the Sanhedrin
and finally by the Roman governor. With these last interroga-
tions came beatings, torture and condemnation to death. Jesus
told his disciples they would receive the same treatment, and
he counseled them how to react (Matthew 10:16-20). They
should be "wise as serpents and innocent as doves," remain
calm and trust that the "Spirit of their Father" would give
them words to answer their interrogators.
Interrogated and tortured: About a year ago, our church
gathered to study this passage and pray. A neighbor,
"Roberto," had been captured by the Salvadoran military. The
soldiers took him to the local command post, where they
accused him of being a guerrilla, interrogated him, beat him
and stuck knives in his neck. The local commander then sent
Roberto to battalion headquarters, where he was tortured with
electrical shocks. They transferred him to a security police
unit, where interrogators tortured him and threatened to hang
him if he did not give them the answer they wanted. Roberto
said that he could not tell them something that was not true.
On the fourth day of his detainment he was released through
intervention of tbe International Red Cross.
In fact, he had already been released when our church
assembled to pray. But we did not know that. We turned to
Scripture. We prayed. We prayed that Roberto would be
innocent as a dove, that he would tell the truth. We prayed
that he would be wise as a serpent, that he would not be
trapped by his words. The military often promises to release
detainees if they accuse neighbors of guerrilla collaboration. If
Roberto blurted out a false accusation under torture, his
neighbors might be captured. God heard our prayer before it
was spoken, and the Spirit gave Robert words to say; no one in
the community was captured after his release.
As I sat in the prayer meeting I realized I had never prayed
in the United States for someone who was being interrogated
and tortured. But these were realities of Jesus' world and are
realities of the world in which Salvadorans live today. In fact,
countless similarities exist between first-century Palestine and
20th-century El Salvador. Like Palestinians then, Salvadoran
campesinos plow their fields with oxen (Luke 14:19), sow their
crops by hand (Mark 4:3) and draw their water from wells
(John 4:7). They also endure repeated interrogations, risk
torture to do the will of God and often end up dying for their
faith. It is not surprising that when campesinos hear Scrip-
ture, they hear it as if God is speaking directly to them.
This is one message of liberation theology: God speaks
directly to the poor and oppressed, and Scripture should be
read from their context. When I was in seminary this claim
was controversial. Some biblical scholars insisted that Scrip-
ture must be understood from the historical context of the
writer, while liberation theologians said it should be inter-
preted from the context of the poor today.
This debate obscures the reason I should listen to the poor. I
accept that it is necessary to understand the historical context
of the writers to interpret Scripture. But the poor can do this
better than I. I learn about the biblical world through aca-
demic study; Third World poor people live it. What I know in-
tellectually, they know experientially. And out of that experi-
ence they speak to us perceptively and prophetically the Word
of God. That is why we should listen to the poor.
Steadfast faith: If we ignore the poor, we ignore one of the
basic facts of Jesus' historical context. The poor and unedu-
cated largely accepted Jesus; the rich and learned rejected him.
As Jesus himself said, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven
and earth, that thou has hidden these things from the wise and
understanding and revealed them to babes" (Matthew 11:25).
Among these "babes" were Jesus' own disciples. The Pente-
cost experience filled them with understanding and courage.
When the religious leaders and scholars of Jerusalem captured
and interrogated them and "saw the boldness of Peter and
John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men,
they wondered" (Acts 14:13).
I have seen that boldness many times in common, unedu-
cated Salvadorans. I have wondered what makes them so
confident in stressful situations. What makes them so wise
and innocent? It must be a steadfast faith that the Spirit is
giving them the words to say and the
courage to say them. Perhaps the most
important thing I can do in El Salvador is
listen to the Spirit.
David Morrow is from McKenzie, Tenn.
He and his wife, Irene, most recentiy lived
in Dardanelle, Ark., where David was
pastor at Gum Springs Cumberland
Presbyterian Church.
THE MENNONITE 431
NEWS
01 0022 031 333
LIBRARY
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ELKHART IN 46517
EdiTOMAl
Where did CKC take us?
A Call to Kingdom Commitments has become a
household phrase for General Conference Menno-
nites. Sept. 16 marked the official completion of this
"development plan," the first of its kind in our 130-year
history. We started it at our triennial sessions in Saska-
toon in the summer of 1986. We launched it with
Commitment Sunday in April 1987. Now we can look
back on it. How will history describe it?
Some things we can measure. About 13,000 of us in
267 congregations made a new statement about our
commitment to Jesus Christ in connection with CKC.
We promised to pray and work and give. In addition to
about $5 million worth of volunteer activity prompted by
CKC, we 13,000 gave $5.5 million, short of the ill-
advised goal of $17.5 million. Nevertheless, previously
unbudgeted funds have now been distributed to 75 of
the 100 projects agreed upon by representatives of all
our area conferences. Some of the projects were com-
bined. Details are in a final report sent to participants.
An evaluation summary is in the Sept. 11 issue of The
Mennonite. (For a copy of the report or the summary,
write to CKC, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB
R3P 0M4, or Box 347, Newton, KS 67114.)
Some things we cannot measure. What was the effect
of the commitments to prayer and service of the 13,000?
What were the results of the prayer retreats, the spiri-
tual life celebration, the worship leading at area confer-
ences, the devotional resources — all prepared by CKC's
Spiritual Emphasis Committee? In what ways are we
now more aware and recommited to our stated four
conference goals? They are
• evangelize,
• teach and practice biblical principles,
• develop and train church leadership,
• achieve Christian unity.
CKC called people to listen to God with new intention.
One testimony of the results is Doug Reichenbach's on
page 430 of this issue. Another testimony is Hazel
Giesbrecht's from Clearbrook, B.C. In direct response to
CKC, Hazel decided to act on her longtime dream and
become a foster parent.
Another testimony is Erlene Unruh's five-stanza
hymn written for CKC. It closes thus: "Gracious God,
come fill our being/ As we give ourselves in praise./
Source of life and love and learning/ We will serve you
all our days."
Another testimony is Duane Ruth-Heffelbower's. CKC
came along at the same time he was deciding to close his
law practice. His participation in CKC was part of that
process. He went to Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries in Elkhart, Ind., for seminary training, and
then with his wife, Clare Ann Ruth-Heffelbower, helped
plant a church (in Clovis, Calif.) funded by CKC.
Another testimony is Jake Klassen's from Coaldale,
Alta. "Our [CKC] pledges have not hurt our annual
church budget," he said. "Our pastor preached commit-
ment, and the money came."
Kickoff balloons: As one of the 13,000 who partici-
pated in CKC I affirm this unique chapter in our his-
tory. Perhaps a CKC was needed in an age when de-
nominational loyalty is less of a given. As many voices
clamor for our prayers and time and dollars, the church
we belong to seemingly has to attract special attention
to itself. Our own organizations, it seems, need to ask
for loyalty, for support. Gone are the days when we first
of all prayed and served and gave to our own.
I am skittish about the authority and hierarchy that
characterizes other groups within Christendom. But I
covet the staunch identification (and loving criticism) of
a constituency that knows it belongs to its particular
denomination and supports it without continual remind-
ers and requests. I prefer the quiet, "first day" offering
rather than kickoff balloons, refrigerator magnets,
bookmarks and glossy literature that were part of CKC.
Rather than another CKC I prefer that we be satu-
rated with a theology of stewardship. I wish that we
would all tithe first of all to our local church and to the
denomination to which we belong. I long for the day
when our organizations will receive the first fruits of our
time and prayer and dollars. I'm sad when we and our
dollars are seduced by other people's flashy success
theologies, so readily available in North America.
CKCs are quick fixes that rev us up. What we need is
a theology of stewardship. The alternative is to put our
organizational house in order and prepare to die (2
Kings 20:1). Muriel T. Stackley
pnoloquE
CONTENTS
For the Commission on Home Ministries,
featured in this issue, the 49th parallel
between the United States and Canada is of-
ten invisible. "I work both sides of the bor-
der," says Robert Hull, referring to his portfo-
lio of peace and justice issues. Hispanic and
Chinese ministries, Living in Faithful Evan-
gelism (LIFE) and Mennonite Voluntary
Service also blur the border. North of the
49th, the Conference of Mennonites in Canada
does the administrating through its Congrega-
tional Resources Board. Though Native Min-
istries (Canada) is separately organized from
A home ministries moment: Left to right, Les
Tolbert, Markham, III., consultant for African-
American leadership development; Marilyn Miller,
Boulder, Colo., secretary for evangelism and church
development; Hubert Brown, North Newton, Kan.,
executive secretary ; Zandra Guete, Hesston, Kan.,
participant in Mennonite Central Committee's
Urban Community Development Summer Service
Program; and Violeta Ajquejay, North Newton,
Kan., administrative assistant for Hispanic Minis-
tries, examine Many Peoples Becoming God's People
buttons.
Mennonite Indian Leaders Council (U.S.), the
two groups interact, and staff go back and
forth. At this point only registration for the
military draft and African-American minis-
tries are uniquely U.S. agenda.
Read about the varied
work of CHM. Chances are
good that it has a niche into
which you fit as many
peoples continue to become
the people of God.
The next issue of The
Mennonite will feature
Mennonite history. Muriel
T. Stackley
A vision for mission / 435
Look forward to LIFE / 437
Leaders train for Hispanic churches / 439
Who is an MVSer? / 440
Navigate around sandbars / 441
News / 442
MCC men stand in the gap created by war / 442
Mennonites work for reconciliation in South Africa / 445
Record / 447
Letters / 452
Reviews / 454
Listen with the heart / 454
Limiting vengeance / 454
Faithful Manz / 454
You can get past fear / 455
Are we going to war? / 456
Cover: Stephen Wunrow took the photo in August 1988 on the
occasion of the commissioning of St. Paul Mennonite Fellowship by its
parent congregation, Faith Mennonite Church, Minneapolis.
E MENNONITE
Editorial offices: 722 Mam St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100. Editor:
Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant: Sharon
Sommer; art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the Associated
Church Press, Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a Mennonite and
Brethren in Christ editors' group) and an associate member of the Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretaries: Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14. and Rose Retzlaff
Klassen, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4. Business manager: Dietrich
Rempel. Special editions editors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North
Newton. KS 671 17; Window to Mission, Lois Deckert, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14:
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Elkhart, IN 46517.
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The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build the
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TER: Send Form 3579 to The Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. 5)1990
434 OCTOBER 9, 1990
Hubert L. Brown
What do you do at the General
Conference headquarters?" he
said.
I told him about the various depart-
ments we have in the Commission on
Home Ministries: Mennonite Voluntary
Service, peace and justice, Hispanic
ministries, evangelism and church
development, Chinese ministries,
African-American leadership develop-
ment and our partnership with Menno-
nite Indian Leaders Council.
But this college student said, "I mean,
what do you do?"
I thought for a moment, You mean
besides being supervisor-enabler-coordi-
nator-administrator of CHM staff and
program? "I'm a cheerleader," I quipped.
I see my role as helping create a vision
for mission. Mission is essential to the
church.
The word "mission" comes from the
Latin word "missio," meaning "send." As
Christians we are sent by God into the
world as ambassadors, stewards of the
gospel. Mission is our central task. It is
our attempt to be faithful to the Good
News of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ
calls us to proclaim good news, to
alleviate suffering, show compassion,
overcome oppression, foster justice and
peace, care for the earth, seek life in
wholeness for individuals and for the
community.
This past year I traveled to 32 places
and preached 93 times on this theme. I
want to see every General Conference
Mennonite congregation become a
mission congregation. How?
To become a mission congregation,
members must first affirm that mission
is essential. Our call as believers is to
engage the world. Our call is to embrace
the world, to proclaim Christ. We par-
ticipate in the ministry of Christ by
sharing the love with which Christ loved
us.
Second, a mission congregation needs
to affirm the nurturing character of the
church. Worship, teaching, preaching,
fellowship, service are essential and
THE MENNONITE 435
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be renewed and strengthened.
However, a danger lurks here. Congre-
gations can become too inward-directed
rather than having an outward mission
focus. When the group becomes too
inwardly focused, it becomes nothing
more than a maintenance organization.
The group must guard against operating
as a 475-year-old country club for
"members only."
I want to see every General
Conference Mennonite congregation become
a mission congregation.
Third, we become a mission congrega-
tion by identifying our arena of mission.
The congregation must find a hurt and
heal it, find a need and fill it. The
congregation is more than good people
who come together on Sundays and at
other times. The congregation is a group
that gathers for inspiration and scatters
to meet the needs, hurts and hungers of
a world alienated from God. The church
is called upon to minister to the pains of
those who are voiceless and powerless.
The church is called to witness to Christ
in our world, beginning at home.
If yours is a mission congregation, you
will discover that God has given you
tremendous resources, talent and
potential. You have what it takes. In
speaking to congregations all over North
America, I have seen people of promise,
people with great potential to share
God's love at home and abroad.
I am encouraged by what I see. I'm
excited at the way General Conference
Mennonite Church youth are responding
to the Word of God and the call to
service. This past summer 1,035 people
engaged in mission through Service
Venture in redemptive ministries of
caring and sharing. They proclaimed the
Good News of Jesus Christ. The Com-
mission on Home Ministries provides
resources for many different groups and
individuals who are responding to our
call to mission.
I want to see that happen more in our
conference. We in the Commission on
Home Ministries have a vision for
mission. It is a vision of a renewed
commitment to mission. It is a challenge
to us as a General Conference Mennonite
Church to use all our resources in being
what God has called us to be. We say we
are a people of mission. We need to dem-
onstrate it. I feel good doing what I'm
doing: helping create a vision for
mission.
I affirm these words of Swiss theolo-
gian Emil Brunner: "Mission work does
not arise from any arrogance in the
Christian church. Mission is its cause
and its life. The church exists by
mission, just as fire exists by burning.
When there is no mission, there is no
church; and where there is neither
church nor mission, there is no faith."
Hubert L. Brown, 2907 Bluestem Court,
North Newton, KS 67117, is executive
secretary of the Commission on Home
Ministries.
436 OCTOBER 9, 1990
Hard questions
and an invitation
Case study: Ken and Rita Ashman
joined the Mennonite family five years
ago after reading Living More With Less
by Doris Janzen Longacre.
"Mennonites have the solution, the
doctrines, the tools, the depth for what
the world needs," says Ken. He and Rita
dream of planting new Mennonite
churches. Their home congregation in
Paso Robles, Calif, is encouraging them
in their dream. In August they left their
home and a lucrative job in California to
enroll in the pastoral ministries program
at Hesston (Kan.) College. While in
school they plan to do more than study.
They want to actively reach out and
express the joy of God's reign in their
contacts. They are eager to complete their
training so that they can go out in the
world and plant churches.
I often wonder why new converts to
Anabaptism are more interested in
sharing that faith than are many
born into this rich heritage.
Do we who were raised Mennonite
take our faith for granted? Has the
slander we have suffered over the years
(because of, for example, pacifism) made
us trust primarily those whose names we
recognize? Do we instinctively fear
"contamination" by bringing in "all kinds
of people"? Are our church communities
based on relating to others of our own
background rather than on following
Jesus, who reached out to all kinds of
people? Are we reluctant to share God's
good news because we aren't sure how to
do this?
Herb Miller, a church growth consult-
ant, says that about a quarter of the
people in churches have negative feelings
about evangelism. Another 25 percent
are apathetic. They feel evangelism is
fine for other people in the church, but
it's not for them. However, 0.5 percent of
Evangelism is an investment: Jim Egli,
pastor at Flanagan (III.) Mennonite Church,
is coordinator of LIFE.
the church have the "gift of evangelism"
and practice it. Another 49.5 percent
think the church should work at evangel-
ism but they do not know how to.
I am excited and hopeful about a new
process called Living in Faithful Evan-
gelism. LIFE is designed to help us be
comfortable, confident, motivated and
natural in sharing the abundant life that
can come through a relationship with
Christ and the church.
What is LIFE? Living in Faithful
Evangelism is a three-year congrega-
tional growth process. It combines
prayer, study, planning, relating and
action. It enables a congregation to
fulfill the Great Commission in its
community.
The "Life Line" shown on the next page
gives the events and themes emphasized
during the three-year process.
Living in Faithful Evangelism is a
joint project of the General Conference
Mennonite Church and the Mennonite
Church. It has been adapted for Men-
nonites from Passing On the Promise, a
Church of the Brethren project.
What can LIFE do for your congre-
gation? It can encourage your growth in
God's image as you increase your vision
and desire to be a "body of Christ." It
can help your congregation reach out to
those in need of the life Christ brings.
LIFE will help you find natural and
effective ways to invite people to be in
touch with your church.
You will discover methods to assimi-
late new people within the life and
ministry of your church.
LIFE provides an effective approach
for discipling and training new believers.
What is already happening? The pilot
program of the Church of the Brethren
has gone through the three-year cycle.
Congregations that did not enter the
process had a 7 percent decline in
membership additions. The churches
THE MENNONITE 437
THE LIFE LINE
EVANGELISM
LEADERS
ACADEMY
Discovering a Vision
EVANGELISM DISCOVERY EVENTS
Life to S/iare
Curriculum - 13 Sessions
Evangelism
Sunday
Congregational
Dinner
i *
Congregational Research (till January 15)
AREA
SUPPORT
MEETING
JANUARY
Research Feedback and
Suggestions Received
GROWTH
WORKSHOP
I
FEBRUARY
EVANGELISM
LEADERS
ACADEMY
The Master Plan
Interactive Video Curriculum
3-2 Hour Sessions
Action Ideas from Growth Workshop I
AREA
SUPPORT
MEETING
Including New People
ne/Ci
; Sess
n
The Master Plan
Support Group
Follow-Up
Welcome/ Curriculum
(13 Sessions)
SEPTEMBER
DECEMBER
Action Ideas from Growth Workshop I
IRUART MARCH APRIL
GROWTH
WORKSHOP
n
EVANGELISM
LEADERS
ACADEMY
Equipping All Disciples
Equipping Curriculum
(13 Sessions)
Action Ideas from Growth Workshop n
SEPTEMBER
AREA
SUPPORT
MEETING
JANUARY
Optional Curriculum
Bectives
1
?0i
GROWTH
WORKSHOP
m
Action Ideas from Growth Workshop II s
MARCH
I
APRIL
_]
MAT
I
JUNE
_J
involved in the process had an average
16 percent increase in membership
additions. This is a 23 percent difference
in membership additions between
congregations involved and those who
chose not to get involved in the process.
The six churches involved in our LIFE
pilot program are giving positive reports.
One pastor writes, "The key word for me
is ownership. The process has given our
congregation a shared mission for growth
and outreach. It is no longer only the
vision of the pastor or leadership. Right
now we are all dreaming, planning and
working together in response to Christ's
call to reach out."
The pilot program in central Illinois
began in 1989. Participating churches in
the Mennonite Conference of Eastern
Canada have begun this year. Western
District congregations will have the
opportunity of entering LIFE in 1991.
Pacific, Eastern and Central Districts
and the Conference of Mennonites in
British Columbia will encourage their
churches to enter in 1992. Northern
District and the central provinces of
Canada will be looking into the possibil-
ity of beginning in 1993. I hope that the
three-year LIFE process will be com-
pleted in all churches that desire to be
involved in it by 1997. This means that
1994 will be the final year churches can
enter the process.
How much does LIFE cost? A congre-
gation's total financial cost is approxi-
mately $850 (U.S.) per year. The major
cost is sending the coordinator and
pastor to the annual Evangelism Acad-
emy. Other costs include curriculum and
contributions to help defray overall and
regional LIFE expenses.
According to the Institute for Ameri-
can Church Growth, church members
give 2.8 percent of their annual income,
which means if you gain one new
member whose annual income is $32,000
your church could have an additional
$896 in financial support per year. For
theological and people-oriented reasons,
as well as economic reasons, evangelism
should be seen as an investment rather
than an expenditure.
How do congregations become
involved in LIFE? Individual congre-
gations enter the LIFE process after the
district/province they are in endorses it
and appoints area coordinators and an
area-implementation team. Interpreters
are then appointed who visit the congre-
gations in the district/province to talk
about the vision and process of LIFE. At
that time each congregation decides
whether to join the process.
The reason for having congregations
join LIFE area by area is to provide
support, motivation and accountability.
On the first Tuesday of every month
LIFE staff and council fast and pray.
You are invited to pray with us that the
LIFE process will be an instrument of
God to bring new life to our General
Conference Mennonite churches and to
the world.
e
Marilyn Miller (left), 2000 Dartmouth,
Boulder, CO 80303, is secretary for evangel-
ism and church development for the Commis-
sion on Home Ministries. Here she is with
Mandy Fung at the San Francisco Chinese
Mennonite Church.
438 OCTOBER 9, 1990
47 students in nine locations
Marco Guete
Hispanics represent the fastest-
growing ethnic group in the
United States. The Anabaptist
Biblical Institute at a Distance is one
way that Hispanic Mennonites are
working to reach these people with the
gospel. Now in its third year, the
institute met in Nashville, Tenn., the
first weekend in September for its second
annual retreat.
The institute, under the Commission
on Home Ministries, trains future
Hispanic leaders and is a link between
members of Hispanic churches and their
pastors. Participants at the retreat
included students, teachers and local
directors from Dallas, Chicago and Phila-
delphia as well as staff from Newton,
Kan. I began the retreat with words of
welcome and emphasized the Hispanic
church's need for leaders with a good
biblical training.
Gamaliel Falla, who is in charge of the
Chicago study center, spoke on "Jesus,
Our Model in Service." He called for a
rededication to Christian service. Our
students have all kinds of academic
preparation. We heard from people liber-
ated from drug dealing or drug use as
well as from people wbo had left their
country under death threats.
"I was working as a judge in several
cities of Colombia, but judges are targets
for the cartels," lawyer Oliva Prieto said.
"One time two men came to my office and
told me I had to leave in eight days or
they would kill me. This was because I
was against selling young girls and
married women to prostitution agents."
I spoke on "Jesus, Our Model as a
Disciple." Seeing people from different
Hispanic races and cultures praising God
together under the umbrella of the
General Conference Mennonite Church
inspired me. These pastors appreciate
each other and share their pulpits with
each other during the year.
Margaret Ediger, co-pastor and
director of the study center in Dallas,
spoke on "Jesus, Our Model in Vision."
She said, "I always asked the Lord to
allow me to be a pastor of a Hispanic
church before I retired, and the Lord has
answered." It is easy to see the under-
standing between her and church
members. People embraced her.
Anabaptist theology: The Anabaptist
Biblical Institute was a dream of Alberto
Quintela in 1985 while he was Hispanic
Ministries consultant. The Hispanic
Ministries Reference Council and the
advisory committee (made up of the
Spanish-speaking pastors) guided the
formation of the institute. Now nine
study centers include 47 students and
seven teachers.
Writers are preparing textbooks in
Spanish about Anabaptist theology and
in the institute.
In the moment to say good-bye after
the retreat, a student from Dallas came
running to the Philadelphia van and said
to another student, "This camera I have
was a present from my mother. It's like
a treasure for me, but I want to give it to
you to remember me." I know the person
who gave the gift. She has limited
resources.
Praising God together: Jazmin Falla leads children in a song during worship at the Anabap-
tist Biblical Institute at a Distance retreat.
New and Old Testament. Seminars help
teachers become certified. Our 13 His-
panic congregations need the institute.
We also receive requests from other
Anabaptist Hispanic groups. English-
speaking churches with Spanish-
speaking members interested in biblical
training may use the program. The
study plan is designed to operate by
residency or by correspondence.
Our goal is to prepare leaders for the
Hispanic Mennonite peace churches of
the future. In one of our many meetings
Rafael Peralta (from Lansdale, Pa.) said,
"We want to establish Hispanic Menno-
nite churches with a strong Anabaptist
mind."
This is what we began doing 10 years
ago. Today we are harvesting the fruit.
I am part of the results. The leadership
training program helped me go to college
and seminary. This program, under the
Hispanic Ministries office, is the second
step for students who finish the training
I still have in my mind the picture of
our farewell: Margaret Ediger, with her
white hair, driving a van full of students
back to Dallas with a sign on the back
that read "Iglesia Menonita Comunidad
de Esperanza" — Community of Hope
Mennonite Church.
For more information about these
programs, contact the Hispanic Minis-
tries Office, Commission on Home
Ministries, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114.
Marco Guete is
secretary for Hispanic
Ministries for the
Commission on Home
Ministries.
THE MENNONITE 439
Beth Hege
This group has one
thing in common:
a desire to serve.
From left: Erin Stuffmann, Cameron Frey
and Mary Beth Wall draw illustrations of
their faith journeys.
The volunteers sat in a large circle,
singing to the accompaniment of
an acoustic guitar. This morning
session of Mennonite Voluntary Service
orientation had brought them together at
Camp Mennoscah near Murdock, Kan.,
in August.
In the background, leaves rustled and
sunflowers bobbed in the breeze. The air
smelled like dry grass. Light gusts of
wind lifted off the Ninnescah River and
cooled the warm faces of the volunteers.
These "faces of MVS" were young and
old, wrinkled, dimpled, whiskered and
tanned. The bodies were lanky and
thick, matronly and muscular and well-
equipped with arms to hold babies or
paint houses, legs to run, hearts to love.
In this group of 28 was one common
denominator: a desire to serve.
Who is an MVSer? An MVSer is the
college graduate, the retired farmer, the
female carpenter, the male school-
teacher. MVS, a program of the Commis-
sion on Home Ministries of the General
Conference Mennonite Church, can put
anyone to work.
MVS holds orientations four times a
year, although some volunteers begin
their assignments before attending an
orientation. During this orientation
week some MVSers told me their reasons
for wanting to spend the next year or two
in service, earning a paltry $40 to $50
personal allowance per month.
Several cited college experiences as the
impetus for wanting to serve. Goshen
(Ind.) College requires its students to
spend one trimester doing service in
another culture under a program called
Study Service Trimester, or SST. Dawn
Kaufman said, "I've grown up in rural
white America and I didn't know what it
meant to struggle until I went on SST.
Through classes I've taken at Goshen
I've realized how much oppression there
is. I want to live in the midst of that so I
can feel it, too. I want to gain a view of
how other people live and feel and what
life is for them." Kaufman's assignment
is teaching at Chicago Mennonite
Learning Center.
Kent Unruh of Newton, Kan., said he
spent two years in college and became
disillusioned with formal learning. His
MVS assignment is working with
Hispanic youth in Chicago. His green
eyes alive with curiosity, he offered this
explanation: "I'm going into VS because
I want to learn. I want to learn anything
I can get my hands on."
Cameron Frey investigated different
agencies that could link him up with the
Victim-Offender Reconciliation Program.
"I had heard of VORP and was excited
about doing it or at least learning more
about it. I applied to several agencies,
and my best offer came from MVS," he
said. A graduate of Canadian Mennonite
Bible College in Winnipeg, Frey will be a
VORP coordinator in St. Paul, Minn.
In another part of the country, Mary
Elias has the assignment of working as a
carpenter with Mennonite Housing
Rehabilitation Services in Wichita, Kan.
The daughter of a Canadian farmer, she
said she learned some building skills
from her father. She also worked as a
finish carpenter and now does everything
from painting to installing ceiling joists
and roofing. "Roofing," she said, smiling
shyly, "is one job I kind of like."
Also part of the Wichita MVS unit are
Walter and Lois Fenton, retired farmers
from Philadelphia, Mo. Prior to this
assignment they were MVS workers at a
Christian camp for three years. They
returned from that stint and within
Serving the servers: Julaine Goering (left), Melva Krehbiel and Lorene Goering, members of
Eden Mennonite Church, Moundridge, Kan., prepare meals for MVSers at Camp Mennoscah.
440 OCTOBER 9, 1990
Beth Hege
iles Reimer stepped into the
slender canoe and, using the long
wooden paddle, launched the boat from
the muddy shore of the Ninnescah River.
"I'm not an extrovert," he said, as if to
inform me that our scenic interview on
the river would require prodding on my
part. Miles is the latest addition to the
Mennonite Voluntary Service staff and
serves as associate director in Canada
with an office in Winnipeg.
Once on the river, however, Miles
talked freely about his new position with
MVS and his personal goals. "I have
some big shoes to fill," he said, speaking
of his predecessor, Charlotte Siemens,
formerly of Winnipeg.
Miles explained how he first became
involved with voluntary service nearly
seven years ago. At that point he left
college because he "realized school didn't
fit in with what I wanted to do. I wanted
to help people." He accepted a two-year
position with Mennonite Central Com-
This administrator
wants to live
a responsible
lifestyle.
mittee, working in an after-school
program for children. Another term with
MCC placed Miles as a houseparent for a
boys' group home. Before his term was
completed, however, the home closed and
Miles spent the remaining six months as
a caseworker for a mediation service in
Saskatoon.
At 27, Miles went back to school to
earn a degree in theology from Canadian
Mennonite Bible College, Winnipeg. He
completed the degree this spring and
went to work with MVS almost immedi-
ately. "I graduated from CMBC on April
28," he said, "and on April 29 I was in
Newton, Kan." [for job orientation at
General Conference headquarters].
We hit a sandbar on the river, and I
noticed Miles had brought only one
paddle. I watched him navigate the
canoe, skillfully stirring the water on
each side until the current of the wide
river again carried us on.
Miles' working both sides of the canoe
I'm not an extrovert': Reimer
seemed an appropriate metaphor. When
he said, "I am not an extrovert," he
added, "but I enjoy getting to know
people." When he said his job kept him
away from home more than he'd like, he
noted, "but new friendships and learning
to understand the work of churches and
service agencies is rewarding."
Miles cited one other drawback of his
job. "I'm getting paid enough to have to
pay taxes for the first time in seven
years," he laughed. Most rewarding
about his job, he said, "is when people
call me, already interested in MVS, and I
can talk to them about it. It's exciting to
see people processing that decision."
Miles likes to canoe. It suits him well.
The paddle dipped in and out of the
water almost silently as we floated along.
"I struggle with how the government
spends the money I give them. When I
earn money it is easy to live a lifestyle
that offends the poor and uses up natural
resources," he said.
Who is an MVSer?
months were inquiring about openings in
Mennonite Housing. According to Lois,
"Chuck [Neufeld, MVS director] was
visiting, and Walter just asked out of the
clear, blue sky if there was any carpentry
work to be done in Wichita. Now here we
are." Walter, who is 70, said that MVS
"keeps you young. You're only as old as
you think you are." Lois, 68, agreed.
When prodded, some of the volunteers
admitted to some anxiety about their
assignments. "Moving to a new job in a
new city and a new house with people I
don't know. ..it's all looming up pretty
big," said Frey.
One of the purposes of MVS orienta-
tion is to ease those fears through
fellowship, role-playing and frank
discussion about life in the city and unit.
Some MVSers voiced their expecta-
tions about how this term of service will
affect their lives. Kaufman said, "I want
to broaden my view of the world. This is
not just a one-year thing to do and then
go back to living in white America."
"I would like to be able to look back
and see this as a time of growth in my
personal life, " said Elias, who began her
term in June. "I have realized lately that
I need to take more time with the people
that I work for. We work for a lot of
older people," she said, then described
the plight of a handicapped woman for
whom she works. "It struck me that
maybe I could do something for her. I
started to make plans for what I could do
and how I could be a companion to her,
even off-hours," she said.
Interaction with others is often
gratifying for the volunteers. "It's when
you're working for a client and you can
sense — you can hear the appreciation —
they have for the work, just to see what
it means to them to have someone help
them," said Elias. "I think those are the
rewards."
Beth Hege is news editor of the General
Conference Mennonite Church.
THE MENNONITE 441
NEWS
The treatment of Indians at Oka and Kahna-
wake has been racist and degrading, says the
United Church of Canada. In a statement
approved at its 33rd General Council, the church
condemned the use of force in the attempt to
seize the disputed land at Oka and "the unneces-
sary loss of life." It also lamented the state of
seige that restricted the passage of food, medi-
cine and people, and it criticized Ottawa for not
becoming involved in the crisis earlier. The first
nations should be equal partners in any constitu-
tional discussions and should be involved in "any
process of redefining Quebec's future," it said,
(from the Toronto Globe and Mail)
"We [writers] are at war with the forces
of ignorance, apathy and sloth," said
George Neavoll at the Mennonite Writers'
Conference held Sept. 21-23 at Hesston,
Kan. Neavoll, editorial page editor of The
Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, addressed the topic
"Make Them Think: Writing for the Video
Generation" in his keynote speech. The
conference also included three worship
periods, an editors' roundtable and 20
workshops. One hundred fifteen people
registered for the conference, some from
as far away as California, Ontario and
Virginia. Tentative plans are for the next
U.S. Mennonite writers' conference to be
held in October 1992 in the Fresno-
Reedley, Calif., area.
In a refugee camp between Jordan and Iraq
MCC men stand in the gap created by war
Akron, Pa. (MCC)— In the no-
man's-land between the
Jordanian and Iraqi borders,
Mennonite Central Committee
short-term volunteers are
working with evacuees from
Iraq and Kuwait at Mercy
refugee camp.
Mercy, originally called
Shalaan 3, is located 20
kilometers (12 miles) east of
the Jordanian border. The
desert camp contains some
6,000 Bangladeshi evacuees.
That number could swell to as
many as 20,000, said Ed
Martin, MCC secretary for
Middle East programs, in a
phone call to MCC headquar-
ters here Sept. 1 1 .
Martin traveled to Jordan
Sept. 4 to help MCC staff
coordinate response to the
current refugee situation there.
Several hundred thousand
people have fled Iraq and
Kuwait since Iraqi troops
invaded Kuwait Aug. 2.
So far MCC has allocated
$60,000 (U.S.) from program
and contingency funds for use
in the Persian Gulf crisis.
Initially MCC planned to use
funds for blankets, tents and
food for evacuees. But other
agencies and governments are
making adequate resources
available to the evacuee
camps, said Martin. MCC
funds are currently paying for
transportation and other
personnel costs of MCC
volunteers.
MCC is accepting contribu-
tions for the work in Jordan.
Several MCC workers have
gone or will soon go to Jordan
to work in Mercy refugee camp
for terms ranging from several
weeks to possibly as long as
three months. MCC volunteers
will live in the camp. They will
help set up tents as the camp
expands, cook and distribute
food and do other tasks as
needed.
Doug Amstutz (Sarasota,
Fla.), Jim Haaksma and Noel
Nickle (both from Richmond,
Ind.), MCC teachers in Egypt
whose schools are not in
session, will work in the camp
for several weeks. Kevin Stout
(Lewisberry, Pa.), MCC worker
in Bangladesh, will work in
Jordan on his way back to
Bangladesh after a home leave
in North America. Curt Wenger
(Wayland, Iowa), formerly with
MCC in Bangladesh, and Eldon
Wagler (Partridge, Kan.),
currently in MCC orientation
prior to a term in Egypt, will
also work in the camp.
MCC is participating with a
number of other non-govern-
mental organizations (NGOs) in
the International NGO Coordi-
nating Committee in Jordan.
Member agencies decide
together how the refugee
camps should be run.
The Jordanian military
decides where camps will be
located and are authorities in
the camps. The Jordanian
government is a major supplier
of food and water for the
camps. It supplied bread,
tomatoes and yogurt at Mercy
camp when the camp was first
set up. The United Nations'
World Food Programme also
provides much of the food for
Mercy camp, including rice, oil
and other foods more familiar
to Asians.
Flying evacuees to their
home countries is high priority.
France, Jordan and the Soviet
Union are making planes
available for such flights, said
Martin.
In a Sept. 13 phone call
Martin said that 1 ,000 Ban-
gladeshi evacuees left Mercy
camp Sept. 12 for Amman,
from which they will be flown to
Bangladesh.
European nations have given
$30 million (U.S.) to the
International Organization for
Migration in Geneva, said
Martin. This organization is
coordinating flights out of
Jordan for evacuees.
The New York Times
reported Sept. 10 that 105,000
Asians are in the Jordanian
refugee camps, some 50,000
of them in the no-man's-land
between borders. Numbers of
evacuees could continue to
grow depending on the political
situations, the Times noted.
Ardell Stauffer
442 OCTOBER 9, 1990
Members of the young people's fellow-
ship of Salem-Zion Mennonite Church of
rural Freeman, S.D., did a voluntary
service project in Chicago for a week in
July. Twelve youth and three sponsors
worked at Latino Youth Inc., did various
jobs, including scraping and painting a
fire escape, moving materials, cleaning
and remodeling washrooms, doing
interior construction, tarring a roof,
building a banister and laying carpet.
They also met Hispanic youth in the area.
Mennonite Service Venture coordinated
the project.
"Our phones are ringing constantly," said
William Yolton, executive director of the
National Interreligious Service Board for
Conscientious Objectors, based in Washing-
ton. After years of low profile, national draft
counseling organizations are teaming up to
present draft training meetings across the
United States to meet the demand for infor-
mation. The draft registration program was
reinstated in 1980 and has remained quietly
in place since. Until the last two decades
Selective Service's authorization expired
every two or four years and occasioned an
extensive review to justify its intrusion into
personal liberty. Now the agency reports
annually and appears before Congress only
to get its appropriation renewed.
"Lift Every Voice! Death Penalty
Abolition in the '90s" is the theme of the
10th annual conference of the National
Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, to
be held Nov. 9-1 1 in Washington. Joseph
Lowery, president of the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference, is the
keynote speaker. For more information
contact NCADP, 1325 G St. NW LL-B,
Washington, DC 20005, (202) 347-241 1 .
NEWS
COM meeting discusses
COM-CHM cooperation
Hesston, Kan. (GCMC)—
Program linkages between the
Commission on Overseas
Mission and the Commission
on Home Ministries of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church were topics of discus-
sion at the COM midyear
meeting held here Sept. 7-8.
A task force that met several
times over the summer asked
each commission to discuss
two proposals for linkages
relating to Chinese ministries:
to provide partial funding to a
Hong Kong student in North
America for an internship in
preparation for ministry in Asia
and to design a split term for
some Asia missionaries to work
in Asia and in North America.
Some COM members were
hesitant to move in the
direction of joint program
funding, citing the General
Conference constitution, which
mandates that COM work
overseas and that CHM work in
North America. No decision
was made on the issue.
In other business, commis-
sion members discussed the
possibility of expanding mission
work in Africa with Africa Inter-
Mennonite Mission. They
reviewed the structure for mis-
sionary compensation. Mem-
bers named a search commit-
tee to find a replacement for
Canadian coordinator Jake
Harms, who will retire Aug. 31 ,
1991.
The commission agreed to a
request that the General Board
appoint a representative of an
ethnic minority to the 1 3-
member commission. COM
also recommended that the
General Board reappraise the
study-leave policy for General
Conference staff. The General
Board will meet in November.
Members agreed to increase
the personal allowance stipend
for overseas mission volunteers
from $50 to $75 per month.
They approved a status change
for Scott and Mary Brubaker-
Zehr, who will now serve COM
as missionaries instead of
overseas mission volunteers.
This will extend their term in
Colombia by one year.
Wilbert Shenk, director for
the Mission Training Center at
Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind.,
presented a workshop on
models for mission in the
1990s. Beth Hege, news
service editor for the General
Conference Mennonite Church
Crisis raises
CO questions
Akron, Pa. (MCC U.S.)—
People are phoning Mennonite
Central Committee U.S. Peace
Section with questions related
to conscientious objection.
"I feel happy and disap-
pointed that there have been
so many calls since tensions in
the Middle East escalated,"
says Titus Peachey, co-
secretary of the Peace Section
with his wife, Linda. "I'm happy
that people want to be faithful
to Christ's way of peace, even
during this military mobilization.
"I am troubled, however, that
it takes a crisis like this to
enliven our concerns about
peace issues," says Peachey.
"People die in low-intensity
conflict [to which] it is difficult to
respond with similar urgency."
Peachey fears that the $2
billion the U.S. government
spends annually for military
recruitment and promotion has
been effective. "I think the
dominant culture has done a
good job of putting us to sleep
on peace issues," he says.
"When U.S. troops are not
engaged in combat, we are all
tempted to think that being in
the army is just a way to get an
education and a good job, that
it has nothing to do with killing."
The crisis in the Persian Gulf
region is blatantly tied to
economic concerns, Peachey
believes. "Resisting this call to
arms may mean examining our
lifestyles and working at ways
to make ourselves less
dependent on resources the
military is willing to fight for."
In addition to providing
resources to people who are
thinking about the implications
of U.S. military intervention in
the Middle East, MCC U.S.
Peace Section counsels people
who have questions about
military service. Current law in
the United States, says
Peachey, requires young men
to register with the U.S.
government within 30 days of
their 18th birthday. They can
do this at any post office. "If
you are a conscientious
objector and you choose to
register," says Peachey, "write
on the form that you are a
conscientious objector; space
for this is not provided."
The section mails free copies
of a "Christian peacemaker
registration" form, available in
English and Spanish, to
anyone interested in filing a
copy of their convictions with a
church-related agency. "In the
event of a draft these docu-
ments could provide evidence
Resisting this call to
arms may mean
examing our lifestyles.
of an individual's sincerity of
belief," says Peachey.
Anyone with questions
should contact their pastor,
church conference peace
secretary or MCC U.S. Peace
Section, Box 500, Akron, PA
17501-0500, (717) 859-1151.
Andrea Schrock Wenger
A MENNO (Mennonites Encoun-
tering New Neighbors Overseas)
service/learning project is being
planned for Colombia Jan. 26-Feb.
9, 1991. MENNO project
• needs up to 10 participants.
• is working alongside mission-
aries and Colombian Mennonites.
• is sponsored by the Commis-
sion on Overseas Mission (COM)
of the General Conference
Mennonite Church and the
Colombian Mennonite Church.
For more information, contact
COM, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114, 316-283-5100.
THE MENNONITE 443
Church-planting efforts are moving
forward in Anchorage, Alaska, according to
church planters Jim and Faith Carpenter.
Another couple, Merlin and Wilma
Classen, have moved to Anchorage to
help with the new congregation, which
meets at a local recreation center. As
many as 23 people have attended a
weekly Bible study. The Northwest
Mennonite Conference, in cooperation
with Mennonite Board of Missions,
sponsors the effort.
Marlin E. Miller will be installed Oct. 21 as the
first joint president of the Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart,
Ind. The installation service
will take place at Yellow Creek
Mennonite Church, just south
of Elkhart. David Schroeder,
longtime Bible teacher at
Canadian Mennonite Bible
yf*# Jttk College, Winnipeg, will give
ik A the keynote address on the
theme "Pursue a Vision." Miller came to teach
at Goshen Biblical Seminary in 1974, then
became GBS president in 1975 and served
until becoming joint president this year. AMBS
is made up of GBS and Mennonite Biblical
Seminary.
The Aerospace Industries Associa-
tion, a trade association of 40 defense
contractors, is working on at least
three different strategies to prevent,
overthrow or invalidate Nuclear Free
Zones, according to Windows East
and West, a Quaker newsletter. The
AIA has asked the U.S. Department of
Defense to consider using emergency
powers to void existing nuclear-free
zone laws in 168 communities and has
suggested that the president issue an
executive order pre-empting the local
laws for the sake of national security.
NEWS
Dual-conference committee
probes reasons for integration
Chicago — "Why integrate [the
Mennonite Church and the
General Conference Mennonite
Church]?"
Like a huddle of carpenters,
the 13-member Integration
Exploration Committee of these
two denominations met here
Sept. 17-18 and sanded a
statement of rationale written
by George Brunk III, Harri-
sonburg, Va., and Richard
Early, Souderton, Pa. "Could"
sometimes replaced "would,"
indicating that Why integrate?
is still an open question.
The statement favored inte-
gration. At its next meeting,
February 1991 in Lancaster,
Pa., the committee will create
the rationale for remaining
separate. "We are an explora-
tion, not promotion, committee,"
Ruth Naylor, Bluffton, Ohio, re-
minded the others.
Counting the cost, for
example, might be used in
rationales both for and against
integration of the two groups.
"It's hard to be precise about
cost," says Vern Preheim,
general secretary of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church. "Some costs, such as
a possible loss of finanacial
support in the transition from
old to new, are not quantifiable
in advance."
The committee had invited
Delmar R. Byler, chief execu-
tive officer of the corporation of
the Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.), to be resource person
for this meeting. Byler, a once-
upon-a-time Mennonite, has
been part of two major denomi-
national mergers: the Evan-
gelical United Brethren with the
Methodists in 1968 and the
recent "reunion" of the Northern
and Southern Presbyterians.
"Sometimes," he said, "you
do something simply because
it's right." He cautioned against
assuming that the little things
fall into place. "The hard part,"
Committee also listened
attentively to General Confer-
ence Mennonites explain why
their Canadian agenda is
distinct. "The Conference of
Mennonites in Canada is
family," said Florence Driedger,
Regina, as the group examined
possible models of a new
integrated organization. "We
[GC] Canadians conduct
business in our annual confer-
ences. We would not want to
give this up."
"I had not realized," said
Results of a survey of 276 participants of Normal '89
The Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite
Church should integrate.
Strongly agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly disagree
Delegates
from dual-
conference
churches
GCMC
delegates
MC
delegates
41.3
28.1
22.7
47.8 10.9
40.6 19.8
44.5 23.4
9.4
6.3
2.1
3.1
Lois Thieszen Preheim, Aurora, Neb., prepared 25 questions,
which she mailed to a random sample of Normal '89 registrants
after the conference. The return rate was 73 percent.
he said, "comes in the mun-
dane, legal, living together."
Then, grimacing at the meta-
phor, he added, favoring a
Mennonite integration, "You
can sock us better with a rifle
bullet than with a shotgun
blast."
Mennonite Church members
of the Integration Exploration
James Lapp, general secretary
of the Mennonite Church, "the
extent of this distinctiveness in
Canada." (Ten percent of MCs
live in Canada; 40 percent of
North American GCs live in
Canada.)
The committee also brain-
stormed with the editors of the
two denominations' magazines,
The Mennonite and Gospel
Herald, about ways for the
constituencies to talk about
integration. Committee
members affirmed a joint issue
of the two periodicals midway
between Normal '89, the
gathering at which the six-year
exploration was begun, and the
1995 conference/assembly.
In the end, Jose Ortiz,
Goshen, Ind., said, "Whatever
you say [to inform the constitu-
encies], say it simply and
translate it into Spanish."
Muriel T. Stackley
The Commission on Overseas
Mission is seeking applications for
two openings in Mexico to work
among the German-speaking
Mexican Mennonites:
• a Bible teacher for the Bible
institute
• a pastor/resource person to
assist lay ministers and ordained
leaders in carrying out pastoral
duties.
For more information, contact
COM, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114, 316-283-5100.
Are you lonely? Maybe Cross-
roads can help you too. Some of
the couples who have met their
mates through us include a nurse
and a minister, a teacher and a
carpenter, and a widow and a
farmer. Other clients are meeting
friends who share their interests.
Some are still waiting to meet the
right one. Perhaps they are
looking for you. How will you find
out if you don't join?
For information write to Cross-
roads, Box 32, North Tonawanda,
NY 14120.
444 OCTOBER 9, 1990
Eden Health Care Services, Winkler,
Man., will hold three fund-raising banquets,
Oct. 25-27. Manitoba's Faith and Life Male
Choir will perform at the banquets. Eden
includes a 40-bed psychiatric hospital, a
residential-care facility for people about to
re-enter the community after a period of
illness, and a training facility for unem-
ployed people. The latest division of Eden
Health Care Services is the Recovery of
Hope office in Winnipeg, a resource center
to assist couples, families or individuals
struggling with personal or family problems.
The Soviet government took the unprece-
dented step of suspending the regular spring
call-up to the army for a month. The move
appears to be in response to widespread draft
dodging in a number of non-Russian republics.
According to Komsomolskaya Pravda, the
Communist youth newspaper, the army is "on
the brink of a cauldron." The number of draft
dodgers last year was six times higher than in
1988, the newspaper said. "The conscription
law has become totally obsolete," it said. All
Soviet men over 18 are obliged to serve in the
army for two years. But responsibility for
implementing the conscription law lies with
local authorities, many of whom are under the
control of nationalists sympathetic to draft
dodgers. {Transatlantic Peace Newsletter)
Zion Mennonite Church, Swift
Current, Sask., accepted 13 new
members over three consecutive
Sundays, May 27, June 1 and 8.
Pastor Barry Lesser had guided the
prospective members in faith explora-
tion classes, and the church's deacons
had visited with each person. Five of
the new members were baptized.
NEWS COMMENTARY ——
Mennonites work for reconciliation
in a divided South Africa
Nelda R. Thelin
Will Nelson Mandela be able to
bring about reconciliation in
South Africa? As Mennonites
working with the churches in
South Africa, we feel the crisis.
We need wise, effective
leadership.
South Africa is still the land
of apartheid. Skin color
prescribes one's work, the area
where one lives, one's self-
image. The first question
asked about an unknown
person is that person's color.
For almost half a century this
demonic system has poisoned
the lives of every person living
in South Africa.
How have 5 million whites
contained the dreams of
freedom of 20 million blacks?
The Dutch settlers came with
a theology that only certain
people were predestined by
God to enter the kingdom.
They concluded that black
Africans were not chosen.
Blacks were to be "hewers of
wood and drawers of water."
Later the British moved in to
colonize the area, followed by
European missionaries. Dutch
settlers with their theology of
domination plus British
imperialists with their military
technology plus missionaries
with their condemnation of
African customs left Africans
struggling to maintain self-
confidence.
The Europeans' hunger for
land and minerals resulted in
the legalized system of control
called apartheid. Land and
industry owners agreed that in
order for South Africa to remain
prosperous the laws, education
system and wage levels had to
reinforce the belief that Africans
are inferior to Europeans. The
black population had to remain
servants and laborers. Any
expression of revolt has been
dealt with harshly by the police
and army.
The price of apartheid has
been heavy. The divisions
between racial groups rest
deeply in all South Africans'
minds. Apartheid is now dying,
but its tentacles will continue to
ensnare people for generations
to come.
But there is hope. White and
black schoolchildren want to
study in the same schools.
Nelson Mandela can now sit
down with the head of the
South African government to
discuss a more democratic
form of government. Black,
brown and white women and
men can study the Bible
together.
Mennonites entered South
Africa at the invitation of
already existing churches,
councils of churches and other
church organizations. We
found many dedicated, sincere
Christian sisters and brothers
already here.
Mennonites have worked
with communities in their efforts
to improve health via gardens
and nutrition, to use technology
As Mennonites we
join our fellow
South African
Christians in
preparing for a new
South Africa.
and education. We have
worked with church leaders as
they study the Bible and bring
to reality its hopeful teachings.
When a youth group works
for community betterment,
people are hopeful. When a
preschool still flourishes
several years after a Mennonite
Central Committee worker has
gone, hope is realized. When
black, brown and white church
leaders take stands on issues
of justice despite the constant
threat of imprisonment, hope is
alive. The situation is improv-
ing. As Mennonites we join our
fellow South African Christians
in preparing for a new South
Africa.
Yeast and salt: Can a
handful of Mennonites contrib-
ute significantly to the struggle
for reconciliation in this
country? We hope that as
yeast and salt we will be used
by God's Spirit. The vision of
John in Revelation 7:9 has at
times seemed impossible for
South Africa. But it is God's
agenda.
A challenging image is that
of the seed that must die so
new life may appear. As we
work through other churches in
South Africa, our Mennonite
name and organized church
may seem to die. We join,
support and encourage others
in the ministry of reconciliation.
Even as it took the ultimate
sacrifice for Jesus to break
down the "dividing wall of
hostility" between us and God
and between people (Ephe-
sians 2:13-15), so we, too, are
called to sacrifice for unity of
the body of Christ.
Nelda R. Thelin, MCC South
Africa, is a member of
Southside Fellowship Church,
Elkhart, Ind.
THE MENNONITE 445
If our world were a village of 1 ,000
people, 60 people in that village
would have half the income; 500
would be hungry; 600 would live in
shantytowns; 700 would be illiterate.
( World Development Forum, reported
in The Marketplace)
In a speech in 1985 on taking and avoiding
business risks, real estate developer and investor
Ken Good pledged $100,000 per year for 10 years
to Bethel College. He said he wanted the money
split, half for establishment of a center for nuclear
conflict resolution and half for up to 16 student
scholarships. This summer Good told Bethel
officials that he could not fulfill the second half of
his $1 million pledge. Good has reportedly taken a
job as a commodities broker in New York. Bethel
officials said that he apparently lost money in
events that have been tied to the national saving
and loan crisis. The college now seeks to keep the
Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution
open. Officials hope to raise $25,000 through a
fund drive to go with $25,000 donated by Bethel to
keep it open. (The Newton Kansan)
A prevailing [North American] attitude
is that if the people of the underdevel-
oped nations would hustle a bit, they
would not suffer as much from poverty,
says former Mexican missionary Claude
Good in Gospel Messenger. Good
observes that the Indians of Mexico, at
least, work harder than most North
Americans. An Indian man can carry
more and sustain hard work better than
the average North American twice his
size. Few North Americans would survive
under the conditions Indian people
tolerate, Good says.
NEWS
COM staff,
missionaries
visit churches
in north, west
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)— Five
Commission on Overseas
Mission staff and missionaries
are visiting communities in
South Dakota, Minnesota,
Saskatchewan, Alberta, British
Columbia, Washington state
and Idaho Sept. 29-Oct. 17 to
help them celebrate 90 years of
overseas work by the General
Conference Mennonite Church.
Jeannie Zehr, COM secre-
tary for mission communica-
tions, and missionaries
Jonathan Larson (Botswana),
Tim Sprunger (Hong Kong),
Helen Baergen (Bolivia) and
Ellie Loewen (Brazil) depict
overseas mission outreach
through story and song. The
theme of their presentation is
"We Seek a City" (Hebrews
11:10, 13:14).
This tour includes churches
in the Freeman, S.D., area;
Freeman Academy; Bethel
Mennonite Church, Mountain
Lake, Minn.; Grace Mennonite
Church, Regina; Zion Menno-
nite Church, Swift Current,
Sask.; Swift Current Bible
Institute; Rosthern (Sask.)
Mennonite Church; Corner-
stone Church, Saskatoon;
Peace Mennonite Church and
Nutana Park Mennonite
Church, Saskatoon; Coaldale
(Alta.) Mennonite Church;
Menno Simons Christian
School and Foothills Mennonite
Full-time associate pastor,
Mennonite Church of Normal (III.),
with responsibility for Christian
education, youth ministry and
music/worship planning. Profes-
sional qualifications include
training in these areas, biblical
knowledge and commitment to
Anabaptist beliefs and skills in
leadership, communication and
team ministry.
Send resume and references to
Search Committee, Mennonite
Church of Normal, 805 S. Cottage
Ave., Normal, IL 61761, (309) 452-
6622.
Church, Calgary; Kelowna
(B.C.) Gospel Fellowship
Church; Eden Mennonite
Church, Chilliwack, B.C.;
Peace Mennonite Church,
Richmond, B.C.; Vancouver
area churches; Cedar Valley
Mennonite Church, Mission,
B.C.; Menno Mennonite
Church, Ritzville, Wash.; First
Mennonite Church, Aberdeen,
Idaho.
Mennonite Mutual Aid is seeking
a marketing research specialist.
Person will be responsible for
determining how to collect
information, interpret results and
help in determining marketing
research priorities. Candidates
must have a bachelor's degree
with studies in statistical applica-
tions, familiarity with research
methods/functions and be an
active participant in an Anabaptist-
related congregation.
If interested, please contact
Personnel Department, MMA,
1110 N. Main St., Goshen, IN
46526, (210) 533-9511.
Colombia '91. a summer study
service program, is scheduled for
July 1-Aug. 19, 1991:
• a three-week assignment
alongside Colombian Mennonite
youth, followed by PCNA (Program
for Conscientization of North
Americans), a study learning
experience
• is coordinated by the Commis-
sion on Overseas Mission (COM)
of the General Conference
Mennonite Church and the
Mennonite Church in Colombia.
For more information, contact
COM, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114, 316-283-5100.
FOR THE TOUR OF
YOUR LIFE...
Walk where Michael Sattler walked...
talk with brothers and sisters in other
cultures who share your faith story...
see the majestic beauty of God's
creation.
Call or write for more information
about our 1991 TourMagination tours.
Jamaica 91 A
Jan. 18-25
Jan Gleysteen
Jamaica 91 B
Jan. 25-Feb. 1
Wilmer Martin
Europe 91 A
June 10-30
Jan Gleysteen, Fern Yoder
Europe 91 B
July 1-19
Wilmer Martin, John Ruth
Eastern Canada 91
July 12-25
Hubert Schwartzentruber, Henry Landes
Europe 91 C
July 20-Aug. 3
Arnold Cressman, J. Denny Weaver
Europe 91 D
Aug. 29-Sept. 18
Jan Gleysteen, Henry Landes
TOUR-
1210 Loucks Ave.
Scottdale, PA 1 5683
412-887-5440
412-887-9436
1 31 Erb St. West
Waterloo, ONT N2L 1T7
519-747-0517
519-745-7433
569 Yoder Road, P.O. Box 376
Harleysville, PA 1 9438
215-256-3011
215-723-8413
446 OCTOBER 9, 1990
Enrollment in American seminaries is
rising again after declining slowly but
steadily for the past five years. Enroll-
ment at the start of the 1 989-90 term
reached 56,083, up 5.1 percent from a
year earlier, according to the Association
of Theological Schools, based in
Vandalia, Ohio. The seminary output is
about keeping up with the needs for new
ministers in Protestant denominations,
but there's a shortage in a growing
number of Catholic dioceses.
recoimJ
For the past five years the United States has
been funding UNITA, the guerrilla army
seeking to overthrow the government of
Angola, providing in the area of $50-$100
million a year. For the first time since 1986,
Congress has agreed to an open-floor debate
on the lethal (military) covert funding of this
war. Keith Gingrich of Mennonite Central
Committee asks people to urge members of
Congress to cut UNITA funding. Angola has
the highest amputee rate in the world, Gingrich
writes. UNITA routinely targets rural water
systems and health-care facilities, depriving
1 .5 million people of safe water and leading to
the world's highest infant mortality rate. MCC
plans to place two workers in Angola in
January 1991 .
By a vote of 83 percent Martensville
(Sask.) Mennonite Church decided to
"withdraw from the General Conference
Mennonite Church at all levels." Arnold
Kornelsen is the pastor; Dennis Friesen
is assistant to the pastor. The Confer-
ence of Mennonites in Canada appointed
John Peters to be a liaison with the
congregation.
dEAThs
Martha Dorothy (Sawatzky)
Nickel, 59, died Aug. 26 of
cancer in Saskatoon. Among
her many activities she was
involved in Canadian and bi-
national levels of Women in
Mission and served on the
CHM board for seven years.
She directed MCC's Self-Help
program in Saskatchewan for
eight years. She is survived by
her husband, Menno; a son,
Jim; a daughter, Patricia, and
many other relatives.
WOltltERS
D. Dick S. Dick
D. Falk P. Falk
H. Dueck H.W. Dueck
M. Sawatzky S. Sawatzky
Bowmansville, Pa., returned to
Taiwan July 29. He is involved
in leadership training and
teaches at seminaries and
Bible colleges where Menno-
nite students are preparing for
ministry. She works with
women's evangelistic Bible
studies. Their children Rachel
and Matthew returned with
them; Ruth is a student at
Messiah College. Grantham,
Pa.
Ellen (Hosteller) and Frederic
Sprunger, Salem Church,
Kidron, Ohio, and Oak Grove
Church, Smithville, Ohio,
respectively, returned to Japan
Aug. 7. They are hosts at the
Japan Anabaptist Center in
Tokyo and relate to the Tokyo
Area Fellowship of Mennonite
Churches. Their son Jon is a
student at Hesston (Kan.)
College.
E. Sprunger F. Sprunger
D. Entz L. Entz
R. Brown S. Brown
Donna (Kampen) and Loren
Entz, Zion Church, Elbing.
Kan., and Fiske (Sask.)
Church, respectively, workers
in Burkina Faso involved in
evangelism and church
planting, returned to North
America in early July for a one-
year NAA. They and their three
children-Zachariah, Mariam
and Aisha-are living in Elbing,
Kan.
Roland and Sophie (Schmidt)
Brown, Bethel College Church,
continued on next page w^-
The following are General
Conference Mennonite Church
Commission on Overseas
Mission workers.
Delbert and Susan (Mast)
Dick, Silverwood Church,
Goshen, Ind., have begun a
three-year term with COM and
AIMM. They are studying
French in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
In the summer of 1991 they will
go to Kananga, Zaire, where
they will work with STUDI-
PROKA, a Christian recording
studio which is a joint project of
the Mennonite and Presbyte-
rian churches. Their daughters
AIMM — African Inter-Mennonite Mission
COE — Commission on Education
MBM — Mennonite Board of Missions
MCC — Mennonite Central Committee
NAA — North America Assignment
are Deborah and Rachel.
David and Pat (Dueck) Falk,
Bakerview Mennonite Brethren
Church, Clearbrook, B.C., will
begin a four-year term in Brazil
this fall. They will work with the
leadership training seminary
(CEMTE) and relate to the
Mennonite church in Campinas.
Their children are Dylan and
Alejandra.
Helen (Redekop) and Henry
W. Dueck, Charleswood
Church, Winnipeg, returned to
Bolivia in August. They are
teaching at Baptist Theological
Seminary, Cochabamba, and
offer short-term
study seminars in
other places in
South America.
Marietta (Landis)
and Sheldon
Sawatzky, Pine
Grove Church,
THE MENNONITE 447
Sexual abuse of children is rampant on Arizona Indian
reservations, and an increasing number of victims and
molesters are younger than 10, attorneys and mental-
health workers told U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), vice
chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Indian
Affairs. McCain, who conducted the Sept. 5 special
hearing in hopes of gaining support for legislation to help
the victims, also was told the U.S. attorney for Arizona
annually receives 200-250 complaints about child abuse
on reservations. The increase in young sexual-abuse
victims and offenders has been dramatic on northern
Arizona's Hopi reservation, where a Bureau of Indian
Affairs teacher confessed to molesting pupils in 1987.
Mennonite Voluntary Service has announced five urgent openings for
volunteers aged 18 and over. The Gathering Place in Denver, a drop-in
center for homeless women and children, needs day shelter staff. Social
work background or experience with homeless people is desired, and the
applicant must be a woman. Mennonite Friendship Manor, Hutchinson,
Kan., wants an activity aide to work with older people. Community
Mennonite Day Care Center in Markham, III., wants day-care teachers
and assistants. Friendly Visitor Service, St. Catharines, Ont., needs a
senior visitation worker for full-time or half-time work. Applicants should
have a desire and ability to work with elderly people. Family Centre, a
neighborhood drop-in center for adults and their preschool children in
Winnipeg, needs a child-care worker for the nursery program. Other
openings with MVS are available in education, youth services, community
development, health care, peace and justice, housing rehabilitation,
mental health, legal aid and other areas. Terms are one or two years.
Contact Dave Orr, MVS, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100.
recoihJ
B. Neufeld
G. Neufeld
D. Eshleman L. Eshleman
Bontrager
Waite
Elias
Estes
H. Baergen
R. Baergen
Hegge
Beachy
North Newton, Kan., and
Alexanderwohl Church,
Goessel, Kan., respectively,
returned from Taiwan July 30
for a one-year NAA followed by
retirement. A doctor, he was
medical director and chief
executive officer at Mennonite
Christian Hospital in Hualien.
She was involved in the Meilun
and Po-Ai churches and an
adviser at the New Dawn
Development Center for
developmental^ disabled
children.
Beverly (Dueck) and Gerald
Neufeld, Crystal City (Man.)
Church, workers involved in
linguistics and church planting
in Burkina Faso, returned to
North America July 18 for a
one-year NAA. They and their
children, Juanita and Jonathan,
live near Manitou, Man.
Helen (Janzen) and Rudy
Baergen, Charleswood Church,
Winnipeg, completed their term
in Bolivia and returned to
Canada July 1 1 . They taught
at the Baptist Theological
Seminary in Cochabamba.
Rudy joined the pastoral team
at First Church, Kitchener, Ont.,
in September. They have two
sons, Rene and Joel.
Dianna (Burkey) and Leon
Eshleman, Albany (Ore.)
Church, have completed their
service as medical workers at
Mennonite Christian Hospital in
Hualien, Taiwan. They and
their children, Christa, Laura
and Scott, are living in Albany.
Gloria Hegge and Jonathan
Beachy, Eugene (Ore.) Church
and Bergthal Church, Pawnee
Rock, Kan., respectively,
completed their service July 18
in Kobe, Japan, where they
were involved in church
planting.
The following are Mennonite
Voluntary Service workers.
MVS is a program of the
Commission on Home Minis-
Burkholder
Crowe
tries of the General Conference
Mennonite Church.
Beth Bontrager and Phil
Waite, Community Church of
Lancaster, Pa., and Friends
Church, respectively, began
one-year terms in August in
San Francisco. He is on staff
at the Philippine Resource
Center. Her work is yet to be
determined. Her parents are
Buetta and Marion Bontrager of
Hesston, Kan. His are Charles
and Marsha Waite of Lynn-
wood, Wash.
Kim Burkholder, Orrville
(Ohio) Church, began a one-
year term Aug. 1 3 as a teacher
at Chicago Mennonite Learning
Center. Her parents are Ann
and Richard Burkholder of
Orrville.
Melanie Crowe, Tiefengrund
Rosenort Church, Laird, Sask.,
began a one-year term July 1
as a child-care worker at
Beatrice (Neb.) Day Care
Center. Her parents are
». - - *
L. Fenton W. Fenton
Douglas and Lisa Crowe of
Laird.
Mary Elias, Evangelical
Mennonite Mission Church,
Winkler, Man., began a one-
year term June 18 as SWEAT
work camp leader and carpen-
ter in Wichita, Kan. Her
parents are the Peter A.
Eliases of Winkler.
Laura Estes, Evangelical
Free Church, began a one-year
term Aug. 22 as a food service
worker at Friendship Inn in
Saskatoon. Her parents are
Arthur and Joy Shellenberg of
Bozeman, Mont.
Lois and Walter Fenton, Pea
Ridge Church, Palmyra, Mo.,
began one-year terms Feb. 5 in
Wichita, Kan. She is a program
assistant at The Lorraine
Center. He is a home repair
worker with Mennonite Housing
Rehabilitation.
Cameron Frey, St. Jacobs
(Ont.) Church, began a two-
year term Aug. 28 in St. Paul,
448 OCTOBER 9, 1990
Applications for the Intermenno Trainee
Program are being accepted by Mennonite
Central Committee. The program places
North Americans, ages 19 to 27, in Europe
to live and work for a year. Application
deadline is Jan. 1 5, 1 991 . The program
begins in mid-August. For application
forms or more information contact MCC,
Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-0500, or MCC
Canada, 134 Plaza Drive, Winnipeg, MB
R3T 5K9.
Representatives from over 40 denomina-
tions and parachurch organizations met in
Ottawa last May for a consultation on
evangelism. Initiated by the Task Force on
Evangelism, a ministry of the Evangelical
Fellowship of Canada, the consultation
launched Vision 2000, which participants
hope will involve Canadian churches in
unprecedented evangelistic outreach in this
decade. Mennonite Board of Missions,
Elkhart, Ind., sent Dale R. Bauman, pastor
at Elmira (Ont.) Mennonite Church, to learn
more about evangelism in Canada.
Bauman is area coordinator for the LIFE
(Living in Faithful Evangelism) project in the
Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada.
The Minority Farmers Rights Act, passed
July 26 in the U.S. Senate by unanimous
consent, seeks to halt minority land loss
and rebuild the minority agricultural land
base in every region of the nation. It also
seeks to eradicate discrimination and
indifference to minority farmers from all
Department of Agriculture programs.
Interfaith Action for Economic Justice
helped work for passage of the bill.
RECORD
Goering
Minn. He is a mediator/
program coordinator for the
Center for Victim Offender
Mediation. His parents are
Amsey and Ina Frey of St.
Clements, Ont.
Jodi Friesen, Bergthaler
Church, Altona, Man., began a
four-month term Aug. 1 1 in
Hutchinson, Kan., as a child-
care worker at Friendship Day
Care Center. Her parents are
Joyce and Menno Friesen of
Altona.
Catherine (Kay) Gale, First
United Church, Tampa, Fla.,
began a two-year term July 1 8
as a community worker at Wel-
come Inn Community Center
and Church, Hamilton, Ont.
Kristi Goering, Ted row
Church, Wauseon, Ohio, began
a one-year term Aug. 20 as a
fourth-grade teacher at Hopi
Mission School, Kykotsmovi,
Ariz. Her parents are Gene
and Janet Goering of Hudson,
Mich.
Huber
Jennifer Graber, First
Covenant Church, Salina, Kan.,
began a two-year term as a
third-grade teacher at Hopi
Mission School, Kykotsmovi,
Ariz. Her parents are Loretta
and Max Graber of Salina.
Gina Hilbert, Faith Commu-
nity Bible Church, Madison,
Wis., began a two-year term
Aug. 17 as a mental health
counselor and case manager at
Community House, Seattle.
Her parents are Daniel Hilbert
and Joanne Seppala.
Sally Huber, Bethel Church,
Mountain Lake, Minn., began a
two-year term Aug. 1 as a
plumber for Mennonite Housing
Rehabilitation in Wichita, Kan.
She has one daughter, Cathy.
Her mother is Helen Braun.
Susan Hunsberger, College
Church, Goshen, Ind., began a
one-year term Aug. 13 as a
teacher at Chicago Menno-
nite Learning Center. Her
parents are Arlin and Naomi
Keller
Koast
Hunsberger of Goshen.
Richard Kauffman, First
Church, Champaign-Urbana,
III., began a 13-month term
Aug. 17 as an arts and crafts
director for Boys and Girls
Clubs of Fresno, Calif. His
parents are Harold and Jean
Kauffman of Pesotum, III.
Dawn Kaufman, Benton
Church, Goshen, Ind., began a
one-year term Aug. 13 as a
teacher at Chicago Mennonite
Learning Center. Her parents
are Calvin and Loretta
Kaufman of Morton, III.
Christopher Keller, Deep Run
West Church, Perkasie, Pa.,
began a one-year term May 30
as a carpenter for Mennonite
Housing Rehabilitation in
Wichita, Kan. His parents are
Mable and Robert Keller of
Plumsteadville, Pa.
Esther Koast, First Baptist
Church, Waynesburg, Pa.,
began a two-year term Aug. 13
as a kindergarten teacher at
Hopi Mission School. Kykots-
movi, Ariz. Her parents are
Dorothy and Mike Koast of
Sycamore, Pa.
Rachel Loewen, Sommer-
felder Church, Lowe Farm,
Man., began a
one-year term
Aug. 1 1 as a
client service
*■ >, representative
and assistant
bookkeeper
for Mennonite
Housing
Loewen Rehabilitation,
Wichita, Kan.
Her parents are the Jake
Loewens of Morden, Man.
Rachel Neufeld, Faith
Church, Fargo, N.D., began a
two-year term Sept. 4 as a
continued on next page ^
Faculty position in education:
Opening tall 1991, in early
childhood and elementary
education. Doctorate preferred.
Experience required. Women and
minorities are urged to apply
Send resume to Dr. Lee Snyder.
Eastern Mennonite College,
Harrisonburg. VA 22801.
Position in athletics and
physical education: Athletic
director and soccer coach.
Responsibilities also include
teaching in physical education or
outdoor education and activity
skills courses. Doctorate preferred.
Administrative and coaching
experience required. Teaching
experience desirable.
Send resume to Dr. Lee Snyder,
Eastern Mennonite College.
Harrisonburg, VA 22801.
THE MENNONITE 449
The central California retreat for families
with developmental disabled family
members and partner families will be held
Oct. 26-28 at Camp Sugar Pine. Stan and
Delores Friesen will be resource leaders.
He is pastor at College Community Church,
Clovis, Calif. She is a professor at Men-
nonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, Fresno,
Calif., in the field of counseling. For more
information call West Coast MCC, (209)
639-6911.
Applications for SALT (Serving and
Learning Together) International program
are being accepted by Mennonite Central
Committee. The program places North
Americans, ages 18 to 22, in countries in
Asia, Africa or Latin America, where they
live and work full time with individuals,
churches, businesses, farms or other
institutions. Participants pay $2,500
($3,000 Canadian) toward travel, medical
an other costs and receive a small monthly
stipend. Application deadline in Jan. 15,
1 991 . For application forms or more
information contact MCC, Box 500, Akron,
PA 17501-0500, or MCC Canada, 134
Plaza Drive, Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9.
By the end of 1990, Mennonite Central
Committee will have sent out $500,000
worth of material supplies in "surprise
shipments," reported John Hostetler, MCC
U.S. material resource director, to the MCC
U.S. executive committee meeting Sept. 7
in Akron, Pa. "Surprise shipments" are
those not included in 1990 program plans,
responses to unplanned requests. Ship-
ments have already been made to Russia,
Afghanistan, Romania and Iran. Other
shipments are planned this fall for Russia
and the Ukraine.
RECORd
Plante Rupp
Stuffmann Unruh
crisis intervention worker at
Osborne House, Winnipeg.
Her parents are Ernest and Lila
Neufeld of Fargo.
Brenda Plante, Aberdeen,
Sask., began a one-year term
Aug. 1 1 as a child-care worker
at Beatrice (Neb.) Day Care
Center. Her parents are
Dennis and Joan Plante of
Aberdeen.
Lynda Rupp, Bancroft
Church, Toledo, Ohio, began a
two-year term Aug. 27 as a
teacher for the Guadalupe
Project, St. Paul, Minn. Her
parents are Karen and Lynn
Rupp of Maumee, Ohio.
Erin Stuffmann, Our Lady of
Malibu (Calif.) Parish, began a
one-year term Aug. 1 as a
peace worker for Project
Peacemakers, Winnipeg. Her
parents are Cynthia and
Maurice Stuffmann.
Kent Unruh, Jubilee Church,
North Newton, Kan., began a
one-year term Aug. 22 on staff
Wall Wetterau
at Latino Youth, Chicago. His
parents are Lois and Paul
Unruh of Newton.
Mary Beth Wall, Salem-Zion
Church, Freeman, S.D., began
a one-year term July 16 as a
women's advocate at News
House, Kansas City, Kan. Her
parents are Elmer and Winifred
Wall of Freeman.
Kristina Wetterau, Dansville
(N.Y.) Free Methodist Church,
began a one-year term Aug. 2
in Chicago. Her work is yet to
be arranged. Her parents are
Nancy and Norman Wetterau of
Dansville.
David Friesen began Sept. 1 0
as pastor at West Abbotsford
Church, Abbotsford, B.C.
Arnet Hales is assistant in
the Christian service depart-
ment at Columbia Bible
College, Clearbrook, B.C.
David Lee Hatheway,
formerly of Canby, Ore., is an
instructor of Bible and the
campus pastor at Freeman
(S.D.) Academy.
Heinz Janzen, North Newton,
Kan., began Oct. 1 as half-time
Mennonite Men coordinator.
Peter H. Janzen has re-
signed as executive secretary
of the Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada, effective Dec.
31.
Loewen Schumm
Darlene and Mark Keller,
Faith Church, Newton, Kan.,
MBM workers serving with
United Mission to Nepal,
returned to Nepal Aug. 30
following a 13-month North
American assignment.
Henry Loewen, Fort Garry
Fellowship, Winnipeg, is the
new executive secretary of the
Conference of Mennonites in
Manitoba.
Marta Longacre , Akron (Pa.)
Church, began a one-year
MCC Intermenno Program term
in August. The first six months
she is an assistant caretaker at
Singel Church, Amsterdam.
Paul Longacre began Sept.
15 as half-time associate
pastor for one year at Akron
(Pa.) Church.
Everett and Margaret
Metzler, MBM workers, arrived
in late August at Sichuan
Normal University, Chengdu,
People's Republic of China,
teaching English under the
China Educational Exchange
program.
Beth Preheim and Michael
Sprong have been hired as co-
coordinators of the Newton
(Kan.) Area Peace Center.
Twelve local churches support
the center.
Clare Schumm, secretary for
family life education for COE,
Swartley Yamasaki
will focus on family-life con-
cerns at a weekend seminar
Oct. 26-28 at Olivet Church,
Clearbrook, B.C.
Mary Swartley, Elkhart, Ind.,
was elected chair of the
Mennonite Mutual Aid board of
directors at a meeting in
Chicago Aug. 9-10.
April Yamasaki has been
appointed writer-in-residence
and a sessional instructor in
English at Columbia Bible
College, Clearbrook, B.C.
— compiled by Sharon Sommer
Youth Evangelism Service (YES)
is seeking two or three college-age
applicants for assignment in Hong
Kong:
• a 1-1/2-year-term beginning
January 1991, including a three-
month internship in Baltimore.
• Volunteers will work alongside
Hong Kong Mennonites and
missionaries in community
outreach.
• YES Hong Kong is jointly
sponsored by the Commission on
Overseas Mission (COM) of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church and the Eastern Mennonite
Board of Mission and Charities.
For more information, contact
COM, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114, 316-283-5100.
450 OCTOBER 9, 1990
At Thanksgiving and Christmas, Christians celebrate God's
love by giving thanks and sharing gifts with others. By
sharing through one of these Mennonite Central Committee
giving projects this season, you can be part of the picture!
L\\otvs
********
tot
si*
Mennonite
Central
Committee
Mennonite Central
Committee and MCC U.S.
21 South 12th Street
PO Box 500
Akron, PA 17501-0500
MCC Canada
134 Plaza Drive
Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9
Letters
Thank you from China
Warm greetings in Jesus' name. I
arrived safely in Hong Kong. We appre-
ciate deeply the kind invitations of Men-
nonite World Conference, China Educa-
tional Exchange and Rockway Mennonite
Collegiate (Kitchener, Ont.) for us to
attend Mennonite World Conference and
visit our grandson Paul.
We thank the friends who took good
care of us in their homes and the friends
who made our trip possible. We enjoyed
the visit a great deal.
May God bless you and your work.
Peace, joy and love. James C. Liu and
family, You Se Ye Jin She Bei Chang,
Hengyang, Hunan Province, People's
Republic of China
Anniversary stirs thought
On Aug. 19 John Ruth and I spoke at the
anniversary service in the Delp (Herrite)
meetinghouse near Harleysville, Pa. My
grandfather Jacob H. Moyer was a lay
preacher there and I spoke of his life and
ministry. He was quite charismatic and
evangelistic and was a controversial
figure in the Mennonite Church. I was
fascinated by the fact that in 1885 my
grandparents were married in Philadel-
phia by L. Frank Haas, presiding elder of
the Heavenly Recruiters Association. Is
it not a fact that all of us are to be
"heavenly recruiters"? Have we lost
sight of our goal? It stirred my thinking.
At one time my grandparents were
deeply in debt. Then the Lord told them
to give a 10th to the Lord's work and also
the eggs that were produced on Sundays.
Later they were free from debt and had
good credit. They had 10 children. Ward
W. Shelly, 1200 E. Partridge 4A, Meta-
mora, IL 6154
Additions and corrections
"Integration Exploration Update" (Sept.
11 issue) by Jim Gingerich caught my
eye. Even without the built-in bias, I am
encouraged by and supportive of all the
current efforts at cooperation.
I need to clarify one reference in the
first paragraph. Jim stated that I was
"formerly a full-time employee of South
Central Conference." In fact, I was only
two-thirds time. Thus the reduction of
my time commitment to South Central
was not quite as major as the article
suggests. And that time reduction was
in part compensated by increasing the
hours worked by the administrative
secretary.
452 OCTOBER 9, 1990
Jim also gave several current ex-
amples of sharing, without attempting to
be exhaustive. Others include the
sharing of conference ministers in the
West and Midwest: Pacific Coast (MC)
and Pacific District (GO, and Illinois
(MC) with the western section of Central
District (GC). Youth ministers are
shared in the same area of Illinois and
Central District, as well as Eastern
District (GC) and Franconia Conference
(MC). There are probably others.
Now that I am half GC and half MC, I
have begun reading The Mennonite again
and commend you for the quality of this
periodical. William R. Zuercher, confer-
ence administrator, Western District
Conference and South Central Mennonite
Conference, Box 306, North Newton, KS
67117
Lack of morality
In a letter [to a local magazine] a 24-
year-old Japanese housewife laments the
fact that crew members of the Enola Gay
[the name of the plane used to drop the
atomic bombs on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki] "are reportedly selling sweat-
shirts, cups, prints and other souvenirs
featuring the bombing scene." She
continues, "I strongly detest such
commericalization of the innumerable
Hiroshima victims. Such actions
indicate a lack of morality." And "such
hucksterism is unforgivable." What was
their motive? I wonder. Virginia Claas-
sen 3891-6 Shimonaka, Sadowara,
Miyazaki ken 880-02, Japan
Three NDC church plants
Church planting is most important for
Mennonites. It is the evangelical
outreach of our church and is as impor-
tant as the missionary work we do in
other lands. Church planting does not
produce quick results. It requires people
with a strong faith, dedication, persis-
tence and patience.
We Mennonites are caught up in the
American dream of upward mobility. It
is popular to seek good-paying jobs and
middle- or upper-class living. These are
not bad in themselves if we remember to
reach out to the poor, hungry, homeless,
uneducated and sick, not to mention the
lonely.
The St. Paul (Minn.) Mennonite Fel-
lowship shares a church building with a
Lutheran congregation. They are getting
a group of voluntary service workers and
will be involved in their program. They
work with neighborhood children and
with parents who come with their
children. Although they have no specific
program with Hispanics in their fellow-
ship, the opportunity is there and they
hope to get a program started.
Disciples Mennonite Fellowship in
Duluth, Minn., pastored by my wife,
Myrtle, and me is experiencing changes.
We have several outreaches that keep
our group interested. Handy Hands is a
job service that makes laborers available
to people who need jobs done at a price
they can afford. We support a young
Indian student in India. We have
started a rug-weaving project using what
the Clothing Exchange (also in our
building) cannot give away. We recycle it
into usable rugs and create jobs and
income. Our latest outreach effort is to
meet with American Indians to learn to
understand their culture and religion.
Our group has about 20 people.
Ernie and Lila Neufeld are church
planters in Fargo, N.D. They have
regular Sunday services and go to a
retirement home regularly to sing for the
people. Ernie says they have a large
turnover in their membership from one
week to the next. This is par for the
course, even in established churches.
Vic Buller, 206 W. Fourth St., M #18,
Duluth, MN 55806
Forced over the edge?
George Bush has drawn a line in the
Middle East sand. Dangerous business.
If the British hadn't done this after
World War I we wouldn't be there today.
Tiny Kuwait is the result of such line
drawing by them. As for the British,
their imperial ambitions ended right
there, as ours perhaps will as well.
It makes little sense to defend the oil
spigot in the Middle East when we could
do with far less of the precious stuff.
Worse still, gratuitously helping our
chief economic competitors maintain
their oil supply is insane economics.
Moreover, any nation undertaking
solutions to Arab and Jewish problems
just doesn't know history. These cousins
have been squabbling for at least two
millennia, and no outsider has found a
solution.
Trying to police the world is a losing
proposition. Other nations have tried it
and become police states themselves.
The United States already teeters on the
edge of a police state as the rich increase
their hold on land, media, politics and
the court system. Taking on world re-
sponsibilities could force us over the
edge. Better to get out of the policing
business while we still can and leave it to
the United Nations. Then we'll have the
resources to become the world's good
neighbor, using the bounty of our fields
and the beauty of our technological
know-how to alleviate misery, hunger
and homelessness.
This would eliminate the need for line
drawing in the sand. It would be
affordable and would gain us respect
that world policemen are always denied.
Larry Lange, Route 3, Devils Lake, ND
58301
Confess our complicity
As the Middle East continues to be
steeped in tension and the threat of
violence on a scale unprecedented in
recent decades, it becomes glaringly
apparent that the promise of peace being
announced from Zion has not been heard.
Perhaps it has not been spoken. We
carry certain prejudice against Arabs
and Palestinians. We do not believe
there is a chance for non-violent peace-
making to be done by the indigenous
people of those areas. The image we
have of someone from the Middle East is
that of a terrorist hiding his or her face
behind a "kafaya."
In Ron Sider's recent book, Non-
Violence, he retells the obscure story of
the Pathan Moslems' influence in the
struggle for Indian independence from
British rule. Eighty thousand Pathans,
the most vicious and violent people in the
region, became completely non-violent
under the leadership of Badshah Kahn.
Eknath Easwaran, in his biography of
Kahn, says, "If Badshah Kahn could
raise a non-violent army of a people so
steeped in violence as the Pathans, there
is no country on earth where it cannot be
done."
As we see Saddam Hussein reaching
for power in the Middle East, we see a
corresponding entrenchment against his
power by the overwhelming presence of
U.S. troops on Saudi soil. For any
church that believes in non-violence, this
is to be seen as an atrocity. But even for
churches of the just-war belief, this is an
unjustified build-up. Since non-violence
has been proved effective before, it must
be attempted again. The build-up of U.S.
forces proves both our lack of resolve and
our lack imagination.
While Saddam Hussein is definitely to
be feared, it is worth considering why he
is here now. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote,
"We bear much guilt of our own for the
action of any enemies who cause us
suffering." From the fall of Jerusalem in
586 B.C. by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar,
to the fall of the al-Sabah family in
Kuwait by the hand of Saddam
"Nebuchadnezzar" Hussein, the injus-
tices of one people are returned and
carried out upon another. Perhaps
Saddam is a modern Nebuchadnezzar,
representing that eruptive you-reap-
what-you-sow power of worldly justice.
As 40,000 Jordanians and thousands of
marginalized Arabs and Palestinians
align themselves with Saddam Hussein,
it becomes painfully apparent that the
West has too long supported the king
Jehoiakims of the Middle East for the
sake of petroleum favors and the protec-
tion of the nation of Israel. Two things
have forced Yassar Arafat and other
Palestine Liberation Organization
factions to side with Saddam Hussein:
( 1) national lack of resolve to build on the
Camp David accords in relation to the
needs for justice to homeless Palestini-
ans and (2) our lack of supportTor the
non-violent attempts in the Intafada.
From the Nostradomian fans to the
dispensationalists there is a feeling that
Saddam Hussein is a predestined figure
signaling the "end times." But Saddam
Hussein is simply a figure brought to the
forefront of international consideration
because of an atmosphere of suffering
and injustice being manipulated and
exploited into a populist movement for
liberation from the Western powers —
powers that simply wish to satisfy a
gluttonous lust for cheap oil with easy
access.
If we or others suffer from this state of
affairs, Bonhoeffer's words remind us
that we must begin by confessing our
complicity. We bear much guilt. Craig
Morton, 529 N Main, Elbing, KS 67041
Questions about allegiance
I read with great interest J. Denny
Weaver's reflections on loyalty to the
state and to Christ ("Choices, the Pledge
and the Nicolaitans," July 10 issue). I
remembered a time when our family was
faced with decisions that we also saw as
issues of identification and allegiance.
We had been part of a small mission-
ary community enjoying the encourage-
ment and fellowship of some 30 co-
workers from various denominations. In
an effort to provide challenging, struc-
tured activities for the small group of
missionary children, the parents decided
to formally join the Boy Scouts of
America (no solution for the girls). For
various reasons our small "chapter" had
to be registered under the aegis of an
American military officer, who had
official status in our host country.
In the continuum of choices before us
at that time, we felt that the highly
visible identity with American culture
(uniforms, American military "umbrella,"
time spent with expatriate rather than
national children) would interfere with
our personal goals of Christian/mission-
ary identity. My husband and I chose
not to enroll our sons. In our small
missionary and national community,
such decisions do not go unnoticed.
The mission community respected our
decision, although not without pressure
to reconsider and some subsequent
painful moments.
Many years and many happy commu-
nity experiences later, we still know that
the decision was the only one we person-
ally could have made with integrity. We
decided on behalf of our sons; they had to
live with the consequences. Subsequent
situations in boarding school continued
to challenge their view of history and of
allegiance and identity. I believe the
earlier decision contributed to a readi-
ness in their adult lives to continue to
ask critical questions about allegiance.
In retrospect, we can be thankful for
the tensions in life that push us to a
clearer statement of our own loyalty to
Christ. Thank you, J. Denny Weaver, for
reminding us of the continuing
challenge. Name withheld
Can anyone help?
I have been asked to help a Russian
Mennonite now living in Germany find
his long lost relative. Johan Klassen is
searching for his cousin Frieda (or
Freda) Klassen (family name).
The family of Abram and Kathy
Klassen emigrated to the United States
(possibly California) from Russia
sometime between 1920 and 1930. Freda
(their daughter) married and had at least
three children. Her husband may be
named Homer, but his last name is
unknown. Johan Klassen has a picture
of Freda's family (below) that is dated
Mother, Barbara."
If you know this family, please write to
me. Anita M. Unruh, 1529 Lilac St.,
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3W4
THE MENNONITE 453
REVIEWS
Listen with the heart
Ease the Pain by Chuck Neufeld (MVS
Records, 1990)
Reviewed by Tom Thomas, 1056 N. Sixth,
Springfield, IL 62700
Chuck Neufeld's music is simple in
structure, rich in love and commitment
and has a surprising elegance. It shows
a craftsperson's care, a passion to convey
the profound
through the
accessible. The
straightforward
melody and
lyrics invite the
hearer to listen
with the heart.
Neufeld's fifth
collection of
songs evidences
a variety of
influences, from
Bob Dylan and
Bruce Cockburn
to Southern
blues to the
standard hymnology. His lyrics acknowl-
edge promptings from Genesis and
Matthew ("Brother's Keeper"), Jacques
Ellul ("Then and Only Then") and Jane
Clement of the Deer Creek Bruderhof
("Advent").
The variety of songs offered on Ease
the Pain reflect the injunction of God in
Micah 6:8 "to act justly, to love tenderly,
and to walk humbly with your God."
"Then and Only Then" reminds the
listener that the Word of God will only be
proclaimed "when we understand the
pain of our brothers and sisters." The
call to a common human family is also
reflected in "Same World" and "Brother's
Keeper." "In the Struggle" is a dialogue
between a God looking for laborers and a
disciple ready to commit eyes, ears,
hands and heart "to the struggle for
peace." Even more challenging is "No
Road Left," a sweaty field holler that
called me to solidarity with the Babylo-
nian exiles and the difficulty of keeping
hope in a foreign land.
The joy and comfort of loving relation-
ships is reflected in songs both celebra-
tory ("Still Satisfied") and tender ("How
Come?"). Hymns of praise to the God of
love bind relationships and commitments
together. The God of light revealed in
"Advent," the Provider recognized in
"How Come?" and the traditional images
454 OCTOBER 9, 1990
of Christ as "Thou True Vine" and the
Spirit as "Thou Healing River" call us to
rely on the Divine Source.
This collection of songs will uplift and
provoke. It should have wide appeal and
find resonance with a variety of faith
perspectives.
Limiting vengeance
A Life for a Life?: The Death Pen-
alty on Trial by Vernon W. Redekop
(Herald Press, 1990, 104 pages)
Reviewed by Michael Bauman, Death
Penalty Focus of California, Box 806,
San Francisco, CA 94101
In a period of increased concern about
crime, Vernon W. Redekop's A Life for a
Life? is a timely volume.
If one is looking for a factual documen-
tation against the death penalty, this is
not the book. The volume does not put
the "death penalty on trial" as much as it
helps show that the death penalty is not
biblically supported and cannot be part
of a criminal justice system that truly
wants to deal effectively with violent
crime.
Redekop asks us to look at the Bible in
its historical setting, analyzing texts
with some surprising results. For
example, the Old Testament never
mentions an execution for murder
(luckily for Moses and King David — both
murderers ) but does record ones for
gathering wood on the Sabbath and
cursing God during a fight.
He concludes that most biblical texts
dealing with murder are concerned with
"limiting vengeance" and that the "death
penalty of the Old Testament was
intended to encourage moral behavior,"
not to punish and seek revenge.
Jesus and Paul also warrant several
chapters, as Redekop shows that Jesus
associated with the outcasts of society
and stressed love in response to injustice.
Redekop encourages abolitionists to go
beyond opposition to the death penalty —
to be more vigilant in their denounce-
ments of violent crime and "to be present
in a special way with victims."
Those of us who work against the
death penalty must show our opposition
to violence and death everywhere — in
our streets and in our gas chambers. We
need to emphasize ideas to use our
financial and human resources to
prevent future crime instead of reacting
with more killing after the fact.
The second part of the book deals
mainly with creative methods on build-
ing a criminal justice system that
emphasizes healing instead of punish-
ment. These suggestions are about 25
years too late; they would have been
much more acceptable when support for
capital punishment was lower and more
people were willing to work for a change
in the status quo. The system is not
working, and until we deal with the roots
of crime and the suffering experienced by
victims, communities and offenders, the
cycle of violence and death will surely
continue.
At the end of each short, easy-to-read
chapter are helpful questions that review
the main points and challenge the reader
to think creatively about the issues. This
feature makes it a perfect study book for
an adult or youth Sunday school class.
Faithful Manz
"I'll See You Again!" by Myron S.
Augsburger (Herald Press, 1989, 232
pages)
Reviewed by Sandee Klassen, 335
Brookmere Road S.W., Calgary, AB T2W
2P4
"I'll See You Again!" is the story of Felix
Manz, one of the leaders of the Anabap-
tist movement that had its beginnings in
Zurich, Switzerland, in the early 1500s.
The movement began with Ulrich
Zwingli, a converted Catholic priest.
Zwingli backed off in his zeal for reform
in order to maintain "unity of the
church." Manz sought further reform,
basing his convictions on the example set
by the early church in its commitment to
Christ's teachings and a life of disci-
pleship, fellowship and love for others.
This book takes us back to the grass
roots of our faith. Manz said, "We build
only on the Word of God, on the love and
peace of Christ." Would these early
leaders feel that we today have upheld
their principles?.
Myron Augsburger uses fiction in the
first three chapters to set the scene, then
continues his book based on careful
research. The book is easy to read and
does not become dry in its portrayal of
the events that led to major changes in
the world at that time. It shows the
struggle of Manz and his contemporaries
to remain faithful to biblical teaching
and the willingness, even to death, of
these pioneers to make sure the true
gospel was heard by all.
bible
You can get past fear
Jacob, Moses, Daniel, Jesus show us how
Helen Friesen
Your heart pounds. Your lips are dry. Your palms sweat.
Fear comes in many forms. Few of us are immune to
its attacks. Most of us experience ordinary fear at
varying levels.
A student expecting a quiz may fear going to school, some-
times because of inadequate preparation.
Children often fear darkness. They may beg for a light at
! bedtime. They may need a "security" blanket or a stuffed
animal with which to share the unknown dangers.
Before security lights lit farm homes, many children were
afraid to do chores after dark without a strong flashlight.
Approaching something unknown may make you afraid.
That unknown territory may be the attic where a child insists,
"But Mommy, bears are up there."
A woman expecting the birth of her first child may feel she is
well-informed, but there's nothing like experience to know
what it's really like.
Deep wounds: Fear attacked Jacob on his way home with his
family after living with Laban. He knew his brother Esau was
coming with a band of 400 men. Their relationship suffered
deep wounds when he stole the birthright belonging to Esau.
Never had they mended those fences. To dispel his fear, Jacob
needed to rid himself of this barrier between the two of them.
God told Jacob that he should not fear to move to Egypt,
where Joseph was ruler. As an old man he found the idea of
such a difficult trip hard to accept.
Moses feared the retribution that Pharaoh might bring upon
him for killing an Egyptian. The wilderness became his home.
We may fear those more powerful than we or those with
more authority. Moses had to calm the fears of the children of
Israel when they spotted Pharaoh's vast armies pursuing them
in their war chariots.
Gideon's army shrank when God commanded him to send
home any soldier who was afraid. Gideon himself needed
encouragement. God sent him down to the enemy camp to
eavesdrop. What he heard gave him the strength he needed.
The unexpected can cause fear. We feel insecure. Zacharias
was afraid when the angel visited him. Mary was advised not
to be afraid when told she would bear the Messiah. The
sudden appearance of the angels aroused fear in the shepherds
on the night of Jesus' birth. One of the first things the angel
said was, "Fear not."
Jesus' unexpected appearance walking on the water fright-
ened the disciples.
Those keeping watch outside Jesus' tomb received a jolt
when the earthquake unexpectedly rocked the foundations
under their feet.
The newborn church in the book of Acts was in a state of fear
after God struck down Ananias and Sapphira after they had
lied to Peter.
Fear of failure weighs on us, whether in our work or in our
relationships with others. We don't want the stigma of losing a
job, especially if we face heavy indebtedness. The loss of a job
at such a time seems a crushing blow. We may also suffer the
loss of self-worth at the same time.
Like Jacob, we fear facing those we have wronged or
wounded. We do nothing, for we hate to admit we were wrong.
Children fear punishment when they have done something
wrong. They may run away to hide, leaving behind the broken
pieces of Mom's favorite dish. How like Adam and Eve who
also feared God's reaction after their disobedience. Adam and
Eve fled into hiding in the garden, not realizing one cannot
hide from God.
Ugly faces: How can we attack fear? How do people in the
Bible deal with fears, some of which may have a reasonable
basis? Distinguish between those times when it speaks of
"fearing God" (being in awe of God) or being frightened.
A quick glimpse at a concordance tells us that the Bible deals
with fear on many levels. In Psalm 23 the writer says, "Even
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear
no evil." Not an easy achievement.
Death is not the only "evil" we face. Evil wears many ugly
faces: a thief invading your home, a hold-up in the store where
you work, a rapist, your child missing from a playground, a
motorist broadsiding your car after running a red light.
Finding a calm spirit in evil circumstances in not easy.
Psalm 27:1 reminds us that "the Lord is my light and my
salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of
my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?" Confidence that God is in
control provides an anchor.
Psalm 46:1-2 says, "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-
present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the
earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with
their surging." This affirms God's power in time of trouble.
Many who have experienced an earthquake, a tornado, floods
and other natural disasters have testified to God's power to
help when they proved unable to help themselves.
In Isaiah 41:10 are these words: "So do not fear, for I am
with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God." Having
someone with us at crucial moments helps counter fear.
Develop a mental image of God putting an arm around you.
We are reminded in 2 Timothy 1:7 that the spirit of fear (or
timidity) does not come from God. Where does it come from?
Imagine being put into the den of lions like Daniel. Daniel
emerged with tranquility. What happened to fear? Could it
have been the number of times each day that he spent in
prayer? In fact, Daniel's prayer habits resulted in his being
thrown into the lions' den. Daniel knew the secret of defeating
fear. He is an example of conquering fear through prayer.
Jesus Christ remains our best example. In Gethsemane
prayer helped fortify him for the hours to come. Ahead lay
humiliation, pain, mockery and death-some of the things we
also fear. No wonder his sweat was like drops of blood.
Let us combat our fears with the help of prayer and some of
the promises from the Bible. These comprise the cornerstone of
our trust in God in all things.
Helen Friesen is a member of Bethel Mennonite Church, 301
N. Ninth, Box 542, Mountain Lake, MN 56159.
THE MENNONITE 455
NEWS
01 Q0Z2 031 334
L i BRARY
ASSOC MEM N BIBLICAL S EM
3003 BENHAM AVE
ELKHART IN 4 6517
EdlTORIAL
Is the world going to war?
On behalf of Christian Peacemaker Teams, Kevin
Bloch, Jane Miller, Titus Peachey, David Radcliff,
Hedy Sawadsky and John Stoner have prepared a wor-
ship packet for Oct. 21, "Oil-Free Sunday." It will help
us think about the question above.
Information here about the Persian Gulf region is
from one part of that packet. In commending the mate-
rial to you I am, in a sense, preaching to the converted.
Our conference is, so far, the main supporter of Chris-
tian Peacemaker Teams, even though CPT is officially
inter-Mennonite. Perhaps current events will prompt
other participating denominations to put their money
where their mouths are. (Individual contributions are
also welcome.)
New Jersey: It's easy to start a war. "All you have
to do," said Hermann Goering, Nazi Deputy for Adolf
Hitler, "is tell [people] they are being attacked, then
denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism...." Are we
again putting that statement to the test? Answer the
question in the light of these facts.
Iraq has 17 million inhabitants. Its population is
Arab except for Kurds (about 17 percent) and a few
Persian-speaking communities. Religiously the country
is Shiite Islam (50 percent), Sunni Islam (40 percent)
and Christian (8 percent).
Kuwait has 1.75 million people. Forty percent are
native Kuwaitis. The rest are foreign nationals. Ku-
wait came into being in the 18th century, founded by
members of the same family that ruled until Aug. 2,
when Iraq invaded. Kuwait, originally just a town, is
smaller than the state of New Jersey.
Wealth came to the ruling family when the production
of oil began after World War II. Now more than 70
percent of working Kuwaitis hold government jobs.
"Contrary to assumptions in the United States, Saudi
Arabians are deeply suspicious of U.S. plans. Members
of the ruling family have long suspected that the U.S.
military was maneuvering to get a permanent base in
Saudi territory" (Washington Post, Sept. 6). The Saudi
king is demanding that the United States seek United
Nations approval before launching any offensive mili-
tary operations against Iraq. Did the Iraqi invasion of
Kuwait provide U.S. military planners with a long-
awaited pretext to establish military foothold in the
region (Wall Street Journal, Sept. 20)?
Muslims and Arabs think of the Christian Crusades of
the 12th and 13th centuries as wars of aggression.
"Pope Urban II in 1095 urged Christians to unite
against the Islamic threat and seize the Holy Sepulcher
in Jerusalem from 'the wicked race' of Saracens, a
medieval word for both Arabs and Muslims. The Arabs
could not comprehend the behavior of the crude foreign-
ers who [also] did not bathe..." (David Lamb, The Arabs).
Crusaders slaughtered Muslims and Jews. A Latin
chronicler wrote, "The heaps of heads and hands could
be seen through the streets and squares." (Two world
wars and current reports from Guatemala and El
Salvador indicate that we have not changed much.)
Why does Saddam Hussein have the support of many
Iraqis and thousands of other impoverished Arabs? "If
there were better income distribution, Saddam would
not have so much appeal," says Aaid Ajami of Ohio
State University. "Whether he's an imposter or not,
Saddam sells to the masses. He articulates their rage."
"Poor Arabs are suffering while the Gulf rich live
beyond anybody's imagination" (Christian Science
Monitor, Sept. 5). Military intervention in the Gulf
defends economic injustice and support for the rich at
the expense of the masses. Sending the military to the
Persian Gulf was deemed necessary because the West
has neglected its search for energy self-reliance.
War fever is always heightened by dehumanizing the
"enemy." Feature films and television programs have
portrayed Arab males as "the grotesque terrorist and
the rich, corrupt, dimwitted, sneaky, hook-nosed, fat,
oily, oversexed sheik" (Jack G. Shaheen, Washington
Post, Sept. 19).
Modest proposal: Christian Peacemaker Teams
urges us to think with the perspective of non-violence
and love of enemies. Listen to the biblical prophets, who J
also walked the desert. Ten million Arab Christians
also live in the Middle East. Hear John Stoner's modest
proposal that (at very least) the Christians of the world
agree that they will not kill each other. My modest
proposal is that you use the CPT packet on Oct. 21 or
anytime. Phone (312) 421-5513. Muriel T. Stackley
THE MENNONiTE
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
105:20 OCTOBER 23, 1990
Inside:
Epiphany on
Armistice Day
Jesus is the
Word of God
The Gulf crisis: an
opportunity
"The regenerated
do not go to war....
Spears and swords
of iron we
leave to those
who, alas, consider
human blood
and swine's blood
of well-nigh
equal value. "
Menno Simons, 1539
The early Anabaptists call us
to true evangelical faith.
pnoloquE
CONTENTS
Oct. 31 is Reformation Day. Articles here
by John Longhurst and David Janzen
will enrich and deepen your thinking and dis-
cussion around the subject of our church
history. I asked David to write about Hans
Denck because of the affection I heard the late
Alvin Beachy express for that young Anabap-
tist. Four centuries after his death, Denck
still has much to say to us.
Fast on the heels of Reformation Day comes
the reminder from our governments in Can-
ada and the United States to commemorate
war: Armistice Day north of the border and
Veterans Day south. May that day rather be
for you, as it was for Bert Lobe (page 461), an
epiphany, a manifestation of divine presence.
May our peoplehood and the stories from it
(several in this issue) give you strength to
witness to a world at war.
Read John D. Wiebe's story of reunion with
cousins after 70 years (page 465), Robert
Hull's analysis of the Persian Gulf crisis,
James Regier's tenderness
toward his forebears (476),
Brenda Martin Hurst's
sensible words about
reconciliation (page 479).
The next issue of The
Mennonite will feature the
work of the Commission on
Overseas Mission. Muriel
T. Stackley
Cover: This portrait of Menno Simons is by Joanna Horst and is from
the Feb. 10 issue of Algemeen Doopsgezind Weekblad, the newspa-
per of Mennonites in the Netherlands. Lex van Gilse is the editor,
assisted by Ruth Winsemius-Oosterbaan, who attended Assembly 12
of Mennonite World Conference in Winnipeg.
True evangelical faith / 459
Epiphany on Armistice Day / 461
Jesus is the Word of God / 462
Autumnal grace and hope / 463
Quilts connect us / 464
God, one step ahead / 465
News / 466
Theme, schedule set for Sioux Falls '92 / 466
Turn the Gulf crisis into an opportunity / 470
Record / 472
Resources / 474
Letters / 476
Reviews / 478
The way of Jesus / 478
The man behind the martyr / 478
Let's love one another / 479
Keep true evangelical faith awake / 480
ThE MENNONiTE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14, (316) 283-5100. Editor:
Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant: Sharon
Sommer; art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the Associated
Church Press, Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a Mennonite and
Brethren in Christ editors' group) and an associate member of the Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretaries: Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, and Rose Retzlaff
Klassen, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4. Business manager: Dietrich
Rempel. Special editions editors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North
Newton, KS 671 1 7; Window to Mission, Lois Deckert, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14;
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Richard A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave.,
Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1 , Carstairs, AB TOM 0N0; (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2S 1V7; (Central District)
Lynn Liechty, 666 Columbus St., Berne, IN 4671 1 ; (Eastern District) Curtis Bauman, 429
N. Second St., Emmaus, PA 18049; (Manitoba) in process; (Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada) Margot Fieguth, 99 Veronica Drive, Mississauga, ON L5G 2B1; (Northern
District) Winifred Wall, Box 67, Freeman, SD 57029; (Pacific District) Clare Ann Ruth-
Heffelbower, 3198 E. Menlo Ave., Fresno, CA 93710; (Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger, 125
Rawlinson Bay, Regina, SK S4S 6M8; (Western District) Leland Harder, Box 363, North
Newton, KS 67117.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape. The past 14 years of The Mennonite are also
available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College, North Newton, KS 671 17, and
from University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106.
Circulation: 10,383
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build the
Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the guidance of
the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly by the General Conference
Mennonite Church, 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14. Subscription rates: one
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TER: Send Form 3579 to The Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. ©1990
458 OCTOBER 23, 1990
True evangelical \aity)
John Longhurst
Refusing the claim of worldly authority
on their lives: The sufferings of early
[Anabaptists, like Anneken Heyndricks (below),
are recorded in Martyrs Mirror.
u
nder the cover of darkness a
dozen or so men quietly walked
through the snow falling on
Zurich, Switzerland, on Jan. 21, 1525.
The cold winter wind seemed to match
the chill in their hearts as they made
their way through the narrow streets of
the city to the home of Felix Manz. That
day the city council had ordered them to
stop meeting for Bible study. What
should they do?
Once inside they prayed for guidance.
When the prayers ended, George Blau-
rock, a former Roman Catholic priest,
asked Conrad Grebel to baptize him.
Grebel baptized him on the spot, and
Blaurock proceeded to baptize the others.
The Anabaptist movement was born.
The authorities arrested and jailed the
Bible study group. But as soon as they
were released, the group traveled and
preached. Angered, the city council
announced that anyone found attending
an Anabaptist ceremony would be
drowned. If they want water, council
members said, they shall have it. On
Jan. 5, 1527, Felix Manz became the first
Anabaptist martyr. Many would follow.
Authorities killed between four and five
thousand during the Reformation years.
To their contemporaries the early
Anabaptists were a threat to the very
fabric of society. To us they seemed to
have a simple demand, the right of every
person to one's own beliefs. Ordinary
men and women were prepared to assert
themselves against all authority for the
right to freely worship God and follow
their consciences. For the 16th century
those were inflammatory ideas. In 1529
Anabaptism was declared a heresy, and
every court in Europe was obliged to
condemn Anabaptists to death.
The early Anabaptists suffered equally
at the hands of Protestants and Catho-
lics. They got their name from their
True
evangelical
\a\tl)
persecutors. "Anabaptist" meant "re-
baptizer." Actually the early Anabap-
tists rejected the name; they never
considered the ceremonial sprinkling
they had received as infants a valid
baptism. They preferred to be called
"Baptists."
Baptism was just one of the issues that
concerned them. More fundamental was
the nature of the church and its relation
to governments. Like the other reform-
ers they arrived at their convictions
through reading the Scriptures. But
unlike others they discovered a different
New Testament world. They found no
justification for a church-state alliance,
no support for Christian participation in
warfare. They found instead that the
early church was comprised of communi-
ties of committed believers who had
freely chosen to follow Jesus and who
rejected the claims of worldly power over
their lives.
The Anabaptist rejection of worldly
power was most evident in their refusal
to participate in war or take part in
coercion by the state. Early leader
Conrad Grebel said, "True Christian
believers" do not "use worldly sword or
war, since all killing has ceased with
them." Menno Simons, another early
leader, added, "The regenerated do not
go to war or engage in strife. They are
children of peace who have beaten their
swords into plowshares and spears into
pruning hooks and know no war."
Not all early Anabaptists rejected
violence. A group seized control of the
German city of Minister in the 1530s and
prepared to usher in the kingdom of God
through war. Authorities put down the
rebellion and killed the leaders. They
hung their bodies in iron cages from the
spire of the city cathedral, a warning
against rebellion. The cages still hang
there today, and the city museum
displays captured Anabaptist weaponry.
'Mennonites': After Miinster the dispir-
ited Anabaptists took heart through the
ministry of Menno Simons. Although
always in great personal danger, Menno,
a former Dutch priest, traveled widely to
visit Anabaptist groups scattered around
northern Europe, encouraging the
persecuted believers. Determined to
prevent further Anabaptist violence, he
preached an unswerving commitment to
pacifism. He saved Anabaptism from
rebellion and disintegration and in time
those who belonged to the movement
became know as "Mennonites."
With their pacifist commitment, the
early Anabaptists stood in the tradition
of the early church. No Christian
documents from the first 300 years after
Christ support Christian participation in
war. The church of Alexandria looked
askance at receiving into membership
new believers who were soldiers. A
prominent leader in the church of Rome
maintained that when a soldier asked for
church membership he must promise to
refuse to kill, even when ordered by his
superiors. A baptized person who joined
the army was to be excommunicated.
No record of Christian involvement in
the military can be found until A.D. 170-
180. It is clear that Christians joined the
military at that time, but they did so
without the blessing of the church. Only
after the conversion of Emperor Con-
stantine, when the church and state
were unified, did Christian participation
in warfare become acceptable.
The early Anabaptists suffered for
refusing the claim of worldly authority
on their lives. Many of the testimonies
of those who were tortured and killed are
recorded in Martyrs Mirror, published in
the Netherlands in 1660. One of the
most moving accounts is found in a letter
of a young Anabaptist woman, Janneken
Munstdorp, to her newborn daughter.
The father had already been executed.
The mother was reprieved only long
enough to give birth. Writing from a
prison cell in 1573, she tells her daugh-
ter, "Be not ashamed of us; it is the way
the prophets and apostles went. Your
dear father demonstrated with his own
blood that it is the genuine truth, and I
also hope to attest the same with my
blood. And now my dear Janneken, my
dear lamb, who are yet very little and
young, I leave you this letter... and this I
leave you for a perpetual adieu, and for a
testament. Read it, when you have
understanding, and keep it as long as
you live in remembrance of me and of
your father. Be not ashamed to confess
our faith, since it is true evangelical
faith, an other than which shall never be
found."
John Longhurst works
in Mennonite Central
Committee Canada's
offices at 134 Plaza
Drive, Winnipeg, MB
R3T 5K9.
460 OCTOBER 23, 1990
No winners in war: David Lobe (left) and Luu Thi Minh Luong
Bert Lobe
EpipyanY) on Armistice Day
AC. Lobe
Seventy-two years ago on Nov. 11,
the "Great War" ended. Fifteen
years ago the war in Vietnam
came to a close. As Canadians we don't
think about the war in Vietnam on
Armistice Day. I might not have either
except that we had a Vietnamese visitor
in our home.
We were having breakfast — my son
David, Luu Thi Minh Luong, 32, and I.
Luong, from Hanoi, was living with us
for a year. She was quiet. She had been
in Canada for two months but had not
yet heard anything from her family. She
was lonely and it showed. David, having
finished his breakfast, began folding and
cutting some white paper. Out of it
emerged a crane.
"What is that?" Luong asked.
David told her the story: A little girl in
Japan began making cranes while she
lay dying of radiation exposure from the
1945 atomic bombing. She was deter-
mined to make 1,000 cranes. According
to a Japanese legend, anyone who made
1,000 paper cranes could have any wish
come true. The little girl wanted to live.
After making the 664th crane, on which
she wrote the word "peace," she died.
Her school friends made the remaining
336 and buried all 1,000 cranes with her.
Luong listened, tears on her cheeks.
David and I went on to explain that on
Nov. 11 Canadians pause to remember
the millions of people who died in this
century's world wars. I tried to explain
that Mennonites believe that there are
no winners in war — only losers — and
that people called "enemies" by govern-
ments are, in fact, friends. We talked
about how hard it is to be a peacemaker
in daily life, agreed that parents should
try to teach their children that it is
wrong to use violence to resolve conflict.
Our conversation shifted to the
Vietnam War. We remembered how
long, futile and costly it was. Over a
million Vietnamese were killed, over 3
million wounded, 800,000 children
orphaned, over 4 million tons of bombs
dropped. We talked about the memorial
in Washington, into which is etched the
names of the 58,000 Americans killed in
that same war. We spoke of the 520,000
Americans who were wounded. Luong
cried.
That morning around the breakfast
table was one of those rare moments
when souls meet. The Divine broke into
the ordinary while we were eating toast
and jam. Our conversation went beyond
normal communication.
After breakfast Luong asked David, "Is
your dad going to church on Sunday to
give a speech?"
"Yes," he replied, "but it is always too
long and I'm not interested in going to
Blumenort to hear him."
"Will your mother go?" Luong said.
"No," David replied. "She has to
work."
"Well then, why don't you and I go
with your dad to hear the speech?"
David agreed. We went together.
AC. Lobe is principal at Rockway
Mennonite Collegiate, 110 Doon Road,
Kitchener, ON N2G 3C8.
THE MENNONITE 461
Young Hans Denck
said it well
JESUS is the Word of God
David Janzen
As I read Hans Denck's writing I
am repeatedly amazed at the
keen insight God gave him into
vital issues of the Reformation period.
He provided a healthy corrective and is
as relevant to us today as he was then.
Denck was born near Augsburg,
Germany, probably in 1500. He died of
"the pest" in Basel, Switzerland, in No-
vember 1927. He participated in the
Martyrs' Synod in Augsburg and felt the
call of God to witness to the truth in
order that God be glorified through him,
no matter what.
Denck's enemies acclaimed and feared
him as the major leader of the Anabap-
tist movement. He was expelled from
Nuremberg, Germany, had to flee from
Augsburg, and on Christmas Day 1526
was even expelled from Strassburg,
Austria, by the more tolerant Reformers
of the day. From here he moved to
Worms, Germany, where he and Haetzer
translated all the Old Testament
prophets. This 1527 German translation
quickly went through 13 editions until
Luther completed his translation in
1532.
Even though Denck has generally been
acclaimed as a most peaceful and peace-
loving person of that turbulent age, he
was severely persecuted. His contempo-
raries as well as modern Anabaptist
scholars have often misunderstood him.
Crucial to this misunderstanding is his
section on baptism: "Child baptism is a
human commandment.... He who baptizes
anew should see that he does not serve
before he is engaged. For whoever is not
called and sent to teach dares to baptize
in vain." In common with his community
of faith, Denck holds to God's order of
teaching first. Therefore, he would give
up baptism forever if he did not have the
calling from God to teach. This is good
Anabaptism, not Spiritualism.
Denck has wrongfully been classed as
a Spiritualist who substitutes the inner
word for the outer word and who sets
aside the church, its ceremonies and its
discipline. Along with Denck, the
Spiritualists saw the abuses in the
church and its institutions. But this led
them in different directions. The
Spiritualists gave up on the church and
its institution. Denck, on the other hand,
was concerned with correcting the
abuses. In his final confession before his
death, he said, "I hold the Holy Scrip-
tures in higher regard than all human
treasures, but not in as high a regard as
the Word of God, which is vital, powerful
and eternal. ..which is God himself, thus
it is Spirit and not letter, written without
pen and paper so that it might never be
effaced."
The Scriptures might make a
bad heart more learned, but
they cannot make it better.
Our salvation comes through
obedient faith in Christ.
The Scriptures may be useful and good
in mediating salvation, but they do not
redeem us. They might make a bad
heart more learned, but they cannot
make it better. Our salvation comes
through obedient faith in Christ, the
living Word, rather than the written
word of Scripture. Faith in Christ is
described as following him obediently in
a life of discipleship.
One may hold the Scriptures in too
high a regard, as is the case in bibliola-
try. The Scripture is creature and it is
wrong to worship the creature rather
than the Creator, the living Word. One
must not have a higher regard for the
Scriptures than what they teach, namely
that we shall love God with all our heart,
and our neighbors as ourselves. "He who
honors the Scriptures and is cold in
divine love," said Hans Denck, "should be
careful not to make an idol of Scripture,
which all scribes do who are not in-
structed in regard to the kingdom of
God."
Knowledge of God is conceived not so
much intellectually as experientially.
Denck says, "The means is Christ, whom
no one may truly know, except as he
follows him with his life. And no one
may follow him, than to the degree that
he has first known him. He who does not
follow does not have him and he cannot
come to the Father without him."
God is good. God gives us the best and
most precious gift that he has, Jesus
Christ. As Paul says, "He who did not
spare his own Son but gave him up for us
all — how will he not also, along with him,
graciously give us all things" (Romans
8:32)? Along with the greatest gift, God
462 OCTOBER 23, 1990
Disciples are not called to be executors of God's wrath. They are
exclusively called to be ministers of God's grace.
also gives us the Scriptures.
The highest witness to the love of God
is given by Jesus of Nazareth in his
humanity, says Denck. This Jesus, in
whom love was demonstrated to the
highest degree, is called a Savior of his
people. A human being as such could not
save anyone, but God was so fully united
in love with him that all God's doing was
the doing of this man and all the suffer-
ing of this man was God's suffering.
Jesus was the most perfect reflection of
the Father. Had it been possible for him
to be more perfect, even to the slightest
degree, he would not have been the true
Savior.
When the Word of God is identified
with the Logos of the Gospel of John, you
find that this Word witnesses directly in
the hearts of people and is not identified
with the written word of Scripture nor
exclusively dependent on it (John 1:9; cf.
Deuteronomy 30:11-15; Jeremiah 31:33;
Romans l:18ff; 2:15; 10:5-8; 1 John 2:27;
5:10). Denck and others understood this
to mean that those born into this life also
have Christ witnessing directly in their
hearts.
A summary of Denck's teachings: All
human beings are lost and are utterly
dependent on Jesus Christ for salvation
and a life of discipleship. Christ died for
all. Salvation is objectively available to
everyone. It must be appropriated by
faith in Christ, which frees a person to
lead a life of discipleship as a child of
God. As children of God we are freed
from the compulsion to keep the law
outwardly but willingly do more than the
law requires. Yet love is the fulfillment
of the law.
Nothing external saves us. Christ
must become incarnate in us. Salvation
cannot be separated from a life of
discipleship. We have no excuse for
failure because God's power is available
to us.
There can be salvation without the
external witness of Scripture, but not
apart from Christ. Nor is God exclu-
sively dependent on the witness of
Scripture. God witnesses directly in the
hearts of all people. At the time of the old
covenant God witnessed through the pre-
incarnate Christ. This witness is
rejected when people love the darkness
more than the light.
Denck was concerned about the
abusive and often literalistic interpreta-
tion of Scripture. To overcome this we
must be guided by the Holy Spirit in the
interpretation of Scripture. Thus we
overcome and are able to reconcile
seeming contradictions of Scripture as
well as contradictions between interpret-
ers who emphasize a part of the truth to
the neglect of the whole truth.
We must not absolve people in various
professions, like politics, in part or in
whole from being obedient to the will of
God. We deny Christ within us if we try
to justify violence or love selectively.
God's wrath is real; we must proclaim it
equally with God's grace. But disciples
are not called to be executors of God's
wrath. They are exclusively called to be
ministers of God's grace. Their only duty
is to persuade people through a verbal
and living testimony to Christ in the
power of the Spirit.
Through a teaching ministry we must
make disciples before we baptize them.
Denck's concern is for a pure church that
exercises discipline out of love for Christ
and the concern for the salvation of the
sinner. God does not want the death of
the sinner but that he repent and live. A
hypocrite is the worst of sinners.
"This is the witness of Jesus Christ,"
concludes Hans Denck, "that out of his
effusive grace he has in these last days
revealed to his servant and commanded
him to proclaim a year of freedom to his
people so that the poor may sanctify
themselves unto God, the Lord."
David Janzen's address is 302 Centre St.,
Box 594, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON LOS
1J0.
Autumnal grace
and hope
Elsie K. Neufeld
Fall is here!
Colors splash on browning grass below,
gently ricochet, then softly land and lie there,
motionless.
Bits of disconnected trees
now feed the earth
Yellow, orange and flaming red
at first a blanket for the dying grass
they slowly wilt, then rot.
Scattered pieces wash away,
entwine with blades of grass and weeds
and other things decayed
till all that's left is bare, brown soil
now richer.
Earth, receive with open arms the rains
the falling sky bestows on you
For pain and death give birth
to wealth undreamt of.
Receive with joy the gifts
that follow sin and guilt.
Christ has come! The fallen leaf
at last redeemed.
Forgiveness hangs from every branch
stripped bare by autumn.
Elsie K. Neufeld is a member of Emmanuel
Mennonite Church, 3471 Clearbrook Road,
Clearbrook, BC V2T 5C1.
THE MENNONITE 463
TOqETllER
Quilts connect us
Beth Hege
■ n 1940 Katharina Flickner Graber of
I Freeman, S.D., pieced a quilt of 1,000
| pieces as a birthday present for her
young neighbor, Rosemary Linscheid
Moyer. She made the gift in appreciation
for Rosemary's willingness to converse
with her in the German language.
In 1940 speaking German was not
popular. • Communities and churches
strained to maintain their identities, and
Mennonite churches and homes seldom
used the German language. But one
thing did not change: Women still met
together in families or as friends to quilt.
What was not heard could still be seen.
Quiet needles whispered between the
threads of woven cloth, holding pieces
together, holding communities together,
holding on to heritage.
My great-grandmother pieced a quilt
that lay on the guest bed in our home.
As a child I considered the quilt immense
and complicated. I remember lying on
the bed and following the lines of stitches
with my finger, imagining my great-
grandmother. She died before I was
born, and though now I cannot even
recall her first name or an image of her
face, I still remember the vivid blue of
the quilt, the scalloped edges, the texture
of the fabric.
Every quilt has a story. Quilts made
during the Depression tell of the hard
times. Katharina Flickner Goering of
Moundridge, Kan., made all of her quilts
from ordinary scraps, many of them flour
sacks.
The desire to hear the stories led
Sondra Koontz and her friend Kay Morse
to seek out and assemble a collection of
quilts from Kansas Mennonite quilters.
Seven years ago, Morse and Koontz,
colleagues at a Wichita, Kan., library,
applied for and received a grant from the
International Quilt Foundation to
conduct research on quilts and quilters.
As an art historian, Morse was inter-
ested in the aesthetic values of the quilts
and the innovative patterns. Koontz
sought the oral history, that is, the
stories behind the quilts that told her
more about Mennonite heritage and com-
munity. In 1988 Morse and Koontz dis-
played their collection of 75 Mennonite
and Amish quilts, which represented a
span of over 100 years. They called it
"Community and Cloth: the Mennonite
Quilt." Patterns included log cabin, puss
Something to do while they talk': one of the quilts on display
in the corner, grandmother's engagement
ring, rolling square, Irish chain, ocean
waves, goose tracks.
Quilting has always been an important
community event. For years Mennonite
women of all ages have gathered around
quilting frames to piece brilliant quilts
for relief sales. The intergenerational
nature of such an event is invaluable, as
is the fellowship that takes place. In an
old joke about quilters a young boy asks
his friend why women have quilting bees.
"So they have something to do while they
talk," his friend replies.
Some churches present quilts to their
members when
they get married,
but sometimes
there is a twist on
that tradition.
Helen Mueller
Baehr of Beatrice,
Neb., who was a
deaconess in the
Mennonite
church, decided to
marry late in life.
She made an
elaborately
stitched white
bridal quilt before
she left the
sisterhood.
Helen's bridal
quilt appeared in
the 1989 Fall Fest
show at Bethel
College, North
Newton, Kan., as
well as the 1,000-
piece quilt owned
by Rosemary
Moyer and the
flour-sack quilt by
Katharina
Flickner Goering.
The 75 quilts were
made in a variety
of patterns.
Today many
believe this
quilting tradition
is being lost
among Menno-
nites. Is there
less emphasis on
utility (transform-
ing scraps into
patterned quilts)? Is there less interest
in community? Young people may
rediscover their heritage through the
stories hidden in pieces and stitches.
Beth Hege is news
service editor of the
General Conference
Mennonite Church.
464 OCTOBER 23, 1990
PERSONAL
God, one step ahead
Elda Bachman
Cousins galore made life adventure-
some for young John D. Wiebe
and his siblings in the Russian
village of Lysanderhoh before World War
I. They and especially their Bergman
cousins explored the farm village and ate
together in their homes. On Sundays
they worshiped together in the spacious
Mennonite church building nearby. On
Sunday afternoons they played while
their parents visited, compared crop
yields and talked about growing anxi-
eties, from which the children were
shielded.
"We were not in need," John said.
"Our large brick home with the big
attached barn, the American-made farm
machinery and household servants
helped make life comfortable."
The Wiebes and Bergmans and the
other Mennonite families loved Russia
Flame of faith: Lieschen Wiens
and thought life would continue the
same. Then they were rudely shaken by
World War I, followed by the Communist
Revolution.
After considerable suffering, including
the risky flight of John's father (who was
listed for execution) and later the haz-
ardous journey of his sick mother with
the children, the Wiebe family eventu-
ally reunited. John's family chose to
leave Russia when the emigration door
opened. They arrived in Beatrice, Neb.,
on Oct. 11, 1923.
The Bergmans' uncle chose to stay in
Russia. Later the Wiebe family in Ne-
braska heard that the Bergmans were
sent to Siberia. John and his sister and
brother grieved, convinced they would
never see their cousins again on this
earth.
Then last November the unexpected
and unbelievable happened. Mikhail
Gorbachev lifted the emigration restric-
tions, freeing people to leave the Soviet
Union. This included the Bergman
cousins. What joy followed this good
news!
Immediately John, now in Newton,
Kan., and his sister, Maria, in Beatrice,
Neb., made arrangements for a flight to
West Germany. There they reunited
with their beloved cousins, whom they
had not see in over 70 years.
"I felt fatigued and saturated at times
as we tried to catch up," John said.
"Hearing them sing with praise and
thanksgiving lifted my spirits and made
me think that their flame of faith was
greater than mine." They wept and
listened to each other in the home of a
cousin's son who had escaped from
Russia a year earlier.
Reunited: John D. Wiebe (right) and his cousin Katie Jantzen
Raw potato peelings: The cousins
listened as John recalled the most
difficult part of the trip in the 1920s.
Without their father the family rode in
an unheated freight train from Saratov
to Moscow to Riga. They had waited in
Moscow for a week. The next freight
train had an iron stove in the center.
John's mother had been given raw potato
peelings by a fellow traveler. When the
train stopped, she sent John with her
kettle to get water. Other fellow travel-
ers returned with water, but 8-year-old
John did not come back. Frantically his
mother watched for him. After leisurely
crawling under the freight car, John
appeared just as they were pulling out.
His mother grabbed his hand and pulled
him and the water onto the moving train.
She cooked the potato peelings and
thankfully had soup for her family.
At the German-Russian border all
their baggage was thrown out on the
snow for inspection, and much of it
quickly disappeared. Finally in Stetten,
Germany, they met their father. The
first time the family arrived at Ellis
Island (off the coast of New York) they
were sent back to Germany because the
Russian immigrant quota was full. Their
second attempt, however, was successful
and they finally reached Beatrice. Thus
the fond and grateful cousins continued
reliving their past
during the two-
week reunion.
After praising
the Lord and
giving their gifts,
John and Maria
bid farewell to
their dear cousins
and returned to
the United States.
They brought
many German
tape recordings
for their brother,
^__> who was not able
to make the trip.
John finds it
hard to believe
that he and Maria
actually saw and
hugged their
cousins. They are
mindful of the re-
maining 31 cousin
families still in the Soviet Union. As he
ponders his and his cousins' experience
John says, "The Lord was always one
step ahead of us and even brought us
together again on this earth."
Elda Bachman is a member of First
Mennonite Church, 429 W. First St.,
Newton, KS 67114.
THE MENNONITE 465
'Act Justly, Love Kindness, Walk Humbly'
Theme, schedule set for Sioux Falls '92
Rodney Unruh (center) of Sioux Falls, raises a point during recent
Sioux Falls '92 planning meetings. Norman Hofer, Freeman, S.D.
(left), and Jake Dyck, Mountain Lake, Minn., listen.
Freeman, S.D. (GCMC)— "Act
Justly, Love Kindness, Walk
Humbly" will be the theme for
Sioux Falls '92, the 46th
triennial General Conference
Mennonite Church sessions, to
be held in Sioux Falls, S.D., in
1992. The GC program
committee finalized the theme
after considerable discussion
when they met here Sept. 15-
16. Meeting for the second
time, the committee also
adopted a schedule that
includes three hour-long
sessions for delegates to give
feedback.
The Micah 6:8 theme was
one of four that the program
committee seriously consid-
ered. The committee pre-
sented two options to the
General Board last fall:
"Creating a New Earth" and
"Let Justice Roll." Rather than
accepting either one, the
General Board proposed a
third, "Sing a New Song."
Ron Krehbiel of Freeman, a
member of both the program
committee and the General
Board, explained that the board
felt their option would lift up
evangelism and church
planting. "The General Board
felt that we've had four goals
for our General Conference
and that we ought to empha-
size one of those goals," he
said.
It was Abe Bergen of
Winnipeg, coordinator of the
youth committee, who offered
the fourth option. Program
committee member Erland
Waltner, Elkhart, Ind., re-
sponded favorably by saying,
"We tend to polarize two things
that belong together intimately:
the growth of the Christian
family, which is evangelism,
and the development of justice
and righteousness. The
moment we slice those two
apart we're doing violence to
biblical and Anabaptist under-
standing." The committee
adopted the new proposal
unanimously and agreed to use
New Revised Standard Version
wording.
In addition to participating in
their own program, youth will
have an opportunity to interact
with adults at Sioux Falls '92.
Adults and youth will mix to
discuss the possible integration
of the Mennonite Church with
the General Conference
Mennonite Church.
Youth and adults will join for
the opening celebration, which
includes the dedication of the
new Brethren and Mennonite
hymnal, for a program funded
by the Schowalter Foundation
that will focus on Native
peoples (a response to the
500th anniversary of Columbus'
arrival in America), and for the
closing worship on Sunday
morning.
Members of GC churches in
the Northern District Confer-
ence will host the sessions.
Rodney Unruh, Sioux Falls,
S.D., lead coordinator for the
local committees, said, "I'm
enthused about working with
the program committee.
There's a spirit of openness,
cooperation and diplomacy,
and a willingness to find
solutions and work through
problems." Jake Dyck,
Mountain Lake, Minn., and
Norman Hofer, Freeman, will
help coordinate the event.
Cheryl Lehman, Sioux Falls,
will coordinate the children's
program.
The members of the GC
program committee include
Eleanor Loewen, Winnipeg,
chair; Wynn Goering, Goessel,
Kan.; Tim Schrag, Beatrice,
Neb.; Heather Neufeld Bergen,
Edmonton; Jo Ropp, Normal,
III.; Krehbiel and Waltner.
Members of the youth con-
ference program committee
are Richard Kratz Jr., Telford,
Pa.; Kerry Saner, Freeman;
Nikki Thiessen, Rosthern,
Sask.; Wendell Badertscher,
Bluffton, Ohio; Mike Bogard,
Newton, Kan.; Jeff Minor,
Mountain Lake, Minn., and
Bergen. Dave Linscheid, com-
munications director, General
Conference Mennonite
Church
466 OCTOBER 23, 1990
John Perkins will be the keynote speaker
at the annual Bluffton (Ohio) College
Church Leaders' Conference Oct. 29-31 .
Author and president emeritus of Voice of
Calvary Ministries in Jackson, Miss.,
Perkins founded the John Perkins Founda-
tion for Reconciliation and Development in
1983. Other resource people include Mark
Winslow, Allentown, Pa.; Randy Grossman,
Goshen, Ind., and Regina Shands
Stoltzfus, Cleveland. Registration is $35.
For more information contact Jim Stutzman
Amstutz, Bluffton College, Bluffton, OH
45817, (419) 358-8015.
NEWS
Two new and three continuing Service
Adventure units with Mennonite Board of
Missions opened in late August and early
September. A new unit in Nashville, Tenn.,
opened Aug. 27 with five volunteers and
household leader Cheryl Detweiler of
Goshen, Ind. The new Albany, Ore., unit
opened Sept. 3 with five volunteers and
household leaders Les and Gwen Gus-
tafson-Zook. Continuing units in Illinois,
West Virgina and Florida opened Aug. 27 for
the second year of operation with the same
household leaders. Service Adventure is a
10-1/2-month program for post-high school
young adults that provides service work,
group living, a learning component and
congregational involvement.
In an Aug. 21-30 Mennonite Central
Committee-sponsored learning tour, 11
participants learned about the stresses
caused by low-level military training over
land the Innu of Labrador call Nitassinan.
Tour members also learned about the
stress caused by hydro flooding and the
incineration of PCBs near Innu homes.
One Innu man told them how his con-
science led him to quit his job at the
military base when he was asked to spray
protesters-including his wife and
children-with a firehose.
Duerksen, Hall, Linscheid
to edit With and YouthGuide
Newton, Kan. (GCMC/MPH)—
An interim editorial team has
been named by the Commis-
sion on Education of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church and Mennonite
Publishing House, Scottdale,
Pa., of the Mennonite Church
for With and YouthGuide. They
are Eddy Hall and Carol
Duerksen, Goessel, Kan., and
From left: Linscheid, Hall, Duerksen
Cynthia (Lehman) Linscheid,
Newton, Kan. David Hiebert
from MPH is associate editor
of With and YouthGuide. With
is a monthly magazine for
teenagers, and YouthGuide
is a quarterly resource for
people who work with youth
in congregations.
Hall is a free-lance editor
who has previously worked for
COE with the Foundation
Series Youth studies. He is a
member of New Creation
Fellowship, Newton. Duerksen,
a member of Tabor Mennonite
Church, Newton, is a youth
Sunday school teacher and full-
time free-lance writer. She has
also been
involved in the
production of
slide sets and
videos for the
General Confer-
ence. Linscheid
taught high
school English,
speech and
drama for several
years. She has
done free-lance
writing and
videotape editing
for the GC
Commission on
Overseas
Mission. Lin-
scheid is a
member of
Bethel College
Mennonite
| Church, North
Newton, Kan.
"The strong
skills and varied experiences of
the team members complement
each other," said Norma
Johnson, executive secretary
of COE. "They are committed
to the youth of our church and
are eager to keep With and
YouthGuide dynamic."
Eight named
to listening
committee on
homosexual
concerns
Newton, Kan. (GCMC/
MBCM) — Eight people have
been named by the General
Conference Mennonite Church
and the Mennonite Church to
serve on the listening commit-
tee on homosexual concerns.
Four members each were
chosen by the GC Commission
on Education and the MC
Board of Congregational
Ministries to serve on the
committee until 1992.
Bernie Wiebe, Winnipeg; Sue
Goerzen, Harrow, Ont.; Dottie
Janzen and Earl Loganbill,
Newton, Kan., are the GC
representatives on the commit-
tee. Ann Schowalter, Oak
Park, III.; Ed Stoltzfus, Harri-
sonburg, Va.; Delphine Martin,
Waterloo, Ont.; and Vern
Rempel, Lancaster, Pa., are
the MC representatives.
Goerzen and Stoltzfus will co-
chair the meetings.
The committee was man-
dated by the general boards of
both conferences. The goals of
the committee are threefold: to
care for gay and lesbian people
and their families by listening to
their pain, to encourage and
facilitate dialogue among
people of various perspectives
concerning homosexuality and
to foster continued theological
discernment in the church, and
to make recommendations to
COE and MBCM regarding
policy, program and church life
to deal with alienation and hurt.
Clare Schumm, family life
staff person for COE and
MBCM, will serve as the staff
person on the committee. He
noted that the varied back-
grounds of the committee
members was a strength of the
group. "One person is a
therapist, another a theologian,
at least two people have had a
firsthand encounter with
homosexuality in the family,
and others have pastoral expe-
rience," he said. Schumm said
the group will work from the
context of the official church
statements regarding homo-
sexuality that were adopted by
the General Conference in
1986 and the Mennonite
Church in 1987.
MCC says,
Don't use food
as a weapon
Akron, Pa. (MCC)-Responding
to the total trade embargo of
Iraq, the Mennonite Central
Committee executive commit-
tee has written to U.S. Presi-
dent George Bush (in part), "As
an organization responding to
human need 'in the name of
Christ,' we oppose the inclusion
of food and medicines in the
embargo against Iraq. We
believe Jesus' words, 'Give
them something to eat' (Mark
6:37), are a call to share food
with the hungry irrespective of
race, religion or political
persuasion."
THE MENNONITE 467
"The Urbana '84 conference had a
significant impact on our thinking and
direction in missions," say Stephen and
Janet Plenert, General Conference
missionaries in Zaire, now on North
America Assignment. The Commission on
Overseas Mission is offering scholarships
to students planning to attend Urbana '90,
which is slated for Dec. 27-31 on the
campus of the University of Illinois,
Champaign-Urbana. Application deadline
is Dec. 1 . Contact COM, Box 347, Newton,
KS 67114, (316) 283-5100.
Bergthal Mennonite Church's building
Bergthal Mennonite Church, Pawnee
Rock, Kan., on Nov. 4 will celebrate 75
years of worship and service in its building.
Harold Schultz, president of Bethel
College, North Newton, Kan., will speak at
the Sunday morning service. Members
constructed the building in 1915, a wet,
muddy year, according to some. At that
time the worship services were held in
German. For women's meetings during
cold weather, the president had to come in
the morning and build a fire in the stove so
that the basement was warm for the
afternoon meeting. Eleanor and Perry
Beachy are the pastors.
NEWS
MCC executive states four
priorities, responds to crises
consistent with MCC's policy of
meeting need regardless of
nationality or politics.
MCC has since contributed
$5,000 (U.S.) for a Sept. 24
shipment of infant formula into
Iraq. The formula was trucked
by the General Union of
Voluntary Societies, a consor-
tium of Jordanian non-govern-
mental organizations. The Iraqi
department of child care will
receive the shipment.
Leroy Friesen of Christian
Peacemaker Teams reported to
the executive committee on
possible CPT response to the
Persian Gulf crisis. Most
Muslims of the region "have not
seen the face of Christianity
without the sword," he said,
and Western troops in the
region perpetuate that image.
Committee members
emphasized that Arab Chris-
tians in the Middle East should
be consulted before actions are
taken.
In other business: John
Paul Lederach of MCC Peace
Office reported to the commit-
tee on his involvement in
mediation efforts between
Canadian and Quebec govern-
ments and the Mohawk people
of Oka, Quebec. Mohawk rep-
resentatives invited Lederach
in July to discuss negotiating
options. Lederach said he was
in daily phone or fax contact
with members of the Mohawk
nation since July. (The
standoff ended Sept. 26 with
Mohawk surrender.)
Food aid coordinator
Akron, Pa. (MCC)— Four
"growing edges" for Mennonite
Central Committee work in the
next three years were dis-
cussed by MCC's executive
committee when it met here
Sept. 21-22.
The first priority for MCC in
the coming years should be
strengthening the placement of
MCC workers in Islamic
contexts. MCC supports
exchanges of people and ideas
between countries of the
developing world.
The other three are to
increase educational activity in
North America, expand MCC
program in Africa and Latin
America, especially among
indigenous peoples, and
expand conciliation activity as
part of the MCC program
around the world.
Ed Martin, MCC secretary for
the Middle East and South
Asia, described MCC evacuee
response in Jordan. Future
needs in Jordan are uncertain.
Mercy Camp, where MCC
personnel are working, is being
used as a transit camp for
evacuees from Iraq and
Kuwait. But 1-2 million foreign
workers are still in these
countries, Martin said, and
many may still flee through
Jordan.
Reports from Iraq indicate
that children are suffering due
to the U.N. -imposed embargo,
which includes food, he said.
Overseas Services director Ray
Brubacher noted that sending
food for infants would be
Hershey Leaman reported that
MCC equity in Canadian
Foodgrains Bank is $127,000
(Canadian), the lowest ever.
But food aid requests from
overseas have not diminished.
Controller Ken Langeman
reported that contributions to
MCC are 7 percent behind
budget, which will result in a
projected shortfall of $600,000
to $700,000 (U.S.) by the end
of the fiscal year. Mennonite
Brethren giving to MCC is up,
he noted, while all other
conference giving is down.
John A. Lapp, executive
secretary, reported on confer-
ence giving for the church
building loan fund for Menno-
nite Umsiedler in Germany.
The Conference of Mennonites
in Canada has contributed
$150,000 and proposed a
further contribution of
$100,000. Church Extension
Services of the General
Conference Mennonite Church
has loaned $50,000 at 7
percent interest. Mennonite
Brethren will soon discuss the
proposal, he added.
Menno Wiebe updated the
committee on the work of the
Horn of Africa Project, which
works closely with MCC. The
executive committee affirmed
the MCC contribution of
$1 0,000 for HAP work in 1 991 .
MCC workers Lawrence and
Melody Rupley, Rollin Rhein-
heimer and Judy and Mark
Nord, and Douglas Yoder
reported on MCC work in
Burkina Faso, Bangladesh and
Poland, respectively.
The executive committee
voted to allocate $55,000 from
the MCC building reserve fund
for rental of another building in
Akron to house several MCC
departments, starting in 1991.
The committee accepted a
proposal from staff that MCC's
pension plan be a defined
contribution plan rather than a
defined benefit plan. Ken
Langeman reported that the
new plan will be easier to
understand and administer and
will provide fairer benefits to all
ages of workers terminating
MCC service. Ardell Stauffer,
MCC Information Services
MCC
continues
work with
evacuees in
Jordan
Akron, Pa. (MCC) — Mennonite
Central Committee involvement
in Jordanian camps with evacu-
ees from Iraq and Kuwait
continues, reports Ed Martin,
MCC secretary for the Middle
East and South Asia, who was
in Jordan Sept. 6-1 1 .
Most evacuees in Mercy
Camp, where MCC volunteers
are working, have been moved
to Amman, Jordan's capital,
from where they will be flown to
their home countries, says
MCC worker Jerry Martin. But
on Sept. 18, 1,000 to 1,500
new evacuees arrived at the
camp by bus, Martin said.
Some 50,000 evacuees are
now at two recently opened
camps run by the Red Cross
and Red Crescent at Azraq,
468 OCTOBER 23, 1990
At a 10-year planning seminar in Taipei,
Taiwan, in July, the Fellowship of Menno-
nite Churches in Taiwan set a goal of 4,000
members in 40 congregations by the year
2000. Representatives of the existing 20
churches and elected FOMCIT officers
attended the meeting. Based on the
findings of the seminar, the FOMCIT
executive committee will formulate a com-
prehensive plan of action for the next
decade. The plan will be presented for
approval at the next annual FOMCIT
conference.
Bethel College, North Newton, Kan.,
through its affiliation with the Associated
Colleges of Central Kansas, has received a
$36,329 two-year grant from the Fund for
the Improvement of Post-Secondary
Education for a drug education and
prevention program. This grant will enable
Bethel to join other member colleges of the
consortium in developing a network of drug
prevention professionals who can assist
one another in improving their drug abuse
education and prevention programs. This
funding will also enable an ongoing staff
training program and the acquisition of
educational resource materials.
After months of difficult deliberations,
Mennonite Central Committee decided to
discontinue its Canadian orientation
program for Southeast Asian boat people
at Phanat Nikhom refugee camp in
Thailand. The main reason, said Jan
Siemens, co-director of MCC's program in
Thailand, is that "we believe some adjust-
ments and modifications have been
implemented that make it difficult to view
the majority of the people in Phanat
Nikhom camp as legitimate refugees who
are fleeing persecution."
NEWS
between the Iraq-Jordan border
and Amman. These organiza-
tions have adequate personnel
and resources to run the Azraq
camps, said Ed Martin.
Hundreds of thousands of
foreign workers are still in Iraq
and Kuwait, Martin said. Many
are skilled laborers, such as
technicians and engineers.
Six MCC volunteers work in
Mercy Camp, where all resi-
dents have been Bangladeshi.
Jerry Martin reports that the
presence of Curt Wenger and
Kevin Stout, Bengali-speaking
MCC workers from Bangla-
desh, has been important.
MCC workers in the camp
have helped distribute food,
organized transportation,
maintained sanitation, per-
formed administrative tasks
and offered emotional support
to the stream of people
crossing the border. "Most
Bengali people at Mercy Camp
had suffered inhuman condi-
tions at other camps," says
MCC Egypt volunteer Doug
Amstutz, who is there. Mercy
Camp was begun to relieve
pressure at Sha'alan 1 , a camp
of 40,000 people that had in-
adequate shelter and supplies
in the early days of the crisis.
"Desert heat, occasional
sandstorms, a continual flow of
people in and out of the camp
[and] the sheer numbers of
people involved provided
constant challenges," says
Amstutz.
Urbane Peachey, pastor at
Akron (Pa.) Mennonite Church
and former MCC secretary for
Middle East programs, traveled
to Jordan Sept. 22 for one
month. Peachey, who lived in
Amman from 1970-1974,
worked with the Middle East
Council of Churches to
determine where MCC can best
help. He was also in contact
with local church leaders, the
Jordanian government and
United Nations workers to
follow the changing situation.
MECC is examining possibili-
ties for working with Jordanians
and Palestinians returning to
Jordan from Iraq and Kuwait.
MCC may contribute food and
material resources to this work,
says Ed Martin.
Martin says he experienced
no personal animosity in
Jordan. But most Jordanians
oppose American military
presence in the region and
believe that the Arab world
should have been left to handle
the crisis, he says.
The Jordan Times, the major
English-language newspaper in
Jordan, interviewed Martin
while he was in the country.
The Times printed the Sept. 6
MCC statement opposing the
use of food as a weapon (see
page 467) in its Sept. 13-14
issue with the interview.
The Jordanian economy has
been badly affected by the
crisis, since most Jordanian
trade previously was with Iraq.
Prices are up "tremendously,"
says Martin, and staple foods
are being rationed.
Martin notes that many other
countries, particularly Egypt
and several South Asian
countries, will be hit hard by the
crisis as former workers in Iraq
and Kuwait return home. Many
countries received significant
income from workers in the
Gulf. Ardell Stauffer
MCC workers in Brazil learn
what floods are like
Recife, Brazil (MCC)— To
understand better what Brazil-
ians experience, Mark and
Linda Heath Miller, Mennonite
Central Committee community
development workers, lived this
rainy season on one of Vila dos
Milagres' perilous slopes. The
Vila, on the edge of Recife, is
home to 3,000 families. In the
early morning after six hours of
hard rain, neighbors came to
their house for shelter. After
everyone had settled in, rain-
loosened debris crashed
through the living room wall.
No one was hurt, but it was
traumatic.
"Being here, for me, means
sharing some of the same risks
that people here live with daily,"
says Mark, explaining why he
wanted to continue living in
their home after repairs and
security measures were taken.
MCC workers have gone with
residents when they confront
the government and denounce
systems and politicians that do
not respect human dignity.
This is a difficult task for
foreigners because they do not
want to cross the thin line into
partisan politics.
But MCC workers believe it is
important to "accompany" the
people in this process. It is
important because it involves
joining the people as they take
risks and it demonstrates that
MCC work is about building a
just society, not about the more
privileged playing Santa Claus
to the poor. Maria Smith
Flooded alleys between shacks in a shantytown of Recife, Brazil
THE MENNONITE 469
Cambodia is broke, according to Synapses, a peace and justice
group in Chicago. The Soviet Union and Eastern European countries
are cutting off aid to Cambodia. This aid makes up 80 percent of the
revenues of their national budget. As a result. 56.000 government
employees-one fourth of the civil service-will be laid off. The govern-
ment will be forced to sell its gold reserves. Inflation is up. Govern-
ment corruption is up, and the Khmer Rouge are poised to exploit the
situation. Synapses urges people to push for basic policy changes
through the U.S. Congress, to urge the U.S. government to recognize
the Hun Sen government, stop all support to the Khmer Rouge,
pressure the removal of refugee camps from the border area. For
more information contact Synapses. 1821 W. Cullerton. Chicago, IL
60608, (312) 421-5513.
NEWS COMMENTARY
"Neighborhood Peacemaking: a Joint Venture" is the theme
for this year's annual Churches United for Peacemaking con-
ference. To be held Nov. 10 in Wichita,
Kan., the conference will focus on peace-
making within the city, across racial, ethnic
JB: and socioeconomic lines. Special speaker is
JT Don Bakely, a member of Rainbow Menno-
nite Church, Kansas City, Kan., and execu-
tive director of Cross-Lines Cooperative
Council, who works with the poor and disad-
vantaged in Kansas City. Registration is $6
each for adults ($8 after Oct. 31 ) and $2
each for children ($3 after Oct. 31 ). Child
care and a children's program will be provided. The three
General Conference Mennonite congregations in Wichita are
members of CUP. Contact Steve Mosher. 1 103 Jefferson,
Wichita, KS 67203, (316) 263-5886.
Turn the Gulf crisis into an opportunity
Robert Hull
How do we proclaim our
Mennonite peace message in
the midst of a popular military
action?
The task of peace and justice
workers is to stimulate public
debate sooner rather than later.
If key questions are asked as
soon as possible, perhaps
some of the worst excesses of
unchallenged military power
can be avoided. In the U.S.
political system, for example, I
ask if the president has
reported his military actions to
Congress under the War
Powers Act.
Some organizations help us
in these tasks. The Center of
Constitutional Rights in
Washington, for example,
issued this analysis in its Aug.
21 "Action Alert":
/. The President has violated
the Consitution and the War
Powers Act. The decision to
use the military to blockade
Iraq is an act of war that only
Congress can order, according
to the Constitution. President
Bush also did not provide
Congress, within 48 hours, the
necessary information man-
dated by the War Powers Act.
2. The United States has
violated Articles 39 and 42 of
the United Nations Charter.
The U.S. unilaterally sent
troops to the Middle East prior
to the consent of the U.N.
Security Council and proce-
dures under the U.N. Charter.
3. The U.S. blockade of food
and medicine has violated the
U.N. Security Council's
Resolution and humanitarian
norms of international law. The
U.N. resolution makes excep-
tions to allow access of food
and medicines into Iraq and
Kuwait.
4. U.S. censorship of the
media violates Article 19 of the
Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. This article
prohibits infringements on the
right to "information and ideas
through any media and
regardless of frontiers." A
press pool is in the Middle
East, but the U.S. military
escorts the press to predeter-
mined locations.
Norms of international law
must not be flouted simply
because the United States is
the world's strongest military
power. According to the U.S.
Constitution, the United
Nations Charter and U.N.
international covenants have
become U.S. law, since they
were ratified by the Senate.
Governments' own stan-
dards: We must ask ourselves
whether governments are living
up to the standards they have
set for themselves. The U.S.
Bill of Rights, the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Free-
doms, the Universal Declara-
tion of Human Rights and many
conventions of international law
give us yardsticks to measure
whether or not governments
are acting lawlessly.
With the language of human
rights and international law the
church has the tools to speak
to governments in ways they
can understand.
By the decisions a church
The primary role
for the church is
this: Ask ourselves
if our governments
are living up to the
standards they have
set for themselves.
makes and the human relations
it models the church "teaches
the nation." (This is one of the
meanings of texts such as the
"swords into plowshares"
prophecy of Isaiah 2:1-4 and
the "hidden plan of God"
passage in Ephesians 3:7-13.)
By the life and witness of the
church, governments can know
that "your God reigns" (Isaiah
52:7-10).
The Quakers in colonial
America, for example, recog-
nized their sin in owning slaves
and persuaded their members
to release their slaves or leave
the church. Then a largely
non-violent abolitionist move-
ment began in the larger
society that, with the tragic
detour of the Civil War.
eventually rid the nation of
slavery.
Turn the Gulf crisis into an
opportunity: How can we find
our voice in the current crisis?
Here are some elements of the
church's witness in the midst of
the current crisis. (I use as a
structure a song by the folk-
singer Holly Near, "Singing for
Our Lives. ")
We are a people-loving
people: We have concerns that
go beyond nation-to-nation
jostlings and confrontations.
We are concerned for people.
We refuse to allow govern-
ments, ours or any other, to tell
us someone is our enemy. We
are as concerned for the
enemy's food and shelter and
health and dignity and eco-
nomic opportunities as we are
for those of our own nation's
people.
We are a justice-seeking
people: In this age of massive
and immediate communica-
tions, this commitment to be
non-partisan is a source of
stress to those of us who resist
blindly following everything our
government and the media
want to tell us.
470 OCTOBER 23. 1990
"The Middle East Crisis: Would You Pay
with Your Life for Cheap Gas?" is the title
of a brochure distributed by the Fellowship
of Reconciliation. Designed for high school
and college students, the brochure asks
readers to consider that the leaders of
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are not demo-
crats, that the ones profiting from the
deployment of troops are the huge multina-
tional oil companies and arms manufactur-
ers, and that a resumption of the draft is a
real threat. For information contact FOR,
Box 271, Nyack,NY 10960, (914) 358-
4601.
Church executives from more than 15
denominations in July attended a two-day
Clergy Care Conference hosted by
Pastoral Associates of Prairie View in
Wichita, Kan. Among the emerging needs
identified among clergy were these: (1 )
Difficulties in maintaining multiple roles
often create stress that may result in
psychological and social problems; (2)
rapid changes in the church and society
have left many clergy unsure about their
role and function; (3) older men may fee!
threatened by the increase in the number
of women clergy as well as rapid changes
in the church; (4) younger clergy often
leave seminary with substantial debts; (5)
loneliness and isolation may afflict clergy.
California scientist Hugh Ross was
surprised when he launched a 15-day
lecture circuit to some of the Soviet Union's
most distinguished scientists. He found
widespread practice of occult religion or
"psychic physics." Ross, an astro physicist,
heads Reasons to Believe, a Pasadena-
based scientific think tank that conducts
research and produces materials in the
field of science and Christian faith. "The
level of interest in the paranormal,...
astrology, poltergeist and witchcraft came
as a surprise," Ross said.
NEWS COMMENTARY
It is stressful to be justice-
seeking people in the midst of
popular military interventions.
It is stressful to think for
ourselves and ask questions
and put things together that no
one else seems to be doing.
For example, we have heard a
lot about the cost of maintain-
ing the American military
presence in the Persian Gulf.
The often-quoted figure is $1
billion a month. But by
comparison, the often-quoted
figure to repay the savings-and-
loan disaster, which was center
stage in the news just prior to
the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, is
$500 billion. The American
troops could remain in the Gulf
area for 41 years before the
costs for the two problems
were equal. How much
detailed reporting have we
heard on the news lately about
the savings-and-loan crisis?
Who stands to gain the most
when our attention is diverted
from investigations into
potentially criminal activities?
This is not the first time "foreign
adventures" have distracted
attention from domestic
problems.
It is stressful to be partisans
for truth in the midst of popular
wars. What does the Western
nations' proclamation of free
trade as the ground rules of the
international economic order
mean? Does it mean that we
can insist on cheap gasoline
prices for our consumers but
that Iraq cannot complain
loudly within OPEC that Kuwait
and Saudi Arabia's overproduc-
tion was driving prices down
and crippling its economy? As
justice-seeking people, to
whom must we say the natural
resources of a nation belong?
I will not justify the military
invasion of Kuwait any more
than the military reaction of the
Western nations. I want to
seek justice as the only true
and lasting foundation for
peace. The church must
proclaim in word and deed that
the world must learn to struggle
with justice questions face to
face, across honest negotiating
tables, rather than down the
barrels of its guns.
These questions should
energize us as people of faith.
We can ask and discuss them
in our church meetings and in
our local communities. Eventu-
ally such discussion needs to
"go public" through teaching
seminars in our schools and
colleges, through local peace
groups sponsoring events and
through the local media.
We are a risking, acting
people: It is stressful to plan
actions that are our own faithful
experiments with truth in the
midst of popular wars. Some
examples are emerging. The
Christian Peacemaker Teams
steering committee, Mennonite
Central Committee, the
Mennonite Church, the General
Conference Mennonite Church,
the Brethren in Christ and the
Church of the Brethren called
for an "Oil Free Sunday" Oct.
21. Many congregations
planned creative activities.
How do our demands for cheap
oil impede economic develop-
ment for the peoples of the oil-
producing nations? How can
we employ in our congrega-
tional worship the more-with-
less philosophy that Menno-
nites have been so proud of?
It is stressful to consider
other experiments with truth.
The Christian Peacemaker
Teams steering committee,
MCC and the Church of the
Brethren are considering relief
convoys of food and medicines
into Iraq, perhaps accompanied
by CPT people who will remain
in the Middle East to engage in
some non-violent witness to
peaceful conflict resolution.
What if the CPT team were
to call for peaceful settlement
of this crisis by negotiations
under United Nations auspices,
enforced by worldwide consci-
entious objection among the
faithful of every religious
community? What if war
loomed in the Middle East but
people stopped coming,
preferring instead to prepare
their own nations for living
more justly with less of the
world's resources?
Let us think boldly. Our
ultimate concern, our most
fervent prayer in this crisis is
that there be no war, that
justice be sought peacefully,
that this crisis become an
opportunity, that the world learn
finally the ways of non-violent
conflict resolution. Does the
strongest military power in the
world today yet contain a
peace church that will speak
and act out this message?
We are a hoping, praying
people: For all the optimism I
want to have, it does look as
though war in the Persian Gulf
is inevitable. But optimism is
not hope. Optimism looks at
the trends of events and trusts
in the rationality of leaders.
Hope trusts in the Lord of
history, despite the trends of
events. Nothing can give us
that hope except prayer.
Robert Hull is secretary for
peace and justice for the
Commission on Home Minis-
tries of the General Conference
Mennonite Church.
In the name of God we declare: It is wrong to fight a war.
We say to all those in positions of political responsibility,
Try out all the non-military ways and means of resolving
conflict and do not tire of inventing new ones. War has never
in the whole of history been a substitute for political creativity.
We make this appeal aware of our own responsibility. Our
peace witness has often been half-hearted. We have not
opposed the arms race and arms trade wholeheartedly
enough.
Christians are now on the way toward taking new steps for
justice, peace and the integrity of creation. We commit
ourselves to doing all in our power to prevent war and to
promote peace and justice.
We pray that the people of the Gulf region and the men
and women serving in armed forces there may not lose their
lives in war but live in peace. From a statement by Church
and Peace, in which European Mennonites participate
THE MENNONITE 471
Prisons do not rehabilitate, write Charles Colson and Dan Van
Ness in their book Convicted. Prisons are "graduate schools of
crime" that make non-violent offenders violent. Among other
points the authors make are these:
• The prison population is growing 10 times faster (in the United
States) than the general population, but crime continues to
skyrocket.
• Ninety-nine percent of Americans will be victims of theft at
least once in their lives. One of four households will be touched
by crime each year.
• The average cost to keep an inmate in prison for one year is
$15,900.
• Harsh prison sentences do not deter crime.
• It costs $80,000 to build a single maximum-security cell.
(OVM Newsletter)
The Salvation Army says it will be forced to shut down a work
rehabilitation program it has operated for almost a century if the
U.S. Labor Department insists that it pay the federal minimum
wage to workers involved. Department officials said recently that
beneficiaries of the Salvation Army's Adult Rehabilitation Centers
who perform work are employees within the meaning of federal
law and are thus entitled to $3.80 an hour. James Osborne,
national commander of the Salvation Army, said in a Sept. 14
letter to the Labor Department that the organization provides
housing and food to more than 70,000 people each year at the
centers without any government support. This requirement [to
pay minimum wage] will put beneficiaries "back on the streets
since the Salvation Army will no longer be able to afford to
support them or provide them with the religious and charitable
rehabilitation program conducted at the centers," he said.
{National Catholic Reporter)
RECOltd
dEAThs
Harold W. Voth. 66, died Sept.
16 at Halstead (Kan.) Hospital.
A member of Alexanderwohl
Church. Goessel. Kan., he did
voluntary service with MCC
from 1953-1958. His wife,
Ruth, preceded him in death
March 13 in the tornado that
also devastated Hesston, Kan.
He is survived by two sons, a
daughter, brothers, sisters and
grandchildren.
WORliERS
B. Hamm
P. Hamm
Yolanda Alfaro, First Church,
Saskatoon, began a one-year
MCC term in May in Saskatoon
as a receptionist for MCC
Saskatchewan.
Christine Bartow, Upper
Milford Church, Zionsville, Pa.,
has begun work as a secretary
for MBM deaf ministries in
Washington.
Ken Derksen, Sargent
Avenue Church, Winnipeg,
began a two-year MCC term in
November 1989 as manager of
computer services at MCC
Canada, Winnipeg.
John Dey was installed Aug.
1 9 as pastor at First Church,
Nappanee. Ind.
Gary Drury has been named
assistant basketball coach and
head golf coach at Bluffton
MBM — Mennonite Board of Missions
MCC — Mennonite Central Commitee
(Ohio) College.
Karen Ewert. Markham, III., is
principal of Chicago Mennonite
Learning Center, located at
Lawndale Church. Three of the
five Central District board
members of CMLC are Leanna
Cender, Christ Community
Church. Shaumburg, III.: Ofelia
Hurley, Comunidad de Fe.
Chicago: and board president
Richard Weaver. First Church,
Bluffton. Ohio.
Marilyn Funk, Evangelical
Mennonite Brethren Church,
Steinbach, Man., began
Aug. 20 as office and building
manager at the MCC Canada
office. Winnipeg. She
succeeds Sarah Reimer. who is
retiring after 24 years of
administrative service with
MCC in Canada.
Larry Grunden, pastor at
Trenton (Ohio) Church, was the
guest minister-in-residence at
Bluffton (Ohio) College Sept.
25-27. Ed Kauffman, pastor at
Eighth Street Church. Goshen,
Ind., was the guest minister
Oct. 16-18. This
program is designed
to acquaint Central
District and Eastern
District Conference
church pastors with the college.
Betty and Peter Hamm, MBM
workers in Liberia until May,
when civil war broke out,
resigned Aug. 31 because of
health reasons. They are living
in Winnipeg.
Tom Harder, Koinonia
Fellowship, Chandler, Ariz.,
began Oct. 1 as program
director at Camp Friedenswald,
Cassopolis, Mich.
Clair Hochstetler was
installed July 15 as pastor at
North Danvers Church,
Danvers, III.
Anne Janzen, Peace Church,
Saskatoon, began a one-year
MCC term in May in Saskatoon
as co-manager of Self-Help
Crafts.
Todd and Dawn Hardt
Lehman, Menno Church,
Ritzville, Wash., and First
Church, Aberdeen, Idaho,
respectively, have begun three-
year MCC terms in Yucomo,
Bolivia. She is an agriculturist
in animal husbandry, and he is
a crop agriculturist. Her
parents are Charlotte and
Forrest Hardt of Ritzville. His
are Janice and Jerry Lehman
of Aberdeen.
Eva Martens, Crystal City
(Man.) Church, began a two-
year MCC term in August in
Winnipeg as a mail clerk and
receptionist at the MCC
Canada office.
Nora Martin and Steve
Mclnnis, St. Jacob's (Ont.)
Church and Evergreen Heights
Christian Fellowship, Simcoe.
Ont., respectively, have begun
three-year MCC terms in
Maijdi, Bangladesh. She is
teaching English, and he is an
appropriate technology group
leader. Her mother is Leah
Martin of Elmira, Ont. His
parents are Helen and John
Mclnnis of Collingwood, Ont.
Elmer Neufeld, president of
Bluffton (Ohio) College, will be
the guest speaker Nov. 2-3 at
the fall conference for congre-
gations in the Central District
(West) and Illinois Mennonite
conferences.
Cecile and Ron Nickel,
Carrot River (Sask.) Church,
began a two-year MCC term in
July in Prince Albert, Sask.,
where they are youth workers
with the Christian Outreach
Program.
Jon Nofziger and Charlotte
Siemens, Fort Garry Fellow-
ship, Winnipeg, have begun
three-year MCC terms in
Nicaragua. He is a reforesta-
tion soil conservationist, and
she is an adult education
literacy worker. His parents are
Delmer and Lauretta Nofziger
of Archbold, Ohio. Hers are
Jakob and Katie Siemens of
Clearbrook, B.C.
Mercy Oduyoye, deputy
general secretary of the World
Council of Churches, lectured
Oct. 16-19 at Conrad Grebel
College, Waterloo, Ont. The
lectures, sponsored by MBM,
provide Mennonite college
students with current perspec-
tives on the future of Christian
mission.
Jay and Marilyn Parrish,
Bowling Green, Ohio, have
begun MBM voluntary service
472 OCTOBER 23, 1990
East Germany's Catholic and Protestant
churches in a joint declaration have
appealed to the Bonn government to adopt
the East German model of military service,
which allows a draftee to choose between
military or community service, in a reunified
Germany. In West Germany, young men
who do not want to perform military duties
must defend their conscientious objection
position at an official hearing before they
are allowed to do alternative social service.
(National Catholic Reporter)
The first ever Texas Mennonite Central
Committee Relief Sale is scheduled for
Nov. 10 in Houston. Planned activities
include a quilt and craft auction, craft
booths, food booths, sale of baked goods,
story times for children and several musical
presentations. The sale will oe on the
grounds of Houston Mennonite Church and
will involve members of seven Mennonite
congregations in Texas. Items for the sale
have also been donated by congregations
and individuals in other states. Contact
person is Iris Hartshorn of Houston
Mennonite Church, where Leo Hartshorn is
the pastor.
The United Bible Societies has published
the first complete New Testament in
Mongolian. The first print run of 5,000
copies will be distributed in the Mongolian
People's Republic, 94 percent of whose
people speak Mongolian. It is believed that
Mongolian is the last official national
language in the world to acquire a New
Testament translation.
RECORd
terms. He is a researcher, and
she is a project administrator
at Creative Futures Center,
Seattle. She is also the local
program coordinator of the VS
unit.
Mary Raber, United Church
of Christ, St. Louis, began
Sept. 4 as USSR Program
Specialist at MCC Canada,
Winnipeg. She will help MCC
implement program plans in the
Soviet Union. She is also
managing editor of the Russian
Bible Commentary.
Betty and Dick Reimer,
Foothills Church, Calgary,
began a four-month MCC term
in August in Akron, Pa. He is a
packer, and she works in
returns and pricing at Self-Help
Crafts.
Melanie Springer, Albany,
Ore., has begun an MBM
voluntary service term as a
writer/researcher at Creative
Futures Center, a program of
Seattle Church.
Joel West began this fall as
associate professor of music at
Bluffton (Ohio) College.
Connie Wiebe, Springstein
(Man.) Church, began a one-
year MCC term in August in
Clearbrook, B.C., as a care-
giver to mentally handicapped
adults at the MCC B.C.-
operated Supportive Care
Services.
Dorothy and Stephen Wiebe-
Johnson, MBM workers in
Liberia until civil war broke out
in May, have relocated in
Accra, Ghana, for the remain-
ing two years of their term.
Among other responsibilities,
Steve is working half time with
the Good News Training
Institute, a ministry with
independent churches. Philip
and Julianna Bender also serve
with GNTI.
Virgil Wiebe, Manhattan
(Kan.) Fellowship, began an
MBM voluntary service term
Sept. 5, 1989, as a refugee
worker with Overground
Railroad in Harlingen, Texas.
Anne and David Winter,
Eigenheim Church, Rosthern,
Sask., have begun three-year
MCC terms in Santa Cruz,
Bolivia, working as community
service workers with Old
Colony Mennonites.
Lance Zimmerman, First
Church, Reedley, Calif., began
a two-year MCC term in June in
Scarborough, Ont., as a
community worker with senior
citizens for the Warden Woods
Community Centre.
— compiled by Sharon Sommer
Camp Camrec is looking for an
energetic, creative and committed
couple who is interested in the
camping ministry. This is a year-
round, on-site position that
requires skills in a broad range of
areas: program, camp promotion,
general office skills, maintenance
and caretaking/housekeeping.
These responsibilities will be
divided between the couple, who
together are to provide an average
of 45-50 hours of work per week.
Minimum salary with benefits
including housing, vacation, health
insurance and car allowance. A
two-year minimum commitment is
desired.
Persons interested in this position
should contact Washington
Mennonite Fellowship, Cleon
Claassen, 4185 W. Lakeshore
Drive, Moses Lake, WA 98837,
(509) 765-9475.
The Commission on Overseas
Mission is seeking applications for
two openings in Mexico to work
among the German-speaking
Mexican Mennonites:
• a Bible teacher for the Bible
institute
• a pastor/resource person to
assist lay ministers and ordained
leaders in carrying out pastoral
duties.
For more information, contact
COM. Box 347, Newton, KS
67114, 316-283-5100.
Youth Evangelism Service (YES)
is seeking two or three college-age
applicants for assignment in Hong
Kong:
• a 1 -1/2-year-term beginning
January 1991, including a three-
month internship in Baltimore
• Volunteers will work alongside
Hong Kong Mennonites and
missionaries in community
outreach.
• YES Hong Kong is jointly
sponsored by the Commission on
Overseas Mission (COM) of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church and the Eastern Mennonite
Board of Mission and Charities.
For more information, contact
COM, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114, 316-283-5100.
A MENNO (Mennonites Encoun-
tering New Neighbors Overseas)
service/learning project is being
planned for Colombia Jan. 26-Feb.
9, 1991. MENNO project
• needs up to 10 participants.
• is working alongside mission-
aries and Colombian Mennonites.
• is sponsored by the Commis-
sion on Overseas Mission (COM)
of the General Conference
Mennonite Church and the
Colombian Mennonite Church.
For more information, contact
COM, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114, 316-283-5100.
Colombia '91, a summer study
service program, is scheduled for
July 1-Aug. 19, 1991:
• a three-week assignment
alongside Colombian Mennonite
youth, followed by PCNA (Program
for Conscientization of North
Americans), a study learning
experience
• is coordinated by the Commis-
sion on Overseas Mission (COM)
of the General Conference
Mennonite Church and the
Mennonite Church in Colombia.
For more information, contact
COM, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114. 316-283-5100.
~^Rappy are-ttrdse~whp have eaten the iron peanuts,
for they~shall have ete7na)-peaGe4n heaven."
These were the reflections of a Chinese student on the
ry^rf^^^v^^^^^BrSmerrQquare, Beijing. As we carry those
/'fifficture'srof June 4, 1989, with us, let us look ahead to
the ongoing images of China. China continues to send
requests for people interested in teaching English in
China. For further information, please contact the
Commission on Overseas Mission, 722 Main St., Box
347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100.
THE MENNONITE 473
Looking for something
new for Sunday school
or small group study?
And Who Is My
Neighbor?
Poverty, Privilege, and
the Gospel of Christ
Reading the Bible through
the eyes of poor people sheds
new light on familiar
Scriptures. Study groups and
individuals in North American
churches are invited by Gerald
W. Schlabach to study the
Bible together, to discover how
it feels to be poor, and to
understand what Jesus says
about the poor.
The last four chapters of this book offer resources to
begin working for change that will help poor people,
locally and worldwide.
Paper, $9.95; in Canada $12.50
The Upside-Down
Kingdom
Now revised and updated.
Donald B. Kraybill's classic
study book on the kingdom of
God demonstrates the
sociological perspective's
creative ability to uncover new
insights in old biblical texts.
Kraybill says social, religious,
and economic practices of the
dominant culture usually favor
the rich, powerful, and
prestigious. Jesus, on the other
hand, favors those who suffer
at society's margins and fall
between the cracks.
The Upside-Down Kingdom offers practical
suggestions for "upside-down" living in a
"right-side-up" society.
Paper, $14.95, in Canada $18.95
THE
UPSIDE*
DOWp
KINGDOM
Foreword by Torn Sine
Donald B. Kraybill
Herald Press books are available through your local
bookstore or write to Herald Press (include 15% for
shipping — minimum $1.50).
Herald Press
Dept. MEN
616 Walnut Avenue
Scottdale, PA 15683-1999
Herald Press
Dept. MEN
490 Dutton Drive
Waterloo, ON N2L 6H7
The Prime Minister of the South Pacific Cook Islands, Geoffrey
Henry, has criticized the United States for its plan to incinerate
hundreds of tons of chemical weapon agents on the Johnston
Atoll without consulting neighboring Pacific Island states. In an
agreement made with the Soviet Union, the United States has
agreed to destroy 80 percent of its chemical weapons by the turn
of the century. According to Greenpeace, there is no safe way to
dispose of the weapons, and the organization has called for a halt
to the incineration. In spite of this, U.S. Congressional negotiators
have approved the $1 8 million requested by the government to
pay for the shipment of the entire American chemical weapon
stock deployed in West Germany to Johnston Atoll. {Active for
Justice)
RESOURCES
tooks
The Horn of Africa Project:
Modeling Alternative Conflict
Resolution by Ronald J.R.
Mathies, Harold F. Miller and
Menno F. Wiebe (MCC, Box
500, Akron, PA 17501-0500,
$1) is the 1 1th title in Menno-
nite Central Committee's
Occasional Paper series. It
examines the work and impact
of the Horn of Africa Project,
which promotes peace through
dialogue.
San Francisco Giants pitcher
Dave Dravecky's autobiog-
raphy, Comeback by Dave
Dravecky with Tim Stafford
(Zondervan, 1990, $17.95),
weaves championship game
plays with stories of his family,
faith and coming back to the
pitcher's mound 10 months
after cancer surgery on his
pitching arm.
Should the Children Pray?
A Historical, Judicial and
Political Examination of Public
School Prayer by Lynda Beck
Fenwick (Baylor University
Press, 1990, $29.95) does not
advocate one position but
seeks to make available the
historical and legal information
from which readers can form
their own opinions.
The following are books on
capital punishment and
sentencing, published by
Northeastern University Press
in Boston: Equal Justice and
the Death Penalty: A Legal
and Empirical Analysis by
David C. Baldus, George G.
Woodworth and Charles A.
Pulaski, Jr. (1990, $55), Death
Is Different: Studies in the
Morality, Law and Politics of
Capital Punishment by Hugo
Adam Bedau (1987, $35),
Death and Discrimination:
Racial Disparities in Capital
Sentencing by Samuel R.
Gross and Robert Mauro
(1989, $30), The Sentencing
Commission and Its
Guidelines by Andrew von
Hirsch, Kay A. Knapp and
Michael Tonry (1987, $32.50),
Legal Homicide: Death as
Punishment in America, 1864-
7982 by William J. Bowers with
Glenn L. Pierce and John F.
McDevitt (1984, $50), Doing
Justice: The Choice of
Punishments by Andrew von
Hirsch (1986, $8.95) and Just
Deserts for Corporate
Criminals by Kip Schlegel
(1990, $35).
Green Winter by Elise
Maclay (Henry Holt, 1990,
$14.95) looks at the personal
and emotional aspects of living
as an older person in today's
world.
Each type of religion has a
particular way to express itself,
a particular purpose, a particu-
lar temptation when taken to
extremes, says John F. Haught
in his book What Is Religion?
An Introduction (Paulist Press,
1990, $10.95).
Changing Lenses: A New
Focus for Crime and Justice by
Howard Zehr (Herald Press,
1990, $14.95, $18.95 in
Canada) examines our
assumptions about crime and
justice, which it calls "retribu-
474 OCTOBER 23, 1990
A total of 190 students enrolled for on-
and off-campus courses at Associated
Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart,
Ind., this fall, one more than last year,
reported Ruth Ann Gardner, registrar. Part-
time students for the second year outnum-
ber full-time students, 102 to 88, making a
full-time equivalent enrollment of 1 17.1 ,
compared to 1 17.5 last year. Of the total,
43.7 percent are women, compared to 43.4
percent last year. The enrollment includes
1 1 international students and 37 from
Canada.
Perry Yoder, professor of Old Testament
at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminar-
ies, Elkhart, Ind., will to speak to U.S. and
Canadian farmers on the theme of "crea-
tion theology" at the sixth Faith and
Farming Conference, to be held Dec. 2-4 at
Laurelville Mennonite Church Center near
Mt. Pleasant, Pa. Yoder's topics will be
"Beginning at the Beginning," "Where Do
People Fit In?" "Stewardship of Nature" and
"Praising God with Nature." For more
information contact LMCC, Route 5, Box
145, Mt. Pleasant, PA 15666, (412) 423-
2056.
Ninety-six young people from 30 coun-
tries have begun a year as participants in
Mennonite Central Committee's Interna-
tional Visitor Exchange Program. IVEP is a
cultural exchange that promotes interna-
tional friendship through person-to-person
contact between international young people
and North American Mennonites. Most
young people in the program spend six
months in one North American location,
meet for a midterm reunion, then spend six
months at a second location.
RESOURCES
csnging
Lenses
Howard Zehr
tive," then
looks at
historical,
biblical and
practical alter-
natives and
finally pro-
poses a
"restorative"
model.
Through 28
spiritual and
psychological techniques,
Spiritual Technologies: A
User's Manual by Edward
Stevens (Paulist Press, 1990,
$9.95) makes the great
traditions of prayer and
meditation available to
everyone.
Reconciliation and
Justification: The Sacrament
and Its Theology by Kenan B.
Osborne (Paulist Press, 1990,
$14.95) gives an overview of
how the divine mysteries of
salvation have been theologi-
cally expressed and historically
practiced from the patristic
period through post-Tridentine
Catholic theology, post-
Reformation Protestant
theology and Vatican II.
Writing as the parent of
alcoholic
children, Joyce
M. Shutt in
Steps to
Hope (Herald
Press, 1990,
$6.95, $8.95 in
Canada)
weaves her
experience
with Jesus'
Beatitudes and the Twelve
Steps used by Alcoholics
Anonymous, Families Anony-
mous and similar programs to
>/ STEPS
I TO
HOPE
JOYCE M. SHUTT
THE CHURCH
THEOLOGICAL
COMMUNITY
show how people can break
addictions.
The Church as Theological
Community: Essays in Honour
of David Schroeder, edited by
Harry
Huebner
(CMBC
Publications,
1990, $20),
represents
aspects of
teaching and
*ssx. research on
a broad
range of
theological topics: Bible,
church history, theology, ethics,
peace and practical theology.
Order from 600 Shaftesbury
Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4.
Millard C. Lind, longtime
teacher of Old Testament at
Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, has written
Monotheism, Power, Justice:
Collected Old Testament
Essays (Institute of Mennonite
Studies, 1990, $11, $13 in
Canada). In both journal and
popular articles Lind deals with
method or interpretation; law,
justice and power; war and
economics; and worship,
mission and community.
The Emergence of the Laity
in the Early Church by
Alexandre Faivre (Paulist
Press, 1 990, $1 1 .95) traces the
history and origin of the laity
during the first five centuries of
Christianity.
People involved in public
speaking on any level may be
interested in The Sower's
Seeds: One Hundred Inspiring
Stories for Preaching, Teaching
and Public Speaking by Brian
Cavanaugh (Paulist Press,
1990, $5.95).
Called to Be Friends (MBM
Media Ministries, 1251 Virginia
Ave., Harrisonburg, VA 22801 ,
1990, $5, $6 in Canada)
outlines a plan to prepare
congregations to invite visitors.
Just as Job finally
triumphs and performs a
revolutionary act by awarding
his daughters equal shares in
his inheritance, today's solution
is not a revenge on the old
system but the creation of a
new one, says Joan Chittister
in her book Job's Daughters:
Women and Power (Paulist
Press, 1990, $3.95).
Jesus Christ and the
Mission of the Church:
Contemporary Anabaptist
Perspectives (Faith and Life
Press, 1990, $9.95, $12.95 in
Canada), published jointly by
the General Conference
Mennonite Church, the
Mennonite Church, the
Brethren in Christ and the
Mennonite Brethren Church,
contains material from the
August 1989 Study Conference
on Christology. It includes
papers by George Brunk III,
John E. Toews, Harry Huebner
and J. Denny Weaver, re-
sponses by Daniel D. Garcia
Swartzentruber, Mary H.
Schertz and Thomas Finger,
the findings committee report.
Two books related to the
recent Mennonite International
Study Project are available
from Mennonite Board of
Missions, Box 370, Elkhart, IN
46515-0370: Final Report:
Mennonite International
Study Project ($3) and What
Next in Mission? ($2), both
written by Nancy Heisey
and Paul Longacre.
Leap of Faith by Peter J.
Dyck (Herald Press, 1990,
$7.95, $9.95 in Canada) is a
collection of true stories written
for children and all ages.
Addressing a need ex-
pressed by African-American
pastors and lay leaders. How
to Help Hurting People, edited
by Colleen Birchett (Urban
Ministries, Inc., 1990), offers
training through crisis interven-
tion counseling.
Overlooked and Overflown
(Mennonite Central Committee
Canada, 134 Plaza Drive,
Winnipeg, MB R3T 5K9, $3)
contains material about the
Innu of Labrador, legal action
against the low-level flying,
economic development in the
region and the effects of low-
level flying on the environment.
Here are some recent books
on teaching peace to children:
Teaching Green by Damian
Randle (Friends Book Centre,
Euston Road, London, ON
NW1 2BJ), Who's Calling the
Shots? How to Respond
Effectively to Children 's
Fascination with War Play and
War Toys by Nancy Carlsson-
Paige and Diane Levin (New
Society Publishers, Box 582,
Santa Cruz, CA 950610582),
Keeping the Peace: Practicing
Cooperation and Conflict
Resolution with Preschoolers
by Susanne Wichert (New
Society Publishers).
A Mother's Notebook,
illustrated by Cheryl A. Benner
(Good Books, 1990, $5.95),
includes nostalgic illustrations,
whimsical proverbs and
quotations.
— compiled by Gordon Houser
THE MENNONITE 475
Letters
Joy, sharing in Guatemala
I recently had the opportunity to travel
to Guatemala. Among many other
things, a communion service made quite
an impression on me. One Sunday we
were at Casa Horeb, one of the Menno-
nite churches in Guatemala City.
Toward the end of the service we formed
a circle in order to celebrate communion.
Remaining in the center of the circle
were a man in a wheelchair and a young
boy. When the man received his piece of
bread, he broke it in half, handed one
piece to the boy and they both started
eating. It was a spontaneous and joyful
scene. I had been expecting each person
to hold the bread until they were told to
eat it.
This was a powerful symbol for me in
that setting. It spoke of joyfulness and
sharing — two things that are lacking in
Guatemala. The wealthy elite and the
military prevent joyfulness by repressing
the large majority of indigenous Guate-
malans. The church, however, shares
and celebrates and by so doing works
toward a new day in Guatemala. Scott
Brubaker-Zehr, Escuela de Idiomas,
Apdo 250-2010, San Jose, Costa Rica
Author omitted
The author of the book Preventing Child
Sexual Abuse — Age 9-12 (Sept. 25 issue)
is Kathryn Goering Reid. Kathryn, a
former co-pastor at Epworth Methodist
Church, Berkeley, Calif., is the pastor at
Austin (Texas) Mennonite Fellowship, a
dual-conference, developing congrega-
tion. She holds a Master of Divinity
degree from Pacific School of Religion
and is an ordained minister in the
Church of the Brethren. The woman
listed as helping her with the book is
Marie M. Fortune, an internationally
known expert on child abuse. Kathryn
will be conducting a workshop at
McPherson (Kan.) College on this topic.
The date will be set at the Western
District Conference, Oct. 26-28. Oswald
H. Goering, Pine Village, Moundridge,
KS 67107
Add to Nicaragua article
I was disappointed that you edited out
the opening paragraphs of my article
("Hold Our Governments Accountable,"
Sept. 25 issue, pages 413-415). Anyone
Always there had been
the soil, the sod, the land,
The God-given heritage of a people
who for 400 years
had drained the lowlands and the
marshes
in the Netherlands and East Prussia
And who had tamed the prairie grass
on the steppes of the Ukraine
and on the plains of Kansas,
And who had believed in the holiness of the
idea
that they would not give their sons to
war
nor their daughters to those who did not believe as they.
To my
father
James R.
Regier
And so they lived for the planting
and the reaping,
And died for what they held
to be true,
And in between they gathered in the churches
and prayed together and sang the German hymns
And always kept a watchful eye upon the State.
And after the planting and before the harvesting,
they begat us
Who went out into a world different from theirs.
And while the flame of the old idea smoldered within us,
We accumulated unto ourselves
new ideas and made them our own, as well.
And upon the foundations of the past
We built our own houses
With doors leading into new rooms
Which contained windows
opening up onto vistas never seen before
by those who had preceded us.
And we lived in those homes
with a sense of excitement and wonderment
And occasionally
A feeling of incredulity and puzzlement
about where we had come from
and where we were going.
But always at night
We climbed into bed
And covered ourselves
with our grandmother's checkered quilt —
a blanket she had carefully and lovingly
sewn many years ago
before her hands began to tremble.
And under this cherished and checkered quilt-
patterned after the soil,
the sod,
the land of the lowlands,
the marshes
the steppes,
and the plains —
We felt once more the warmth of
the flame of the past
And fell asleep to dream again
the dreams of those who had come before,
And of those who were sure to follow.
James R. Regier's
address is 235 E.
83rd St., New
York, NY 10028.
His father, Harold
M. Regier, died
last January.
476 OCTOBER 23, 1990
can read the facts of a situation. When I
experienced the situation, the facts faded.
Robert O. Epp, Route 1, Box 215, Hender-
son, NE 68371
Editor's note: Here is that section:
"Quiero ver una sonrisa otra vez" (I
want to see a smile again), Candida was
saying to me. That day we had buried
two victims of Contra attacks who had
been killed the day before, a 12-year-old
boy and a 22-year-old mother of three
children. The two Catholic sisters, Maria
Jesus, Midoha and the lay worker
Candida had sat up late into the night
dealing with my guilt feelings concerning
my complicity in the deaths. They had
assured me that I was not responsible for
what my government was doing. "But," I
responded, "in a democracy the people are
the government. "
"That," they assured me, "is only an
ideal." It never got easier as time went
on. Those were only the first of other
victims of the low-intensity war that I
had to deal with. There were orphans
who still expected their parents to come
home. How could I make it clear to them
that their parents' bodies had been
located by watching where the vultures
gathered? They had been hacked to death
by Contra machetes. There were the
babies that died from diarrhea because of
poor sanitation and a shortage of medical
personnel and supplies. Medical workers
didn't dare to go into the mountains
because they were prime targets of the
Contras.
Open letter to Robert Peters
You and I missed Assembly 12 of Men-
nonite World Conference. You missed
[Letters, Sept. 25] the staccato notes of
joy that resounded from the thousands
assembled in Winnipeg. I couldn't
attend either, but I heard the notes again
and again as I walked with my Shepherd
"in the valley of the shadow of death." I
heard them through the articles in our
papers and from voices returning from
the conference as they remembered God's
presence in their midst.
"It was so wonderful," said one, "to see
with our own eyes the presence of so
many from foreign places — the fruit of
the Spirit from mission fields through
the years."
It may be, Mr. Peters, that from here
on our church will be stronger in its
mission endeavor because of what
happened in Winnipeg last summer. It
may be, too, that our foreign brothers
and sisters received a new vision of what
the church is and means. Perhaps the
oneness they felt has sent them back
with new determination to "tell the
wondrous story of Jesus and his love."
Please, Mr. Peters, allow the Spirit
"rope" to continue with power all over the
world what he began in our midst in
Winnipeg. I agree with you that there is
a time to repent. And who knows — after
Assembly 12 many of us are repenting.
We are asking how many more could
have been at the conference if we had
been more ready to serve, to give.
However, there is also a time to rejoice.
Our God tells us to "cry out and
shout. ..for great is the Holy One of Israel
in the midst of thee" (Isaiah 12:6).
I believe this happened in Winnipeg at
Assembly 12, and I think heaven enjoyed
it. Joanna S. Andres, Box 5000, Hesston,
KS 67062
War is bad business
If proof was ever needed for the idea that
war is bad for farmers and middle-class
businessmen, Bush's "line in the sand"
removes all doubt. Doubling oil prices
while cutting grain prices almost in two
will mow down another wave of farmers
and two waves of middle-class merchants
who rely upon their trade. Meanwhile,
the grain trade monopoly and the oil
cartel oligarchy tighten their grip on the
U.S. economy and political process. This
scenario would surely grieve Thomas
Jefferson [a founding father of the.
United States], who often argued that
democracy itself depended upon yeomen
farmers and middle-class merchants.
What a paradox it is, that while our old
enemy the Soviet Union tries with all its
might to create private-enterprise
farmers and merchants, we use the
sands of the Middle East to plow ours
under. Larry Lange, Route 3, Devils
Lake, NC 58301
Editor's note: All letters are welcome.
They must be signed, but names of
writers may be withheld upon request.
We reserve the right to edit for clarity and
brevity.
Prussian plates
Arlene K. Friesen
They were packed away in straw in a barrel,
white like cream.
Great-Grandma wore a tight pulled bun,
stern looking.
With damp forehead, she worked as
Grandpa urged her to hurry.
Straw and plates,
stamped "Racine Bavaria" on the checkered undercoat.
Brought from Germany to Prussia,
they held pflinzen,
lightly turned in the butter from Grandpa's cow,
Or yellow-eyed eggs from red-brown chickens.
The circular saucers filled to the brim with kirschen moos.
They now serve hungry faces in a long common house.
The fare is poorer.
Grandma peels an apple, red, ribbon-like strips.
The children take turns, like robin babes,
patiently waiting for more,
peering at their reflection in Prussian plates.
Arlene K. Friesen lives in North Newton, Kan. "Pflinzen" means
pancakes; "kirschen moos" means cherry "soup."
THE MENNONITE 477
RE VI EWS
BINDING THE
STRONG MAN
ooks
The way of Jesus
Binding the Strong Man: A Political
Reading of Mark's Story of Jesus by
Ched Myers (Orbis Book, 1988, 500
pages)
Reviewed by Arthur P. Boers, 477 Lincoln
Road, Windsor, ON N8Y 2G6
Anyone interested in the Gospel of Mark,
biblical studies or a biblical perspective
on non-violence will benefit from this
unusual biblical commentary. It is heavy
and dense reading but ultimately
worthwhile.
Myers is frustrated with biblical schol-
arship; it is "so technical that the
average reader,
unfamiliar with the
in-house literature,
can quickly become
discouraged. The
scholarly guild, for its
part, has largely
abdicated its responsi-
bility to make the
Bible more, rather
than less, intelligible."
While commendable,
this too is quite dense
and I cannot imagine
many (if any) in my
congregation tackling it.
Biblical study requires knowledge of
the author's situation: both its social
(political economy, class relationships,
geopolitical conflicts) and symbolic
reality. He painstakingly details both for
Mark's Gospel. Myers also analyzes the
"symbolic order" of capitalist society. We
do not normally think about the meta-
physics behind national holidays,
patriotic events, elections, parades and
TV commercials. But we need to, for
they shape our faith and spirit.
Myers laments the warping of conver-
sion into "a fundamentally individual
affair. The 'personal Savior' of American
evangelicalism is domesticated, no longer
Lord of the world but of our hearts, into
which we invite him;. ..the modern
tendency to flee from an increasingly
uncertain conflict-ridden history to the
refuge of self-absorption...." Repentance
includes "not only a conversion of heart,
but a concrete process of turning away
from empire, its distractions and seduc-
tions" and "shaking off the powerful
sedation of a society that rewards
ignorance and trivializes everything
political...."
CHED MYERS
This is the most unusual and most
stimulating biblical study that I have
ever encountered. I delighted in the
careful analysis of Mark and the new
interpretations of familiar terms such as
"fishers of men" and "gospel."
"But above all it is offered, as the
gospel itself is, to discipleship communi-
ties, however discouraged and wary, as
part of our ongoing search for renewed
direction and hope in our struggle to
follow the way of Jesus in difficult times.
A true reading of Mark compels us to
come to terms afresh with our faith and
most certainly our lack of faith ( Mark
9:24)."
I was particularly touched by Myers'
discussion of "Discipleship and Failure."
He reflects on the losses, brokenness and
sinfulness of himself and other Chris-
tians. "Is the gospel too demanding, we
too frail, the world too overwhelming?
What is the 'good news' to those of us
who have been broken by the vision, who
have wept bitterly as we realized that we
had both deserted and been deserted...?"
The reality of the cross hits home.
Myers insists that the resurrection is
established only in faithfulness. "There
is only one genuine 'witness' to the risen
Jesus: to follow in discipleship. Only in
this way will the truth of the resurrec-
tion be preserved." This challenges not
only my understanding of the Bible but,
more importantly, the way that I live as
a Christian. And for that I can only be
grateful.
The man behind the martyr
Dirk's Exodus, a play written by James
C. Juhnke, directed by Arlo Kasper
Reviewed by Ken Hawkley, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114
It is the talented and rare person who
can extract the story from history. Our
general scarcity of good storytellers has
left us with a poor grasp of history in
general and Mennonite history in
particular.
This new play is like the proverbial
fresh breath that makes the dry bones of
history live again. It is a fictional
account of events surrounding the
historical account of Dirk Willems found
in Martyrs Mirror.
The action takes place in the days
after Dirk's escape across the ice in
which he turned back to save his pursuer
from drowning, was subsequently
recaptured and imprisoned. Dirk awaits
an inquisitor from Spain, who will pass
sentence. Much of the conflict in the
play is between the simple, firm faith of
Dirk Willems and the learned but
equally firm faith of the Inquisitor.
The confrontations between Willems
and the Inquisitor are surprisingly even.
It is less a good guy/bad guy confronta-
tion and more two human beings who
really see some merit in the other's point
of view. We see that the Inquisitor is
trying to live faithfully according to his
beliefs and is not simply a sadistic
puppet of the Pope. He is impressed by
Willems' strength and consistency of
faith, even though he does not agree. We
also glimpse the struggle Willems
undergoes between being faithful
according to his understanding of the
Bible and being a human father faced
with loneliness and fear of death.
Hans Hendricks, the prison warden
Dirk saved, provides comic relief. He
finds himself in between the combatants
and squirms at the implications, real or
imagined, for him. But more than
comedy, the character also gives us a
glimpse of the tensions people of the time
faced. His wife Gretchen's search for a
true faith and her Anabaptist sympathiz-
ing add to Dirk's feeling of responsibility
to be consistent with his words and
actions.
The touching vignettes of Dirk with his
children and Dirk as a young boy help us
understand Willems as more than a
martyr. Another set of vignettes focuses
on two townsmen in the tavern. It is
here that we get a thematic commentary.
These two drunks distill the action into
succinct, folksy observations.
On top of all this is the Scriptural and
musical commentary throughout the
play. The Scripture is done in reader's
theater style, while the music provides
important reference points. Both
elements undergird the action and
foreshadow events in the play.
These elements show Dirk Willems,
the man behind the martyr. But the
story is more than that. It is our own
struggle between our earthly and our
heavenly responsibilities.
Juhnke has given a part of our history
back to us through a story that provides
hope, insight and wonder.
478 OCTOBER 23, 1990
bible
Let's love one another (1 John 4:7-12)
Brenda Martin Hurst
Nov. 11 is Peace Sunday. Peace is not just a Mennonite
belief. We Mennonites do not hold the corner of truth
on peace. It was the Roman Catholic bishops who made
the boldest public statement on war and peace in 1983.
Peace is not something Mennonites tack onto the gospel.
Peace is the heart of the gospel, not because Mennonites say so
but because Jesus says so.
A missionary who had served in Kenya told me this story.
An African tribe rose to power that required its members to kill
a white person in order to show their loyalty to the tribe. Many
African Christians took a stand saying, "We can't do that. We^
are Christians. We cannot kill our white brothers and sisters."
Then the British moved in and said to these Christians, "You
were right not to bend to the tribe and kill your white brothers
and sisters. You must now join our British army to put down
this evil tribe." And these Christians told the British, 'You
don't understand. We are followers of Jesus Christ and Jesus
calls us to love one another, even our enemies. We cannot join
your army and kill for you."
The missionary went on to tell how many African Christians
were then imprisoned or shot for their faith.
1 John 4 is a most appropriate text for Peace Sunday. We
often think of peace as just not going to war or as just some
Mennonite preoccupation. But the writer of 1 John tells us
here that loving one another is what a relationship with God is
all about. In fact, the writer bluntly writes, "If you say 'I love
God' and hate your brother, you're a liar." He goes on, "If you
don't love your brother or sister, you don't know God — because
to know God is to love." Jesus' summary of God's command-
ments was "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul,
strength and mind." He added right away, "And the second
command is just like it, love your neighbor as yourself."
When a man came to Jesus seeking assurance of salvation,
Jesus reminded him of these two commands. The man
quibbled on this second command. "Who must I love as
myself?" Jesus told him the story of the Good Samaritan. So
the man who seeks eternal life is told by Jesus to love his
neighbor.
Jesus calls us to love other people as we love ourselves. That
means loving our enemies, too. This is the radical good news of
Jesus Christ. For Jesus, love of God and love of others is never
separated.
Jesus would have nothing to do with the now-popular idea
that what really matters is your personal relationship with
God. Jesus' very life and all that he taught demonstrate that a
person's love for God is always fleshed out in how we treat
other people. If we do not love others, we reveal that we don't
really know God.
It doesn't wash to say, "I love the invisible God" or "I love the
people over in foreign lands" or "I love the victims of the
Iranian earthquake" but I can't love my mother-in-law, that so-
and-so down the street, that obnoxious nerd at school, that
difficult person at church. It just doesn't wash.
Loving others is what peace is all about. The voices in our
world say, Look out for yourself. Get your own act together
before you try to love others. Don't pry into your neighbor's
business. It's dangerous. It's risky to aid the man who is lying
Love your neighbor: The Good Samaritan, woodcut by Ernst Barlach
by the road. God's message to us is this: The call to peace and
peacemaking is most basically my call for you to love each
other.
Brenda Martin Hurst is co-pastor with her husband, Ray, at
Tabor Mennonite Church, Newton, Kan.
THE MENNONITE 479
NEWS
EdiTOMAl
Keep true evangelical faith
True evangelical faith cannot lie sleeping, for it
clothes the naked, it comforts the sorrowful; it gives
to the hungry food, and it shelters the destitute."
These words are attributed to Menno Simons and
made singable by Larry Nickel. The song is \nAssembly
Songs (Faith and Life Press, 1983) and in the Assembly
12 Mennonite World Conference songbook.
But what about situations where these good deeds,
prompted by faith, are impossible? Clothing intended
for the poor is sold in the marketplace. Comfort is
scorned by the local government. Donated food becomes
the basis for a nation's economy, enriching the business
community and leaving the refugees starving.
This happens. One such example concerns us, we who
were represented by Mennonite Central Committee
until 1989 in the east central African country of
Somalia. I heard the story from Julie Janzen at the Oct.
4 gathering of Kansas All-Mennonite Women. Now on
staff at Rainbow Mennonite Church, Kansas City, Kan.,
Julie worked for MCC as country representative in the
capital city of Mogadishu for one year instead of the
expected four. She told us why she had to leave the
country she loved working in.
Somalia, a Muslim country of about 8 million people, a
mixture of Mediterranian and Negroid, was formed in
1960 from two colonies: British Somaliland and Italian
Somaliland. Sixty percent of the people herd camels. It
is a nation of poets, said Julie. It is common for people
to recite hour-long poems.
Though this desert country has 1,700 miles of coast-
line on the Indian Ocean, it has only two rivers and is
mostly desert. Products are camels, bananas, incense
and myrrh.
The 1969 revolution put the current government in
place. Somalia has had the same president every since.
The Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Chari-
ties, Salunga, Pa., sent missionaries to Somalia in the
1950s and '60s. They left in 1974 because of political
pressure, returned in the 1980s, and a few still teach in
the capital city.
Somali people never agreed with the lines drawn as
boundaries by foreigners. Historically Somali people
also lived in what is now Ethiopia and Kenya. Between
01 002? 0 31 335
LI BP AT v
ASSOC ME MM BIBLICAL SEM
3003 BEMHAM AVE
ELKHART FN 46517
awake
1978 and 1981 Somalia tried to get control of the part of
Ethiopia where its people lived. Attempts of that
section to secede triggered reprisals and 800,000
Somalis left Ethiopia for Somalia.
The crises of refugees propelled MCC into Somalia for
the decade of the 1980s. MCC started tailoring co-ops,
nutrition classes, tree farms along the river, carpentry
training shops. They tried to produce rower pumps.
They provided loans for people to start businesses, like a
tea shop or mat-weaving. In 1980 the government of
Somalia stopped counting refugees because many were
returning to Ethiopia. A lower refugee census would di-
minish donations to the government.
In September 1988 three MCC workers had to evacu-
ate because of civil war. In June 1989 MCC made plans
to change the focus of its work from refugee camps to
other areas. In August 1989 they asked an MCC admin-
istrator for advice when four MCC vehicles had been
commandeered by the Somali military. Somalis who
were working for MCC, such as guards at the refugee
camps, had been beaten by government representatives.
An MCC presence was making life difficult for local
friends of MCC. The evangelical faith of North Ameri-
cans could no longer clothe, comfort and feed needy
people in Somalia through MCC.
So what to do, in this or any case? I have learned
that you must lean back and take a deep breath. Evalu-
ate. Take stock. Admit defeat, gracefully if you can.
Rest in the knowledge of God's omnipotence and ability
to redeem any situation. You wonder about going else-
where, doing something different. Continue in prayer.
Make a new commitment to pray knowledgably, know-
ing that it's the most powerful act you can perform.
Educate the constituency of your organization. Tell it to
the church. Listen to the church. Give thanks.
"Abundantly we have received," Menno Simons and
Larry Nickel continue, reminding us not to fall asleep,
in discouragement if not fatigue. "And gratefully we
will respond with true evangelical faith. So overcome
evil with good; return someone's hatred with love. We
must become everything to everyone" for the sake of the
gospel. Muriel T. Stackley
MENNONITE
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIS
pnoloquE
Jeannie Zehr, secretary of mission commu-
nications for the Commission on Overseas
Mission, coordinated much of the feature
material in this issue. Use it in your mission
festivals. Refer to it in your Sunday school
classes. Retell these stories around the
supper table. Introduce our missionaries to
the children in your life. Help them change
outdated stereotypes of the word "missionary."
Carol Bergen (next page) will help you.
One new thing about "missions" in the
1990s is the increasing awareness that West-
erners have much to learn from former "mis-
sion fields" about how to do mission. Last
summer in Winnipeg (at Assembly 12 of
Mennonite World Conference) I heard Hiroshi
Yanada, one of our Mennonite pastors in
Japan, say this: "We [at Oyodo Christian
Church, Miyazaki] have decentralized our
church. We have flexible times of Christian
fellowship. I feel it's important not to make
the church an institution." As a result the
congregation is growing.
This bears discussion in church meetings all
across Canada and the United States. What
you see on the pages following will assist you.
The text for this issue is Isaiah 43: 18-19a:
"Do not cling to events of the past.... Watch for
the new thing I am going to do. It is happen-
ing already — you can see it now."
In Edmonton last July, Hildi Froese Tiessen
(of Conrad Grebel College, Waterloo, Ont.)
confirmed this truth. "Vancouver is now
Hong-couver," she said. The mission fields of
yesteryear are on North American doorsteps.
And North America is definitely a mission
field.
Think Christmas. For that missionary or
overseas worker who wants to keep up with
our conference news, you can't beat this:
an airmail subscription to
The Mennonite. Contact
Doris Yoder for details at
Box 347, Newton, KS 67114,
(316) 283-5100.
In the next issue, dated
Nov. 27, look for stories
about life, death and
politics. Muriel T.
Stackley
CONTENTS
Cover: Photo by Carla Reimer
God did a new thing in Phillip and me / 483
Capture the baby boomer / 484
See the new thing God is doing / 486
I know that my Redeemer lives / 489
News / 490
CPT hopes to send peace team to Iraq / 490
Confession of Faith Committee's work is half done / 492
Record / 496
Letters / 501
Reviews / 502
Get started / 502
Contextual theology / 502
Prayer resource / 502
Renew our vision for mission / 503
Taxes and free-will offerings / 504
Correction: The news article "MCC Executive States Four Priorities..." (Oct.
23, page 468) should read that "the Conference of Mennonites in Canada
has contributed $50,000 [not $150,000] and proposed to raise a further con-
tribution of $150,000 [not $100,000]. Church Extension Services is prepared
to loan [not has loaned] $50,000 at 7 percent interest."
(01) lf« MENNONiTE
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482 NOVEMBER 13, 1990
God corrected three of
our misconceptions
about missionaries.
Neocolonial time warp: "I had a stereotype of
a missionary as a frumpy, slightly inept
individual. "
We're missionaries," Nanci ex-
plained to me with pride and
enthusiasm in her voice. "Paul
and I are here in Strasbourg studying
French before going on to Cameroon."
Nanci's attitude surprised me. Proud
to be a missionary? At the time I, too,
was studying French, hoping to do
Christian service in a francophone
country, but I never intended to call
myself a "missionary." The term con-
jured up images of weathered, frumpy
eccentrics caught in some kind of neo-
colonial time warp.
But here was Nanci, fashion-conscious
and fun-loving, a major blow to my
stereotype. We became running partners
and spent hours in conversation as we
jogged along the streets and canals of
Strasbourg. Her enthusiasm for mis-
sions was catching, and I began to see
how missionary work could be a chal-
lenging and rewarding career.
That was in 1979. Several years later,
after getting married and going through
teachers' training, my husband, Phil, and
I left California for Zimbabwe to teach at
a Brethren in Christ secondary school.
During those three years with Mennonite
Central Committee in Africa we got to
know a number of missionaries.
Through observing and experiencing life
"on the mission field," a few more of my
preconceptions were destroyed.
Misconception #1: The social life of the
missionary goes on "hold" for the years he
or she is on the field. In fact, a wonderful
thing about African culture is that people
make time for you and don't even mind.
Missionary team support provides a
second layer of social interaction. A
third layer of social life develops through
the mail. Being forced to communicate
in writing gives you a chance to get to
know old friends in a new way. Finally,
missionaries seem to have more family
time without the typical North American
distractions and busyness.
Misconception #2: There is an element
of martyrdom in the missionary lifestyle.
Our missionary friends were not hurting.
Most had nice clothes, comfortable hous-
ing, the use of a vehicle. Their struggle
seemed to be less with martyrdom than
with the awkwardness of having so much
stuff compared to their African neigh-
bors. Some missionaries chose to live
more simply than others, but this was a
matter of personal choice. All the
missionaries we knew were glad to be
removed from the excessive commercial-
ism of the West .
Misconception #3: Missionaries leave
the "safety" of home to face grave dangers.
Before we left for Zimbabwe we were
intimidated by stories of violence and
disease. Before returning to California,
news stories of Satanism, drug-related
crimes, earthquakes and poisonous
watermelons were equally intimidating.
It was a good reminder that we rely on
the same God for our safety whether we
battle traffic on California highways or
tropical diseases in Africa.
As MCC workers in Zimbabwe, we
tried on the missionary label and saw
how well it fit. By the end of our stay,
we had fallen in love with Africa and
hoped to return someday. We had seen
the need for long-term missionaries and
could imagine ourselves in such a role.
Because we enjoyed languages, we
started to think about working in
linguistics.
Looking back over the last several
years, we are amazed at how God paved
the way for us to become missionaries,
from giving us the motivation and
enthusiasm to working out all the details
involved in preparation. This past year
we joined the Commission on Overseas
Mission and Africa Inter-Mennonite
Mission. We anticipate helping with
evangelism and Bible translation in
Burkina Faso, a francophone country in
West Africa. Now when people ask what
we do, I enthusiastically respond, "We're
missionaries."
Carol and Phillip
Bergen's address is c/o
MCC, 01 B.P. 1307,
Ouagadougou 01.
Burkina Faso. West
Africa. Next June they
move to Orodara.
Burkina Faso. They
are members of Peace
Community
Chureh-Mennonite,
Clovis. Calif.
THE MENNONITE 483
Bruno and Wanda Derksen Bergen
C
We vote with our feet and our
pocketbooks. If we like some-
thing, we come and contribute.
We want programs in our churches that
will change the world for the better.
"We are concerned that our churches
and outreach programs demonstrate
relevance and apply to us, and we won't
be bugged constantly for money nor have
to meet the pastor at the back door after
the service," says Bill Hibel, pastor at the
20,000-member Willow Creek Church in
Illinois.
We have been weaned on television
and wined and dined by consumer
advertisers. We have experienced the
Vietnam War, the FLQ (Liberation Front
of Quebec) incident, some of the most
materialistic decades in recent history,
the assassinations of John F. Kennedy,
Anwar Sadat and Martin Luther King
Jr., Watergate and the death of Joey
Smallwood, the last Canadian "Father of
Confederation."
We are the baby boomers, born
between 1946 and 1964.
The older segment of our group (born
1946-1955) still maintains some ideal-
ism. The younger group (born 1956-
1964) is much more "yuppie" in lifestyle
and mentality. Both groups have been
disillusioned by the events mentioned.
These have instilled an institutional
distrust among baby boomers toward
government, churches (especially large,
centralized offices), the military and
mission agencies. We also have these
characteristics:
• Most highly educated ever in the
history of the world (85 percent have
completed high school, and many have
gone on to college),
• Invite a high tolerance for diversity
and enjoy it,
• Need instant gratification,
• Are pleasure-oriented,
• Believe Christianity must be experi-
enced here and now,
• Inward-oriented and have thus
turned to inner disciplines such as yoga
and various religions,
• Individualistic,
• Five hundred times more likely to be
single than our parents were,
• Family-oriented, especially the older
Some changes necessary: Baby boomers are
interested in causes that have immediate implications
boomers who are close to becoming
grandparents (This seems to bring with
it a return to religious and moral
traditions.),
• Extremely business-minded, found in
the marketplace,
• View leisure as a birthright.
Spreading the gospel: How does the
church energize our generation to
participate in its international mission
programs? About 76 million baby
boomers live in the United States alone.
James Engel, author of a recent study,
Baby Boomers and the Future of World
Missions, suggests that "Christian baby
boomers will not respond to the appeals
which activated earlier generations."
Some changes in our understanding and
doing of missions will be necessary in
order to capture the vision and resources
of baby boomers.
Engel's study also suggests that only
about 10 percent of Christian baby
boomers agree that "spreading the gospel
overseas is a high priority," as opposed to
Christians over age 50, of whom 75-80
percent think it is important. In Engel's
study, spreading the gospel overseas only
seemed important to those boomers who
"have been on site overseas, those who
are financial contributors to mission
programs and those engaged in personal
evangelism." Traditional overseas
mission efforts, such as evangelism,
church planting, Bible translation and
Bible teaching, are low priority for most
boomers. In fact, "sending Westerners to
undertake traditional missionary
activities is regarded with skepticism
and lack of interest by the majority of
Christian boomers." Baby boomers ask,
Why put so much effort overseas when
the needs are so great here?
Engel's studies point to a clear state-
ment from boomers surveyed that if we
work overseas, priorities should be
placed on training nationals as opposed
to sending expatriates. A strong prefer-
ence for domestic, wholistic ministries
tends to prevail among boomers. They
are interested in causes that have
immediate implications and affect their
lives.
How can the General Conference
Mennonite Church and its Commission
on Overseas Mission respond to this
reality? We believe the baby boomers
and mission agencies must be willing to
think creatively and take risks.
Ethnocentrism: We need to speak
boomer language. Language carries
baggage, a certain image and style.
When we are not willing to change, it can
suggest rigidity and a narrow worldview.
The language we use in talking about the
mission of the church has been up for
discussion at recent conferences among
Mennonites as well as other Christian
groups. Suggestions to use words and
phrases such as "overseas ministry,
Christian internationalists, mission
worker and world outreach" all may
indicate an interest to be more sensitive.
Language that conveys paternalism,
racism, "know-it-all" mentality or
ethnocentrism will not "cut it" with this
generation. Daniel Yankelowich says in
a 1985 Time magazine article, "This
generation does not have a sentimental
attachment to the old days. If there are
new realities, they will face them."
Short-term efforts: "A short-term
mission program is a must," says Engel.
"Organizations not providing this option
will face a staffing and budget crisis."
Boomers crave travel and adventure.
Coupled with a strong Christian desire to
serve, this can be a good match. A high
percentage of boomers who inquire about
service with the Commission on Over-
seas Mission, when asked about their
motivation for service, express a great
desire for experience, adventure and
getting to know another people and
country.
Short-term opportunities for boomers
have the potential to motivate them for
continued service and support of interna-
tional ministries. Baby boomers can
listen to missionaries on North America
Assignment, view slide sets and videos,
read books about mission work. But
these do not have the same impact as
personal experience.
Mission agencies must weigh short-
term assignments in light of the mes-
sages they convey to international
brothers and sisters. The rich can afford
travel and adventure. What is the
effectiveness of such assignments? Who
really benefits?
People, not only boomers, who have
either served with or visited Mennonite
churches and programs overseas are
more likely to support and actually
consider long-term service. Short-term
service, like it or not, is here to stay.
Approximately 42 percent of COM's
current international workers have done
some kind of short-term assignment with
Mennonite Central Committee, Menno-
nite Voluntary Service, COM or other
Mennonite agencies prior to coming on
long-term with COM. Another 13
percent are serving as short-term
Overseas Mission Volunteers, a program
of COM.
Short-term service will continue to
play a vital role in the overall mission
endeavor. But we must be realistic. It is
valuable if we see it as a learning term
and a time to develop gifts and a calling
for longer-term service and/or ongoing
support for international mission work.
COM does not want to be an agency that
provides short-term workers the opportu-
nity to "feel good" about their service and
simply have an enjoyable cross-cultural
experience. Mission work is more than
self-realization and self-development.
But we must take the risk where short-
term service gives people an opportunity
to serve Christ and the church interna-
tionally. They can become better
acquainted with the vision and need of
international situations.
The formula is vision, need, solution:
Boomers will respond if a church or an
agency has clear goals, spells out the
specific needs and offers a solution for
meeting the needs. Marketing is the key,
say the experts. Use the right language.
Describe goals. Giving to a unified
budget and general programs of a large
denomination may not do it.
Personal representation by agencies is
essential to energize and motivate the
boomer. Local churches within our
General Conference Mennonite Church
family must become partners with COM
in assessing the vision, needs and
solutions; in education for mission,
recruiting, commissioning and support-
ing international ministry workers; in
fund raising and in evaluating the work.
This is a tall order.
A baby boomer told us recently, "There
is a tremendous potential in terms of
personnel and finances for this genera-
tion, especially when the nest will be
empty." If we can ensure authenticity
and credibility in what we do as churches
and agencies, we see great hope for
mobilizing this generation for sharing
the message of God's reign. Remember
many of us baby boomer folks are the
idealists of the 1960s and '70s. The
church needs to capitalize on our ability
to dream.
Bruno and Wanda Derksen Bergen,
members of New Creation Fellowship,
Newton, Kan., are co-secretaries of
personnel for the Commission on Over-
seas Mission.
THE MENNONITE 485
In eight countries
Botswana
Here, as in much of Africa, mothers and
children under 15 make up two-thirds of
the population. Often they are the ones
who have the least political and economic
leverage and who are most vulnerable to
the stresses of poverty, natural disaster
and civil strife.
Government planners are also increas-
ingly aware of the importance of family
planning. A public health approach is
necessary if Africa is to gain in the
quality of life.
Since 1982, I have been working with
these issues in my role as a public health
officer with the government of Botswana.
Significant gains have been registered in
slowing the rate of population growth
and providing the services that mothers
and children need. This gives them hope
that the future will afford them a fairer
share of society's resources. In 1991
Jonathan and I will return to Botswana
following a two-year North America As-
signment. I will begin a new continent-
wide ministry as a public health consult-
ant for a wide variety of agencies. Mary
Kav Larson
Brazil
God is doing something new here in
Ibura, a suburb of Recife, Brazil. We
meet many who speak the right words
and others who do many good deeds.
Seeking to be true to our Mennonite
belief, we offer a third way, bringing the
word and deed together in an authentic
proclamation of Jesus.
We along with Mennonite Central
Committee choose to live and work in
this working-class community, hoping to
find creative ways for ministry. It feels
good to live here, although it highlights
our differences. Living in a poorer
community makes you more conspicuous
and vulnerable. In studying with the
middle upper class, our children experi-
ence the tensions in relating to different
social classes.
Our small church is changing and
growing. People are beginning to trust
these foreigners and this "new" Mennon-
ite church. We're going to have our first
baptism service soon. Abe and Chris
Buhler, COM missionaries
Fairer share of resources: Mary Kay Larson
will work as a public health consultant
Tensions: Children playing in Buhler's yard
486 NOVEMBER 13, 1990
Telling the good news: Connie and Paul
Wong
'Harvest field': Children and mothers from
Derksens' apartment building attend the
Saturday afternoon meeting for children.
Burkina Faso
In Saraba all agricultural work is done
by hand. Everyone belongs to a work
group according to one's age and gender.
One group is made up of boys 8-14.
Another consists of teenage girls. Loren
has joined a group that corresponds to
his age. One person in that group has
lost almost all his eyesight. Then there
is Loren, a soft, white-skinned mission-
ary who cannot "keep up" with the
others. By participating in field work,
though, Loren is preparing the seedbed
so that when the seed is sown it may not
fall on walking paths, rocky soil or
among weeds but in good soil. Loren and
Donna Kampen Entz, COM missionaries
on North America Assignment
Hong Kong
God has blessed the ministries of
Mennonites here. Telling the good news
of Jesus Christ is especially important in
this urban center with an uncertain
future. Hong Kong will come under the
administration of China in 1997; this
causes deep concern and insecurity.
Many are seeking options for emigration,
particularly those who are wealthy and
have connections. Paul and Connie
Wong represent a young core of Menno-
nite leaders who are committed to long-
term ministry in Hong Kong. They
realize that relatively few will be able to
leave. The Wongs seek to show the love
of Jesus and attract people to faith in
Christ and fellowship in Christian
community. John Sommer, COM
secretary for Asia
1 - 2» —
*~7,
Good soil: Loren is in a field with Sao Ouattara, turning sod to prepare for planting seeds.
Japan
This past January we arrived in
Fukuoka, a city of 1.2 million, to begin a
community of believers.
Our sixth-floor apartment in Mugino
(literally "Harvest Field") is located in a
densely populated area without any
Protestant church, 20 minutes south of
the center of the city. Before moving
here we prayed that God would lead us
to the people whose hearts he had
prepared. But how would we find these
people?
Soon we realized that God's Spirit was
at work. Mr. and Mrs. Mitsushita,
members of a Miyazaki City Mennonite
church, aged 87 and 77, had moved to
Fukuoka five months earlier and were
waiting for us to begin. Mrs. Koga used
to attend our church in Oita 20 years
earlier but moved away before making a
decision for Christ. She now lives in
Fukuoka. Last year her husband died of
cancer. Mrs. Koga is searching and
attends regularly.
Shortly after we arrived, Peter met
Satoru Hara, a university student, who
immediately started attending Sunday
services. Recently another university
student became interested after staying
at the Tokyo Anabaptist Center for a
month with John and Sharon Sommer.
In order to find others, we printed
20,000 pamphlets. After distributing
13,000 door-to-door, the lack of response
discouraged us. But here, too, God's
Spirit was working. Mr. Uchida, who
operates a private tutoring school across
the street, came to talk as a result. A
few days later he brought his family to a
meeting where we showed the video
Jesus. The following Sunday he came to
worship with his young daughter.
Mrs. Miyauchi, a young wife and
mother, saw Ben Hur on television and
decided to respond to our pamphlet,
which she had found in her mailbox
months earlier.
The Lord is also preparing hearts
through the weekly English Bible class.
A few weeks ago Mr. Yano asked if he
could come to the Sunday worship
THE MENNONITE 487
Believers' Church approach: A gathering at
Kim Yi Bong's home
Korea
A small group of Christians here has
sensed God's call to begin several
Mennonite fellowships. They are con-
vinced that a Believers' Church approach
is urgently needed in their nation. One
of the leaders will be sponsored by COM
for studies in Anabaptist theology next
year at Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries in Elkhart, Ind.
Mennonite Central Committee began
work in Korea in the early 1950s. A
variety of projects alleviated the suffer-
ing that people were experiencing.
Among these was a vocational high
school for orphaned boys in the city of
Taegu. Some of the graduates are now
among those offering to help start a
Mennonite church in Korea. The broader
issue of Mennonite ministries in Korea is
the common agenda of three Mennonite
agencies: Mennonite Board of Missions,
Mennonite Central Committee and the
Commission on Overseas Mission. John
Sommer
JAPAN continued
service. Through the Saturday children's
meetings we are making friends with
many families in our apartment building.
God's creative Spirit is at work, laying
the foundation for his church in the
"harvest field" of Fukuoka. Mary and
Peter Derksen, COM missionaries
Mexico
In Mexico City the Franconia Mennonite
Conference has a 35-year history of
mission. Now they and the Mennonite
churches of Mexico City are inviting
other interested Anabaptist groups to
unite in efforts for a new thrust in
church planting in the world's largest
city.
The Commission on Overseas Mission
has approved participating in this project
by ( 1 ) committing $5,000 a year for this
work, (2) participating in the sending
and funding of Latin American workers
to Mexico City and (3) sending North
American personnel who work with local
evangelism teams. Due to visa restric-
tions, these North Americans may need
to be students enrolled in the university
there.
Together with COM, three other North
American Mennonite agencies (Franco-
nia Conference, Mennonite Board of
Missions and Mennonite Central Com-
mittee) plan to begin wholistic ministries
by early 1991 in Mexico City. The
Mexico City churches envision starting
50 new congregations with trained
leaders in the next 10 years. Plans are
to move forward as soon as local organi-
zation is finalized. Glendon Klaassen,
COM secretary for Latin America
A new thrust in church planting: From left,
Gregorio Benitez, Patty Diaz, Bob Stevenson,
Ismael Lira, Oetavio Diaz in Mexico City
Transkei
Wife. Mother. Church leader. Meet
Vivian Luyenge. These terms all
describe her, the wife of Philemon and
mother of their six children. Vivian has
double responsibilities as a parent
because Philemon works in the mines in
South Africa and is gone for 12-month
stretches.
Sundays and most Thursdays Vivian
walks the three hours from her home in
Gxididi to Gungululu to attend the Con-
gregational Catholic Apostolic Church of
Zion in Transkei, South Africa. In
church she has major duties: reading the
Scripture passages, testifying and
preaching, and praying for people as they
kneel in the center of the circle.
Vivian's gifts of exhortation and hospi-
tality are evident as she ministers the
Word of God in church and serves food at
home. Gary and Jean Isaac, COM
missionaries
Church leader: Vivian Luyenge
488 NOVEMBER 13, 1990
rtiat mv Redeemer
IjlllJiW -**-*"t7 articles (Man
lives
Vincent Chen
■ had leukemia as an infant some 30
years ago. "It is incurable," declared
the medical doctors. However, I was
cured by the ever-living God through his
almighty miraculous sign.
People who do not believe in signs may
say I am crazy, but I don't care. I know
my Redeemer lives (Job 19:25). For this
reason I never have regretted dedicating
my life to a lifelong church ministry.
I was not a Mennonite. I was driven
out of my home church by the pastor
because I enrolled at an interdenomina-
tional evangelical seminary, not the
school he recommended. I never have
regretted being expelled for that reason.
Rather, it has been a deep joy to serve
the Lord in the light of Scripture.
I first encountered Mennonites in 1983
when I was invited by a Mennonite
congregation in Taiwan to serve as the
acting pastor while its pastor was
studying in North America. From then
on I have been touched by the early
Anabaptists' spirit. I cannot help admir-
ing such a radical yet wonderful faith
commitment to Jesus Christ.
In his book Why Conservative
Churches Are Growing Dean Kelley
writes that because human beings are
incorrigibly religious creatures who want
to make sense out of life, religion
explains the meaning of life in ultimate
terms. The Christian message and the
Christian church are needed. No other
power, business or political party can
command the degree of devotion and
involvement that Christ does. The
Christian faith has become the greatest
power on earth because the message
makes people commit their lives, pouring
out willingly the vitality and vigor for
what they believe. This gives meaning to
life.
The early Anabaptists, like the first-
century apostles, were a small group,
only a handful of people. They had no
sympathy from outsiders, either from the
religious people in the community or
from the government. They were
attacked and abused. Yet they did not
bend their convictions about Jesus Christ
to the pagan world around them so that
they might succeed. They preached the
Risen Christ as the Lord of Lords wher-
ever they went. They constantly told the
wonderful news that burned in their
hearts and brought joy to their faces.
What was the secret of their joy and
strength? What made them boldly
witness to their faith even under perse-
cution unto death? According to Dean
Kelley, the Anabaptist movement was
one of the strongest religious movements
in human history. Why? They believed
the Bible was their only authority. By
the revelation of the Scriptures they
believed that Jesus Christ, who laid
down his life for human redemption, was
also resurrected in order to bring people
into eternal life and hope. He is the only
way to God.
For Menno Simons, 1 Corinthians 3:11
was central: "For no one can lay any
foundation other than the one already
laid, which is Jesus Christ." Thus he
and the other Anabaptists were willing
to sacrifice status, possessions, safety,
even life in order to be faithful. They
dared to hold a total response to a total
challenge. They were eager to tell their
experience of salvation to others. They
believed that they had the truth. All
others without Jesus Christ were in
darkness (John 3:19, 36). Like the
apostles, they refused to be silenced (Acts
5:26; see also Hebrews 11:32-40). While
the other Reformers insisted that only
the original apostles had been told to go
into the whole world and preach the
gospel, the 16th-century Anabaptists
made the Great Commission binding on
all church members.
Furthermore, the Anabaptists prac-
ticed the truth. They rejected the
validity of force and violence against
human beings, since they are created in
the image of God. They committed them-
selves to one another in the body of
Christ, followed a humble and unpreten-
tious style of life, sharing whatever they
had with each other, even to the point of
"communalism," like the first-century
church. To this day, among some of the
most conservative branches of Anabap-
tists, like the Amish, there is no welfare,
imprisonment for felonies or hospitaliza-
tion for mental illness; they look after
their own. The Anabaptists made known
to the world that they were truly the
disciples of Jesus. They were like a
lighthouse to Jesus' resurrection power
and compassionate love. Even those non-
Mennonites, like Dean Kelley and the
writers in recent Christianity Today
March 5 and Oct. 22) (and
myself as well), are amazed to say, "After
400 years of misrepresentation, Anabap-
tist thought is not only getting a new
hearing but also winning converts."
Hopefully the Anabaptists' spirit will
pass on from generation to generation
and to the nations of the world as well.
The Bible and the early Anabaptists
testify to us. Jesus Christ is unique. In
him alone is salvation (Acts 4:12). No
other religion or culture has this mes-
sage. There is a wide gap between
While the other Reformers
insisted that only the original
apostles had been told to go
into the whole world and
preach the gospel, the Anabap-
tists made Jesus' Great Com-
mission binding on all church
members.
eternal life and eternal conscious doom
(John 3:16). In light of this, people
cannot speculate as they wish or adopt
the idea that there is no absolute truth.
The Anabaptists believed that Jesus
Christ wants to build his church on the
foundation of himself. The gates of hell
will not overthrow it (Matthew 16: 18-
19).
Our Lord wants us and all his disciples
to accomplish the Great Commission.
The church should always be growing.
To evangelize people has nothing to do
with manipulation or prejudice. It is an
invitation to accept Jesus as Savior and
follow him as Lord.
Yes, I want to evangelize, to carry out
the Great Commission and to promote
church growth. I know my Redeemer
lives.
Vincent Chen, an
ordained pastor, is
enrolled at Associated
Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, Elkhart,
Ind. He most recently
served the Li-Ming
Church in Taichung,
Taiwan. His wife.
Carmen Chen, is also
studying at AMBS.
THE MENNONITE 489
c£K Pontius' Puddle
X JOST &0T Off THE PWOME: WITH CHORCU
LEADFRS IN TUE THIRD WORLD. WE AGrREED
that a spiritually STRONG SOCIETY SUOOLD
HELP OCT A SR^RVTOALLV STROf>G-LlN(j ONE:.
WHAT'S
THE NEXT
STE-P?
THEY'RE SENDING- OS
SOWE mSlONAR.\ElS
RI&HT AW AV-
NEWS
Waiting to hear from Iraqi officials
CPT hopes to send peace team to Iraq
Chicago (CPT)— With the
likelihood of war in the Middle
East increasing, Christian
Peacemaker Teams has
approached Iraqi officials with a
proposal to send a 12-person
peace team into Iraq. In an
Oct. 15 meeting, Iraqi officials
requested more details about
CPT interests and suggested
that the peace team proposal
be communicated to Baghdad.
The proposal calls for a
cross-section of individuals
from supporting Mennonite and
Brethren churches in the
United States and Canada to
spend 10 days in Iraq in the
near future. The proposal also
notes that CPT will simultane-
ously call for the carrying out of
peace education in churches
and communities in at least 12
geographical centers in North
America. These centers would
itinerate delegates on the
peacemaker team and engage
in other related education and
active peacemaking as
appropriate.
In its communication to Iraqi
authorities CPT requested that
when possible delegates stay
with Iraqi families in order to
break down some of the
ignorance and misunderstand-
ing between the two peoples.
CPT asked that the delegation
carry medicines and food as a
humane gesture to the Iraqi
people. The proposal also
A period that is dangerous': a U.S. soldier
suggested visiting with religious
leaders and engaging in public
acts of prayer for peace.
CPT coordinator Gene
Stoltzfus says that three
religious groups (Jews,
Christians, Muslims) pray to the
same God, Yahweh.
"At times we need
to reaffirm our
common roots."
According to
LeRoy Friesen,
coordinator of this
effort, the plan
includes meetings
with officials to
express concern for
a just peace in the
region. It also offers
to assist Asian and
North American
expatriates in Iraq
wishing to return to
their native lands.
John Stoner, a
member of the CPT
steering committee,
left Oct. 17 for Iraq
with a delegation
assembled by the
Fellowship of
Reconciliation, an
inter-religious peace
group based in
* Nyack, N.Y.
| Stoltzfus says.
| "We [the United
z States] are moving
into a period that is
really dangerous."
He believes that President
Bush may step up military
action in the Middle East to
offset domestic problems.
Bob Hull, chairperson of CPT
and secretary for peace and
iustice of the General Confer-
ee need to pray for
gentle softening of th
hearts of all the key
political actors."
Bob Hu
ence Mennonite Church, says
that in this critical time people
need to "pray for a gentle
softening of the hearts of all the
key political actors."
Suggestions and financial
contributions toward these
efforts may be sent to CPT,
1821 W. Cullerton, Chicago, IL
60608, (312) 421-5513.
Church-related job opening:
The search committee of the
Pacific Coast Conference (MC)
and the Northwest region of the
Pacific District Conference (GC) is
open to receive applications for the
position of conference minister.
The position is to be filled by the
summer of 1991 . Requisites
include seminary training and
pastoral experience. Confidential-
ity assured.
Contact Richard Headings. 230
View Lane, Lebanon, OR 97355,
(503) 258-8738 (home) or (503)
258-5789 (office) for job descrip-
tion or more information.
490 NOVEMBER 13, 1990
Mennonite Board of Missions of the
Mennonite Church, Elkhart, Ind., has begun
an above-budget appeal to raise $100,000
as part of an international, interchurch
effort to meet emergency needs in the
West African country of Liberia. Ron
Yoder, MBM Africa director, said that the
money will pay for food and medical
supplies for survivors of a 10-month civil
war in Liberia. The funds will also cover
costs of sending up to four short-term
Mennonite medical personnel into the
country and to neighboring countries where
Liberian refugees have fled.
John Howard Yoder's book The Politics of
Jesus has been translated into Chinese, at
the request of Chinese Mennonite pastors.
According to Rudy Regehr, executive
secretary of the Congregational Resources
Board of the Conference of Mennonites in
Canada, Chinese Mennonite pastors
identified this book as one relevant to
Chinese Christians, especially in light of the
expected changes when Hong Kong is
returned to mainland Chinese rule in 1997.
Other books available in Chinese transla-
tion are Helmut Harder's Guide to Faith and
several of J.C. Wenger's booklets on
Mennonite history and practice.
Hope Mennonite Church, Wichita, Kan.,
received $15,000 on Sept. 23, the final
installment of a $50,000 grant from the
Tenth Man program. Sponsored by
Mennonite Men, this program provides
building funds for new General Conference
Mennonite churches. According to Hope
pastor Marvin Zehr, the congregation has
been in its new building for one year and
attendance has increased around 100 to
around 130.
NEWS
Kyushu Island has first
congress on evangelism
Fukuoka, Japan — Three from
General Conference Mennonite
churches joined 1 80 other
pastors and church workers
from the southern island of
Kyushu here Sept. 18-20 for
the first Kyushu Congress on
Evangelism. It was the first
interdenominational meeting of
"Put down roots in
the place of your
work and enjoy it."
Akira Izuta
church leaders in Kyushu since
the Total Evangelism campaign
20 years ago.
Takeyuki Yokota, who
chaired the planning commit-
tee, stated the congress'
purpose: that those assembled
(1) pray with united hearts, (2)
study the Bible and learn from
each other about evangelism
and church growth and (3)
acknowledge unity in the Spirit
as they form an all-Kyushu
network for evangelism.
"If the Berlin wall can come
down, so can ours," Yokota
proclaimed, referring to the
prejudice between Koreans
and Japanese. Significantly,
the congress met in the large
Korean church in Fukuoka.
Akira Izuta, Tokyo, gave the
theme address on "Witnessing
to Your Neighbor." He encour-
aged the assembly to "put
down roots in the place of your
work and enjoy it."
One pastor suggested that it
may be more appropriate for
participants to share failures
rather than success stories.
Over 500 heard 79-year-old
evangelist Koji Honda, known
as Japan's Billy Graham.
One result of this congress
was the establishment of the
Kyushu Evangelism Fellowship.
Potentially 576 churches could
be part of this network, the
"mission field" being Kyushu's
13.3 million people. Mary
Derksen, missionary in Japan
Foundation
Series writers
named
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)— Seven
people have been appointed by
the Commission on Education
of the General Conference
Mennonite Church as writers
for the Foundation Series En-
richment Supplements. The
writers are Foundation Series
teachers who will offer new
ideas for presenting Bible
stories and getting response
from students. The supple-
ments will accompany Founda-
tion Series materials beginning
in fall 1991.
The writers are Beverly
Short, nursery, Aldergrove,
B.C.; Carol Janzen, preschool,
Henderson, Neb.; Pat Schmidt,
kindergarten, Newton, Kan.;
Dana Selzer, grades 1-2,
Newton, Kan.; Rosalee Otto,
grades 3-4, Champaign, III.;
Joyce Schumacher, grades 5-
6, Pandora, Ohio; and Eleanor
Snyder, grades 7-8, Kitchener,
Ont.
Elizabeth Pankratz, chil-
dren's curriculum project editor,
is coordinating the project. "It's
a way to give new life and
vitality to the Foundation Series
by having current teachers
share what has worked in their
classrooms," she said.
Plan ahead
Give a Christmas gift that gives. Buy
The MENNONITE
for that grandchild who wants to know about the
family's roots.
Begin a one-year subscription at $18 (U.S.) for
Name (please print) —
Address
Bill me:
Name (please print)
Address
Return to Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114.
THE MENNONITE 491
Albany Park Mennonite Church,
located in Chicago, decided to close as
a church. The six-year-old congregation
held a final celebrative service on Oct.
28. Reasons for the church's closing
were dwindling numbers and limited
resources.
"How can my family and I be faithful in the
United States?" asked Blake Ortman Oct. 1 1
in a talk at Bethel College, North Newton, Kan.
Ortman spent most of the last 12 years
working for Mennonite Central Committee in El
Salvador, where he was imprisoned twice.
"Dozens of my Lutheran and Baptist friends,
and thousands of Catholics, have been in
prison," he said. The Christians there never
pray, "God, protect us" but "God, help us be
faithful." The assumption is that "if we are
faithful we will be persecuted by the govern-
ment," he said. Someone who has not
suffered is suspect by the Christian commu-
nity. Salvadorans see individualism as sin, he
said. Wealth is a sure sign of having lived an
unjust life.
Chicago Mennonite Learning Center
began again this fall, after being closed for
two years. Principal Karen Ewert reports
that 21 students are enrolled. Three new
teachers have joined the CMLC staff:
Susan Hunsberger is teaching grades K-1,
Dawn Kauffman 2-4 and Kim Burkholder 5-
6. In addition to the basic academic
curriculum of most schools, CMLC offers
music, art, Bible instruction, cooking,
photography and woodworking. Pauline
Kennel serves as director of development,
which involves long-term planning and
fund-raising for CMLC.
NEWS
Confession
of Faith
Committee's
work is now
half done
Lancaster, Pa.— What do 20th-
century Mennonites believe?
What should they believe?
Which should have priority in a
new confession of faith?
These were three of the
questions before the inter-
Mennonite confession of faith
committee here Oct. 4-6.
Representing the Mennonite
Church and the General
Conference Mennonite Church,
it met for the seventh time.
To date the committee has
completed four articles of a
proposed new confession:
baptism, the Lord's Supper,
foot washing and the Bible. At
this meeting they fine-tuned the
articles about God and Christ
and discussed articles on sin
and on the Holy Spirit.
A major part of the agenda
was meeting with representa-
tives from five district confer-
ences: Lancaster, Atlantic
Coast, Allegheny and Franco-
nia from the Mennonite Church
and Eastern District of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church. These consultations
secured feedback on the
articles so far developed and
revealed areas of theological
agreement or disagreement.
The idea for a new confes-
sion came from Mennonite
Church district conferences in
the 70s. At the same time,
General Conference congrega-
tions were asking for a more
definite confession than they
previously had, according to
Helmut Harder, committee co-
chairman (with Marlin Miller).
When both MCs and GCs
discovered similar interests in a
new confession, they asked if it
were possible to work together.
A study group determined there
were more similarities than
differences between the two
groups, and the current
confession of faith committee
began its work in 1987.
As the 12 members agree on
a topic, two of them are asked
to write an essay considering
what the Bible, previous
confessions and the Anabaptist
writers have said on the
subject. The same two then
draft a preliminary article, which
receives major discussion by
the committee. From there the
article goes to a writers'
subgroup, which brings back as
many as three or four drafts
before the article can go to the
churches. This is "jot and tittle"
work. Specific words, phrases
and punctuation receive
intense scrutiny.
"We are attempting to write a
confession of faith from an
inter-Mennonite perspective,"
says Marlin Miller. This means
more than putting a few
Mennonite distinctives on a
Christian confession. It means
searching out and writing from
the Mennonite heart.
The final product will use
biblical rather than dogmatic or
creedal language. Thus the
new confession will not use
words like "essence" when
referring to God but instead
words like "justice" and "love"
that come directly from the
Scriptures. The confession
also will use inclusive language
when referring to people and
not use pronouns for God.
Participants at the Lancaster
consultations gave general
affirmation to the articles they
saw, but discussion brought out
several areas of disagreement:
• whether adults, baptized as
infants, who have been
Christians for years, need to be
rebaptized when joining a
Mennonite church (a commen-
tary on the baptism article
suggests a local congregation
have the final decision);
• whether baptism and
church membership should be
linked (some participants
thought not; the new article on
baptism links the two);
• how optional foot washing
should be (some participants
felt the new language allowed
for that possibility; others
disagreed).
People at the consultation
also challenged the committee
to keep the language simple.
Plans call for the committee
to have all articles of the
proposed confession prepared
in time for the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church to
consider at its triennial ses-
sions in Sioux Falls, S.D., in
1 992 and for the Mennonite
Church at its biennial session in
Lancaster, Pa., in 1993. After
congregational study and
feedback, action on the
confession is projected for the
next MC/GC assembly in 1995.
What form the confession will
take is still under discussion.
The committee projects 18-20
articles. Accompanying
commentary may highlight
areas of disagreement and give
recommendations on how
churches should proceed.
There may even be a version
of the confession that can be
sung. J. Lome Peachey,
editor. Gospel Herald
Conversations around the
Confession of Faith
Editor's note: This sampling of comments on a new
confession of faith came from the 1989 triennial sessions in
Normal, III.
Vernon Schertz, Tucson, Ariz.: "This statement is practical
and helpful, especially as we have 'ex-everything' [people
from many different faiths] in our conference."
Michael Yeakey, Salina, Kan.: "Avoid red herrings. Focus
on that which we have in common."
Sam Steiner, Waterloo, Ont.: "I urge simplicity, a succinct
statement for each article, then a longer commentary."
Darrell Fast, Newton, Kan.: "The term 'age-accountability'
is not biblical. What does it mean, especially with children of
believing parents?"
492 NOVEMBER 13, 1990
ThE MENNONiTE
Open Doors at the
Interchange
When the membership of Shalom
Mennonite Church reached 50
about a year-and-a-half ago, we
were offered a simple but nice
church building, very visible on a
main thoroughfare, plus an adjoin-
ing parsonage. We were not ready
to pay the necessary $150,000 but
0 •
Children of Shalom Mennonite Church
this opportunity was not likely to
come again. Today with 30 more
members, it is what we need.
Having our own building enabled
us to start an after-school latchkey
program for young children and our
own vacation Bible school. A third
of the participants were not from
families in our church. The number
of Sunday school classes was
increased with the new space.
We had agreed that if we had a
building we would share it. Parents
Anonymous, La Leche, and Victims
of Child Abuse Laws are using the
building regularly at no cost to
them. A number of nonchurch
goers, here for a variety of meet-
ings, get acquainted with us.
Being close to the 1-135 exit has
brought transients and stranded
motorists to our door, four last
week. One odd event was a visit
from the leader of a tour bus during
the Sunday school hour. The tour
group had worshiped on their bus,
taken an offering and agreed to
give it to the first church they came
to. I went out to thank them for the
$25 and told them what a reverse
this was; usually travelers stopped
by to ask for help, not give it!
Having a building also means
that we can accept offenders sen-
tenced by the court to do communi-
ty service. We are working with our
fourth offender who helps us by
painting and doing yard work. The
current person has begun relating
to the church. The others were from
Wichita and were too far away to
relate here.
The parsonage that came with
the building turned into another
ministry. One family, moving to
Newton, needed temporary housing
while their house was being build.
As soon as they moved out another
family needed it while their severe-
ly damaged house was being
repaired, followed by a family who
lost their home in the Hesston tor-
nado. Now it is the home of the
director of the latchkey program
who just moved here from Florida.
When they move out we need it for
Sunday school space. Last Sunday
we rented the living room from the
present occupants for an inquirers
class.
Other ministries included a sum-
mer outreach to Hispanic people
cut off from the community by not
knowing English. We held some
English classes here at the church.
One of the persons contacted, who
knows quite a bit of English, has
THE MENNONITE A-1
begun attending. Others were
helped to relate to a Spanish lan-
guage worship in Hesston.
The heavy use of the building by
the latchkey program keeps us
busy. Nine small groups take turns
cleaning each week. We did not
foresee that the building would
have that kind of unifying effect on
our small groups which sometimes
make a picnic out of their cleaning
event.
The Tenth Man grant caused
much excitement as not all of our
members are earning. It also
caused us to seek more Tenth Man
members than the half dozen we
now have. We know we would not
have dared to consider this building
without the assurance that Tenth
Man would help us. Thanks for the
encouragement we needed.
— Stanley Bohn
1990 Grant to Shalom
Shalom Mennonite Church, New-
ton, Kansas, was named as the
next recipient of a Tenth Man grant
of $35,000 early next year by the
Evangelism and Church Develop-
ment Reference Council of the Gen-
eral Conference. This group sur-
veys North American church plants
under the regions of the General
Conference Mennonite Church to
determine which new congregation
can most profit by a grant in terms
of needs and its stage of growth.
WE'RE
BUILDING
CHURCHES
Tenth
Man
Hope Mennonite Church
Releases Slideset
Members of Hope Mennonite
Church were so excited about the
Tenth Man church building pro-
gram that they wrote a script of
their own story, took the needed
pictures, and recorded the script for
a slideset to explain this key project
of Mennonite Men.
Promised last year, it was
released in October for use in
Canada and the United States.
Canadian groups can secure copies
from the Congregational Resources
Board, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd., Win-
nipeg, MB R3P 0M4. U.S. groups
should write to Mennonite Men,
Box 347, Newton, KS 67114-0347.
Hope members are willing to
bring and show the set personally
in the Kansas area. The tape comes
with inaudible beeps to advance the
slides automatically if the proper
equipment is available. A Kodak
carousel projector is needed.
Receives Final Grant
On September 23, Hope Mennonite
Church, Wichita, Kansas, received
$15,000, the final installment of a
$50,000 grant from the Tenth Man
program. David Quiring and Randy
Kaufman of Mennonite Men made
the presentation. Kim Claassen,
Mennonite Men secretary, was also
present in the service.
Pastor Marvin Zehr tells that
this grant makes possible the com-
pletion of basement Sunday school
rooms, sorely needed by this grow-
ing congregation. According to him,
the congregation has been in its
new building for one year. Since
then attendance has increased by
about 30. The congregation was
established in 1985.
The Tenth Man building pro-
gram, sponsored by Mennonite
Men, provides building funds for
new General Conference Mennonite
Churches.
Can We Count on YOU?
You can participate in helping Mennonite Men in its mission program.
Become a Mennonite Men member in any of the following categories with
an annual donation of:
$20- 49
50- 99
100 - 499
500 - over
regular member
contributing member
supporting member
sustaining member
Please indicate your decision
to be involved by returning
the portion below.
Count Me In! I want to help.
CH Enclosed is my membership contribution of.
Congregation to be credited:
Name
dollars.
Address,
City
State/Prov.
Code
Return this form to: David Quiring, Treas.
Mennonite Men or
Rt. 1, Box 118
Henderson, NE 68371
Mennonite Men
600 Shaftesbury Blvd.
Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4
THE MENNONITE A-2
Bustling Boulder
How does a Tenth Man grant work
out after a few years? Four years
ago the Boulder Mennonite Church
received one of the first grants,
$50,000 to purchase the building in
which they worshiped.
This fall Steve Goering, the pas-
tor, reflected on the past years in
his church newsletter.
"We have entered a new fall year
with exciting things happening
here at Boulder Mennonite. . . . One
of our very special joys is our new
people that have chosen us this fall.
. . . We share a warm and hearty
welcome to Ted and Martha Paster-
nak, Romaine Fike, and Luther
Richert, Sue Williamson, Sharon
Erickson, Snjiv Redkar and Karen
Rothermel.
"We have a full contingent of
excellent teachers. . . . Our adult
classes are well planned and well
attended. Wednesday afternoon
Bible studies have begun and mar-
riage enrichment programs begin
during the next two weeks.
"Volunteer efforts are or will be
taking place at the Boulder Shelter,
at the MCC Relief Sale, the Crop
Walk, the Christian Peacemaker
Conference. . . .
"Our building is also seeing
many positive changes. Forrest has
done a wonderful job of 'warming
our church' and presenting it as a
welcoming place to both renters
and our church members."
In a separate note Pastor Goer-
ing says, "Recently I have heard
members and visitors of our congre-
gation talk of our church building
and the importance of that to our
worship and our church life. One
comment recently heard is: 'Your
sanctuary is so warm and welcom-
ing. Yours is such a friendly church.
I can now understand why your
church was so important to my sis-
ter.' Another comment by a former
S.S. teacher. 'One important thing
with our church building is that our
preschool children are able to meet
in the same room each Sunday.
They can have pictures on the wall.
It feels familiar — like a home.'"
Recommended Reading
Delivering the Male Out of the Tough Guy Trap to a Better Marriage by
Clayton Barbeau. Winston Press
This book explores the male mystiques, failure to deliver on the promised
rewards of personhood and fulfillment. Barbeau outlines positive steps for
achieving greater freedom, enjoyment, and a deeper "at homeness" that can
be found outside the restrictive, traditional, male role. He encourages me to
face the hard questions of personal identity: What do I really want from
myself in life? What do I want to give to life? Who am I? He shows how
males who escaped the tough guy trap can become open, loving, mature
men who respect and reverence other people.
— Reviewed by Dale Schumm
Good Times Together
Thirty men and one woman filed
into the basement cafeteria of the
Newton Medical Center last August
13 — 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday morn-
ing? Why would these give up
sleeping in?
The Bethel College Church
Mennonite Men were gathering for
their monthly breakfast meeting.
But why the woman? Was she the
pianist? The secretary? Ruth
Koontz had come to speak on wid-
owhood, and how men should pre-
pare their wives for widowhood by
getting their affairs in order.
Attracting mostly the over 55
age group, the brotherhood is only
five hears old, instigated by Hugo
Reimer, recently moved in from
Wichita. This is not just a relic from
the good old days, the group meets
the felt needs of those participating.
Current present, J. 0. Schrag,
shared why he comes. "It's a
relaxed group." "We have good
times together." "No pressures."
"We have interesting programs."
1990 topics included
- "Schowalter Foundation" by
member Bill Friesen
- "My Faith Journey" by John
Sheriff
- Marvin Wedel shared his faith
journey from Holdeman to
Methodist.
- John Janzen described the
Danzig area where so many of
our ancestors had lived.
- Harry Wenger described
present-day Church of God in
Christ beliefs and practices.
- Glen Unrau and Elaine Harms
talked about Mennonite Mutual
Aid.
- Brian Pauls told of the world
outlook of one 20-year-old.
- Phil Anderson talked about his
family and their local office
supply store.
- A panel of two told of the rea-
sons their children had gone to
colleges other than Bethel.
Speakers are given a free break-
fast but no honorarium. Once or
twice a year wives are invited, such
as a Valentine meal where Winfield
and Marguerite Fretz told of their
courtship. Dress is always casual.
When illness or other difficulty
strikes a member's home, this is
announced. Men pray for each
other. Often one volunteers to visit
the persons afflicted.
Newton Medical Center reserves
a meeting room for breakfast on the
second Saturday of each month.
Each man attending selects and
pays for his own meal. Selections
are wide with most men taking the
traditional bacon and eggs; a few
more scrupulous go for hot cereal.
Finally, the men take offerings to
support district Mennonite Men
projects.
THE MENNONITE A-3
Transformed
The grace of God transformed me gradually after my conversion in the
teens. Overnight, September 30, 1 was transformed from a pastor into coor-
dinator of the work of Mennonite Men at central offices of our General Con-
ference. One day I was caring about sermons, and hospital visits, and many
committees; the next I was working as a partner with men and men's broth-
erhoods, caring about Christian manhood in our world of home, business,
and church.
Was it a move up or down? More likely forwards, following the leading
our Lord who called Abraham to another country. God has led Dotty and me
in the past; He has led us now, through the call of the community of believ-
ers. The officers of Mennonite Men met September 8 in Newton to visit with
me and gave me a call to begin service here on October 1.
The gifted and energetic outgoing coordinator, Randy Kaufman, and I
have met a number of times to talk about what we envision for the men of
the General Conference Mennonite Church. Our aims for the office are
remarkably alike, considering that one is a progressive farmer, and the
other a former pastor.
Our aims for Mennonite Men:
- To joyfully share the fullness of the gospel in its personal and social
dimensions.
- To clarify and speak to the role of Christian men in today's world.
- To invite others to follow Jesus.
- To encourage men in an informed support of the total mission of the
General Conference Mennonite Church.
- To support North American church planting through the Tenth Man
Church Building program.
- To cooperate with local, district, and Canadian men in carrying out
these aims.
We invite individual men to join us in:
- Daily Bible study and prayer.
- Bearing witness to Christ's way in the home, on the job, and all per-
sonal contacts; witness in both word and deed.
- Christian Service.
- Sacrificial stewardship of money, time, and abilities.
Let me know if I can be of help to you in furthering the cause of Chris-
tian manhood in your community.
— Heinz Janzen, Mennonite Men's Coordinator
Priming the Pump
Once upon a time, farm water was
supplied by a hand pump outside.
Often a bucket of water stood near-
by. What for? To prime the pump.
In the morning a bucket of water,
poured down the well shaft, would
make the pump operate more
quickly.
As we plan our local men's activi-
ties, sometimes our creative wells
run dry, and need a bucket of ideas
to get us going.
Men Alive: S. O. S. Idea Handbook
was compiled by Larry Eisenberg
with barrels full of ideas to nurture
spiritual life, outreach projects, and
social activities for men. No group
could ever use more than 10% of
the ideas, but some would apply to
every congregation and men's
group. Produced for Methodists,
some of the language applies only
to them, but the concepts are trans-
ferable to Mennonites. Available at
$5.95 plus postage from the Menno-
nite Men's office, Box 347, Newton,
KS 67114-0347.
Prayers for Men, $3.50 and More
Prayers for Men, $3.25 have a host
of prayers about the world of work.
Samples:
- Checks, Contracts, Memos
- 1 hate hotels and restaurants
- Succeeding in business
- When I lose confidence . . .
Also available from Mennonite Men.
Treasurer
Continues
David Quiring, RR 1, Box
118, Henderson, NE 68371,
continues as treasurer of
Mennonite Men. All contri-
butions for the Tenth Man
program, and for the wider
work of Mennonite Men
should be sent to him.
WE'RE
BUILDING
CHURCHES
Tenth
Man
Send $100 for Shalom to
Mennonite Men, Henderson,
Nebraska, or Winnipeg,
Manitoba. Addresses on
page A-2.
THE MENNONITE A-4
All that is left of the meetingplace of
Kingman (Kan.) Mennonite Church after
the Oct. 11 fire
Kingman (Kan.) Mennonite Church's
meetinghouse burned to the ground Oct. 1 1 .
Investigators suspect that an electrical
problem caused the blaze. "Part of my family
is left here," said Irma Voran, an employee at
the General Conference Mennonite Church
offices in Newton, Kan. "This is the place
where Max and I were married, where our
children were dedicated, where we have
| attended family funerals." A 1928 fire had
- destroyed the original meetingplace. Now the
150-member congregation faces another
rebuilding challenge. Pastor Joe Atherton.
who was traveling out of state when the fire
occurred, requests prayer as members
discuss where to locate a new church building.
The Northern District Conference has
established an office on the Freeman
(S.D.) Academy campus. Two rooms have
been rented from the academy, one as an
office for office manager/central treasurer
Winifred Saner and one for storage of
conference materials. The address of the
new office is Box 1 01 , Freeman, SD 57029,
and the phone number is (605) 925-4463.
NEWS
Eight
churches in
Ontario
begin LIFE
Elkhart, Ind. (MBM/GCMC) —
Eight Ontario congregations
began participating in the LIFE
project this fall.
The congregations in the
Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada are working
together on the three-year
process of growth and outreach
called Living In Faithful
Evangelism.
The eight congregations are
Wilmot Mennonite Church,
Baden; Community Mennonite
Fellowship, Moorefield;
Hanover-Chesley Mennonite
Fellowship, Hanover; Bethel
Mennonite Church, Elora;
Brussels Mennonite Fellowship;
Floradale Mennonite Church;
Hawkesville Mennonite Church;
and Zion Mennonite Fellow-
ship, Elmira.
Dale Bauman, area coordina-
tor, leads the congregations in
the LIFE process. Bauman
became pastor at Elmira
Mennonite Church this summer
after pastoring Community
Mennonite for nine years.
LIFE is designed to help
churches discover new vision
for outreach. It combines
study, prayer, planning and
action to help congregations
develop caring ways of
outreach, using their unique
strengths and settings. LIFE is
a joint project of Mennonite
Board of Missions (Mennonite
Church) and the Commission
LIFE in Ontario: from left, Doreen Neufeld, MCEC mission minister,
Luanne Schantz, Community Mennonite Fellowship, Moorefield,
Ont., and Terry Marten, Zion Mennonite Church, Elmira, Ont.
on Home Ministries (General
Conference Mennonite
Church).
LIFE began a year ago with
six congregations in central
Illinois. A seventh church,
North Danvers Mennonite
Church (GC), Danvers, III.,
joined the group this fall.
One Illinois congregation,
Metamora Mennonite Church,
conducted a study that
revealed that only 25 percent of
the people in Woodford County
go to church. "They are looking
into the possible use of radio
spots, along with using visitor
cards and subsequent follow-
up contacts," Bontrager said.
Other plans call for a service
project.
Science Ridge Mennonite
Church, Sterling, III., has had
an increase in visitors and is
making contacts with those
visitors.
Plans are to have 600
congregations out of 1 ,700
(both MC and GC) involved in
LIFE by the time it is slated to
be phased out in 1997.
South Central Mennonite
Conference (MC) and Western
District Conference (GC) have
endorsed the LIFE process.
People are interpreting the
LIFE process in individual con-
gregations and exploring con-
gregational interest in starting
the process next fall.
A number of other confer-
ences and districts will begin
the LIFE process in 1992.
A preliminary event for area
leaders of the LIFE project was
a summer evangelism leaders
academy. One academy in
early August hosted 457
people at Bridgewater (Va.)
College. Forty of the 50
Mennonites who attended
represented the eight churches
in Ontario. The academy was
sponsored by the Church of the
Brethren, in cooperation with
the Mennonite Church and the
General Conference Mennonite
Church.
LIFE staff are producing
materials to be used by
congregations, including
manuals, self-discovery
materials, a 13-week curricu-
lum called "Life to Share" and a
resource notebook.
LIFE staff are Ed Bontrager,
director; Jim Egli, coordinator;
Linford Good, administrator;
and Marilyn Miller, assistant
director. Phil Richard
Principal, Western Mennonite
High School. Salem, Ore. Serve
as chief administrative officer
providing academic and spiritual
leadership to the school.
Send resume to Search Committee
chair. Ross D. Collingwood, 1620
Kenard St. NW, Salem, OR 97304.
Camp Camrec is looking for an
energetic, creative and committed
couple who is interested in the
camping ministry. This is a year-
round, on-site position that
requires skills in a broad range of
areas: program, camp promotion,
general office skills, maintenance
and caretaking/housekeeping.
These responsibilities will be
divided between the couple, who
together are to provide an average
of 45-50 hours of work per week.
Minimum salary with benefits
including housing, vacation, health
insurance and car allowance. A
two-year minimum commitment is
desired.
People interested in this position
should contact Washington
Mennonite Fellowship, Cleon
Claassen, 4185 W. Lakeshore
Drive, Moses Lake, WA 98837,
(509) 765-9475.
THE MENNONITE 493
Now in
Print—
The Great
Storyteller,
Peter J. Dyck
A Leap of Faith:
True Stories for Young and Old
Peter J. Dyck shares six of his favorites. His first
story tells how Mennonite Central Committee, Baptist
World Alliance, and Mennonite Publishing House,
with the help of many other people, got the Barclay
Commentaries translated into Russian and into the
Soviet Union without smuggling.
In "Here Stood Kandanos," Dyck sends a Christian
volunteer to help in the rebuilding of a Greek village
that the Germans destroyed in World War II. Too late,
he realizes he has sent a German into enemy territory.
These exciting stories are recommended for parents and children to read
together, for classroom use, for sermon illustrations, and for any storytelling
occasions.
Paper, $7.95; in Canada $9.95
The Great
Shalom
The Great Shalom
The animals and birds are safe and happy in their
lovely forest. But then the man comes with his ax and
chain saw to cut it down. How can they save their
home? They need to use their best talents to keep the
man from destroying their home. So the mosquitoes
prepare for their assault. And the skunk is ready to
do his part. The other animals plan ways to help the
cause.
This fable by popular storyteller Peter J. Dyck
teaches concern for the environment and living
peacefully with others. For children ages 4-and-up
and adults.
Paper, $5.95, in Canada $7.50
Herald Press books are available through your local bookstore or write to
Herald Press (include 15% for shipping— minimum $1.50).
Peter |. Dtjek
Herald Press
§B||| Dept. MEN
III! 616 Walnut Avenue
1 Scottdale, PA 15683-1999
Herald Press
Dept. MEN
490 Dutton Drive
Waterloo, ON N2L 6H7
The first known Hmong Mennonite
worship service took place Oct. 14 at
Mennonite Community Church in Fresno,
Calif. The new congregation is called
Hmong Community Church — Mennonite.
Choua Moua is the pastor. Hmongs in
attendance numbered 206, many of them
not Christian. Don Yoder, co-conference
minister of Pacific District Conference;
Howard Keim, Moua's mentor and teacher
at Hesston (Kan.) College; James Wenger,
pastor at the sponsoring Mennonite
Community Church, and Duane Ruth-
Heffelbower, representing the home
missions committee of PDC, participated in
the service.
NEWS
Mennonites begin
new church in
Armenia, Colombia
Armenia, Colombia (GCMC) — Three years
and nine months after Mennonites began
work here, the Christian Mennonite
Community of Peace was inaugurated
with 23 baptized members. Peter Stucky,
executive secretary of the Mennonite
churches of Colombia, was present.
In September 1986 a group of leaders
from the Mennonite Church of Ibague went
to the "City of Miracles" (Armenia) to
conduct an evangelistic campaign with the
purpose of beginning a church. Of this
group, Cesar and Patricia Moya felt the call
of the Lord, the personal conviction and the
support of the congregation of Ibague to
stay and start the work.
"The initial goal was to inaugurate a
church once 12 members had joined," said
Moya. "By mid-1 988 this was accom-
plished, but six moved to Bogota and one
died, so the number was reduced to five.
Because of this the national church agreed
to wait until there were at least 20 baptized
members for the new congregation," he
said. "This year we reached the goal."
"This accomplishment has not been the
fruit of only one person but of many who
gave of themselves. It is time now to thank
the Mennonite Church of Ibague for having
taken the initiative to open new work, the
Mennonite churches of Colombia for their
counsel and economic support, and the
Commission on Overseas Mission of the
General Conference Mennonite Church for
sending Tim and Mary Lou Schmucker.
The time the Schumuckers were here was
short but effective," Moya said.
"Above all," Moya concluded, "we recog-
nize the mercy, love and faithfulness of our
God because 'If God does not build the
house, those who build it are working in
vain'" (Psalm 127:1a).
Mennonite Central Committee mediator John Paul Le-
derach, who tried to help resolve a dispute between the
Canadian government and the Mohawk Indians of Oka,
Quebec, this summer, says the government was more
interested in a military solution than in real negotiation.
Despite extensive efforts to move toward productive
negotiations, Lederach said, it gradually became appar-
ent that Ottawa and Quebec increasingly pursued solving
the dispute through military might. He warns that the
government's tactics have sown the seeds for more
confrontations with Natives across Canada. "I am
disappointed that the focus has been on the immediate
issue of the barricades and not positive long-term
relationships." By skirting the key issues of sovereignty
and land claims and focusing on criminality and weapons,
the government has perpetuated the cycle of anger and
mistrust that sparked the crisis, he says.
"I feel like a Mennonite again," said H. Eugene Herr in response to the
interterm course (The Early Church) he took at Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind. Herr was one of 1 1 3 enrolled in the
three-week interterm last January. Jeff Minor, associate pastor at Bethel
Mennonite Church, Mountain Lake, Minn., took Romans, with Henry
Poettcker. It "renewed my faith in a gracious and merciful God," Minor
said. Brian Epp, associate pastor at Bethesda Mennonite Church, Hen-
derson, Neb., appreciated the practical nature of Congregational Group
Leadership, taught by Marcus Smucker. "We learned that it takes at
least seven years for change to take place," Epp said. "What does this
mean for the length of time that a pastor needs to stay with a congrega-
tion?" For information on the January 1991 interterm, write AMBS, 3003
Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517-1999.
NEWS
COE asks,
What about
New Age?
Hesston, Kan. (GCMC)— When
the Commission on Education
met here Oct. 11-14, appoint-
ments and marketing plans
were not the only agenda.
COE staff and council took a
close look at New Age ideology
during their midyear meetings.
They chose the topic in
response to concerns raised by
church members that New Age
is a threat to the church. "We
spent time exploring the
definition of New Age," said
Applications are being accepted for
the position of full-time pastor at
Trinity Mennonite Fellowship,
Mather, Man. Duties to commence
April 1, 1991.
Contact Art Harms, Box 38,
Mather, MB ROK 1L0, (204) 529-
2224; John Wiebe, (204) 529-
2030, or Arlene Klassen, (204)
529-2433.
Are you lonely? Maybe Cross-
roads can help you too. Some of
the couples who have met their
mates through us include a nurse
and a minister, a teacher and a
carpenter, and a widow and a
farmer. Other clients are meeting
friends who share their interests.
Some are still waiting to meet the
right one. Perhaps they are
looking for you. How will you find
out if you don't join?
For information write to Cross-
roads, Box 32, North Tonawanda,
NY 14120.
Norma Johnson, executive
secretary, "and why people feel
threatened by it."
New Age borrows concepts
from many religions, occult
practices, modern science and
more. "The popularity of New
Age indicates that people are
searching spiritually," Johnson
said. "The church must find
ways to address their needs."
Other business included
several appointments. Norma
Peters Duerksen, Hillsboro.
Kan., was appointed secretary
for children's education. COE
named Sondra Koontz,
Newton, Kan., as a representa-
tive to the board of control of
the Mennonite Library and
Archives. North Newton, and
Steven Pankratz, Newton,
representative to the board of
Mennonite Press, Newton.
John Lenshyn, Calgary, was
appointed to the Spirituality
Reference Council, jointly
sponsored by the General
Conference Mennonite Church
and the Mennonite Church. All
terms are three years in length.
COE grappled with issues
concerning their relationship
with General Conference
colleges and the need to be
more supportive of Canadian
higher education than in the
past, when most of their efforts
focused on Bethel (North
Newton) and Bluffton. Ohio,
colleges. Planning will soon be
underway for a symposium on
the future of Mennonite higher
education that would cut not
only across geographic but
also denominational lines to
include MC-affiliated colleges.
C Next year will mark 1 1 0
! years since the General
I Conference established a
1 department of publication.
I COE, Faith and Life Press and
Faith and Life bookstores
began gearing up for the
anniversary year at the midyear
meetings. Staff presented a
master plan for marketing and
promotion in draft form. A final
plan will be approved at the
Council of Commissions
meetings in March 1 991 .
"One of the challenges is that
there are a variety of things
that come under the COE
umbrella," said Johnson. She
added that commission
members toured Mennonite
Press and the Mennonite
Library and Archives. "At this
meeting we focused our
discussions on a few of our
responsibilities. We took a
philosophical look at our work
without having to make heavy
decisions." Beth Hege
THE MENNONITE 495
Young Haitian volunteers help MCC
Twelve Haitian young people, helping Mennonite Central Committee
workers promote tree planting, summoned people by the traditional
blowing of a conch shell. Then they taught tree education courses
using drama, puppets and songs. They visited 18 zones in Haiti,
addressing 550 people.
"People in the United States don't realize how extreme is your
national need to incarcerate," says Nils Christie, a Norwegian
criminologist. For every 100,000 U.S. citizens, 407 are in jails.
The Netherlands incarceration rate is 36, Norway's rate is 47,
West Germany is 86, and Great Britain's 100. Nearly every
industrialized nation (except South Africa and the Soviet Union)
has banned capital punishment. Long prison terms are seen as
normal in the United States, but most Western Europeans see in-
carceration as a last resort. Federal, state and local governments
will spend $20 billion this year to operate U.S. jails and prisons, a
price tag most Europeans see as exorbitant and ultimately useless
in curbing crime. When asked about the best alternative, Christie
says, "The best alternative to prison is no prison." (The Other
Side)
Canadian missionary Paul Murdoch, 37, spent six days chained
inside a cave in the Khyber Pass area between Pakistan and
Afghanistan before he was released unharmed on Sept. 14.
During his captivity, Murdoch "had the most wonderful communion
with the Lord," according to his mother, Lois Murdoch, of Ab-
botsford, B.C. "He spent the whole time praying for everyone he
could think of." On Sept. 9, three masked gunmen abducted
Murdoch, who works for the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission.
Days later, when he told the bandits judgment from God would
come to them, they became afraid and released him, said
Murdoch's mother. The chief of police in Peshawar "was really
shocked" that a captive was released without ransom, Mrs.
Murdoch said. They said this was the first time in Pakistani history
that anyone had been released without the ransom being paid.
{Christian Info News)
RECOltd
deAThs
Arthur F. Ortmann, 80, died
Sept. 1 9. He was the founding
pastor at the Woodland
Church, Warroad, Minn., for-
merly a GCMC congregation.
His wife, Tena, three sons and
their families survive.
Anna Quiring, 84, died Oct.
15. She was a member of the
Gospel Mennonite Church,
Mountain Lake, Minn. She
served over 20 years in Zaire
with COM.
WOltltERS
Delphine Bauman, Tavistock
(Ont.) Church, has begun a
one-year Intermenno term in
Oegstgeest, Netherlands,
working as a nanny for the first
six months. Her parents are
Erma and Gordon Bauman.
Gini Bechtel, Wanner
Church, Cambridge, Ont., has
begun a one-year Intermenno
term in Aalsmeer, Netherlands,
working as a gardening
assistant for the first six
months. Her parents are
George and Grace Bechtel of
Kitchener, Ont.
Palmer Becker, Vancouver,
Bauman
Bechtel
P. Bergen
Byler
T. Couillard
Duerksen
Becker
C. Bergen
Canon
C. Couillard
Fransen
Goering
will begin in September 1991
as lead pastor at Bethel
Church, Mountain Lake, Minn.,
succeeding Donovan Diller.
Carol (Kliewer) and Phil
Bergen, Peace Community
Church-Mennonite, Clovis,
Calif., began a four-year AIMM/
COM term Sept. 18 in Burkina
Faso, working in linguistics and
Bible translation." Their children
are John-Mark and Maria.
Keith Brenneman has been
named youth and music
minister at First Church,
Saskatoon.
AIMM — Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission
CHM — Commission on Home Ministries
COM — Commission on Overseas Missions
GCMC — General Conference Mennonite Church
MCC — Mennonite Central Committee
MVS — Mennonite Voluntary Service
Jim
Brown
began in
October
as pastor
at Harrow
(Ont.)
Church.
J. Ron
Byler, Philadelphia, will begin
Jan. 1, 1991, as the first
employed executive director of
the Religious Public Relations
Council. He will work half time
for RPRC and continue half
time with Mennonite Media
Ministries, Harrisonburg, Va.,
as producer and editor of its
video magazine, All God's
People, and supervisor of its
other radio, video and TV
activities. He is also chairper-
son of the Council on Church
and Media, an association of
Mennonite communicators.
Angel Canon began as
pastor at Lawndale Church,
Chicago, in September.
Cathy (Schmitz) and Troy
Couillard, Faith Church,
Minneapolis, began a four-year
AIMM/COM term Sept. 23 in
Lesotho. They are involved in
Bible teaching and community
development among African
Independent Churches. Their
children are Chelsea and Aviar.
Art DeHoogh. director of
planned giving at Bethel
College, North Newton, Kan.,
has also been named director
of church relations for the
college.
Norma Peters Duerksen,
Alexanderwohl Church,
Goessel, Kan., will begin in
January 1991 as secretary for
children's education for the
Commission on Education.
She and her husband, Phil,
recently completed a Menno-
nite Voluntary Service term in
Woodstock, III.
Betti Erb began Sept. 24 as
full-time communications
coordinator at Conrad Grebel
College, Waterloo, Ont. She
succeeds Kathleen Boutet, who
has moved to Calgary.
496 NOVEMBER 13, 1990
Youth Evangelism Service (YES) is
seeking college-age applicants to partici-
pate in a work project in Hong Kong. The
18-month term includes a three-month
internship in Baltimore. YES Hong Kong is
jointly sponsored by the Commission on
Overseas Mission of the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church and Eastern
Mennonite Board of Missions. For more
information contact COM, Box 347,
Newton, KS 671 1 4, (316) 283-51 00.
A new Mennonite Brethren association
is believed to be the first international
fraternal association established by a
Mennonite denomination. The group was
forged July 30-31 in Winnipeg after
Mennonite World Conference. The 40
church leaders at the meeting represented
1 4 of the 18 countries with Mennonite
Brethren conferences. Following several
small group caucuses, a clearer mandate
for the association emerged. Initial agenda
will include creating an international
directory, providing a clearinghouse of
information and literature, interconference
relations and resources, church leadership
issues and special events such as study
conferences.
Nguyen Huu Cuong. who was deported
from Vietnam after six years in prison, is
working with a team to translate the Barclay
Bible Commentary into Vietnamese. The
interdenominational effort is projected to
cost $200,000. Eastern Mennonite Board
of Missions has agreed to contribute
$3,000 per year for the next three years to
the project.
ri cored
Hinshaw G. Janzen
Jake Fransen, lay minister at
Vineland (Ont.) United Men-
nonite Church; Doris Gascho,
pastor at Shantz Church,
Baden, Ont.; Gary Harder,
pastor at Toronto United
Mennonite Church; and Robert
Witmer, pastor at Eglise
Evangelical Mennonite de
Rouyn/Noranda, Quebec,
began Sept. 1 as assistants to
the conference minister,
Herbert Schultz, of the Men-
nonite Conference of Eastern
Canada.
Jacob C. Froese has been
named the new pastor at Trinity
Church, Calgary.
Jacob Funk has been
appointed to the teaching staff
at Swift Current (Sask.) Bible
Institute.
DeAnna Goering, Mound-
ridge, Kan., a former MVS
worker, is presenting MVS
programs in churches and
educational institutions in
Canada and the Midwest
through November. MVS is a
program of CHM.
Randy Hildebrand, youth
pastor at Waterloo-Kitchener
United Mennonite Church, was
licensed Sept. 9 for pastoral
ministry.
Robert Hinshaw is the new
director of the Kansas Institute
of Peace and Conflict Resolu-
9
M. Janzen Kauffman
Klaassen A. Rempel
tion at Bethel College, North
Newton, Kan.
Vera Isaak, Springstein
(Man.) Church, has begun as
director of Self-Help Crafts
Canada.
George and Martha
(Giesbrecht) Janzen, Cedar
Valley Church, Mission, B.C.,
began a four-year COM term
Sept. 5 in church planting and
evangelism in Japan. They
previously served in Japan for
nearly 30 years, from the early
1950s to 1980.
Jean Janzen, Fresno, Calif.,
was the featured speaker at
Bluffton (Ohio) College's Forum
Oct. 23. She is one of the
poets in Three Mennonite
Poets (Good Books).
Ed Kauffman, pastor at
Eighth Street Church, Goshen,
Ind., has resigned effective July
31, 1991.
Howard Kaufman, Eden
Church, Moundridge, Kan.;
Edward Neufeld, Rainbow
E. Rempel Klassen
Church, Kansas City, Kan.;
Richard A. Siemens. Presbyte-
rian Church, Lyons. Kan.; and
Dorothy Flowers Wilson, St.
Theresa's Catholic Church,
Gulfport, Miss., have been
elected to the board of direc-
tors of Bethel College, North
Newton, Kan.
John H. Keller, 81, Lima,
Ohio, a 1931 Bluffton (Ohio)
College graduate, has been
named the 1990 Alumni
Distinguished Service Award
recipient. He is a retired
railroad worker, a railroad
historian and a labor advocate.
Betty Lou King, Assembly
Church, Goshen, Ind., has
begun a one-year Intermenno
term at Den Haag, Nether-
lands, working as a nanny for
the first six months. Her
parents are Carrie and J. Mark
King of Aaronsburg. Pa.
Nick King was licensed for
ministry Oct. 21 at Mennonite
Church of the Servant, Wichita,
Kan.
Glendon Klaassen, COM
secretary for Latin America,
and Erwin Rempel, COM
executive secretary, and his
wife, Angela, visited national
leaders, missionaries, churches
and seminaries Sept. 16-Oct.
16 in Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil,
Paraguay and Uruguay.
Lebold Lichti
Kenneth Klassen. pastor at
Portage Church. Portage La
Prairie, Man., has completed
his work there.
Lori Klassen, Toronto United
Mennonite Church, has begun
a one-year Intermenno term in
Karlsruhe, West Germany,
working as a kitchen helper the
first six months. Her parents
are Edgar and Olga Klassen of
Winnipeg.
Cindy Lebold, Waterloo
(Ont.) North Church, has begun
a one-year Intermenno term in
Haarlem, Netherlands, working
as a nursing home recreation
assistant for the first six
months. Her parents are
Eileen and Ralph Lebold of
Waterloo.
Carl Lehman and Luther
Shetler, First Church. Bluffton,
Ohio, have been named the
1990 National Alumni Associa-
tion Bluffton College Service
Award winners, recognized for
long-term, dedicated service to
the college.
Sarah Lichti, Hillcrest Church
of New Hamburg, Ont., has
begun a one-year Intermenno
term in Schwagern, West
Germany, working as a nanny
for the first six months. Her
parents are John and Norma
Lichti of New Hamburg.
-compiled by Sharon Sommer
THE MENNONITE 497
Goshen College seeks faculty for
a full-time, long-term position in the
Division of Teacher Education,
with emphasis on curriculum and
educational foundations. Position
open August 1991. Qualifications
include Ph.D. or Ed.D. with ad-
vanced graduate study in
elementary education, curriculum,
educational foundations or other
areas. Candidates with disserta-
tion in progress may be consid-
ered. Teaching experience in
elementary school preferred.
Commitment to integrating
Christian faith and the principles of
peacemaking with teaching is
important. Minority persons are
encouraged to apply.
Send resume and three profes-
sional references to John W. Eby,
Academic Dean, Goshen College,
Goshen, IN 46526. Applications
will be received until Jan. 15. 1991.
If you have further questions, call
John Eby, (219) 535-7503, or John
J. Smith, Director of Teacher
Education, (219) 535-7439.
TRAVEL WITH A PURPOSE
DISCOVER HAWAI
IN "WINTERTIME"!
^Mennonite
1991 HAWAII TOUR
(3 Island Tour)
February 25 - March 9, 1991
This 13-day adventure leaves the cold weather
behind as we fly west to these Pacific Islands. An
Aloha welcome awaits you upon arrival in thus
50th stale, A special treat is a time of fellowship
with the newly planted Mennonite Church in
Honolulu.
Oahu Island — beaches, pineapple cannery,
markets. Pearl Harbor, cultural center, Hawaii
Island — orchids, Volcano National Park, coffee
plantations. Maul Island — bus tour to lao Valley
and lao Needle rock, acre-sized Banyon tree.
Enchanted Gardens, luau dinner.
Optional tour to Kauai Island — boat cruise to
Fern Grotto, Waimea Canyon, sugar plantations.
Enjoy singing and Christian fellowship as we
Complete daily itineraries available
MYW Hawaii Tour
Box 1525
Salunga. PA 17538
(717)65:1-9288
(800) 233-11157— Outside PA
Help celebrate MCC's
70 years of service.
Give a gift set of six
MCC color postcards
to a friend this Christmas.
Cost $3.
Available from the MCC office
nearest you. Also at selected
SELFHELP Crafts stores.
Mennonite
Central
Committee
Mennonite Central
Committee and MCC U.S.
21 South 12th Street
POBox 500
Akron, PA 17501-0500
(717)859-1151
MCC Canada
134 Plaza Drive
Winnipeg. MB R3T 5K9
(204)261-6381
c5<
o#ce
J*
03* i
Don't Leave Your
Family Dangling
In The Wind
• If you have no will
or trust
• If your economic
house is not in order
• If you have not pro-
vided for minor or
dependent children
• If you have no provi- §
sion to share your ^=f^
estate with your "church family"
THEY'RE DANGLING IN THE WIND
Let us be your partner in planning. Call us.
l-«00-348-7468 toll free
(219) 533-9511 collect
within Indiana
The Mennonite
Foundation, Inc.
Post Office Box 483. Goshen, IN 46526
CHRISTIAN ESTATE PLANNING SERVICES
498 NOVEMBER 13, 1990
General
Conference
Mennonite
Church
Look a
Little
Further
Commission on Overseas Mission
Become involved in making a difference in your own life and the lives of others
through mission service, prayer, giving and energizing others.
To be a part of the action in the 1990s contact the Commission on Overseas Mission,
Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. Phone (316) 283-5100.
Letters
Why get involved?
Last winter two significant events hap-
pened in my life. I studied Genesis and
was convicted that when God created the
earth he put people in charge of it. This
led to learning and becoming involved in
recycling efforts in our area. I felt my
gifts could best be utilized by joining a
newly formed speakers bureau of the
Fort Wayne (Ind.) Environmental
Education Coalition to speak on recy-
cling. (Central District Conference
sessions last March also had an influence
on my decision to get involved.)
Next I was diagnosed as having Park-
inson's disease. In my endeavor to learn
about the illness, I soon discovered that
researchers are attempting to link the
cause of Parkinson's to chemicals in the
environment. "A flurry of recent studies
have linked Parkinson's disease to
industrialization and more specifically to
modern agricultural chemicals" (see
Newsweek, Sept. 3, "Bad Water, Faulty
Genes"). Donna Lehman, 3213 Ponema
Court, Fort Wayne, IN 46815-6345
Crime and prayer
"My crime — praying for peace atop a
Minuteman nuclear missile silo" (Let-
ters, July 24 issue). Crime? Probably 99
percent of us Mennonites would say no.
Crime is "a violation of the law." God's
Word says, "Let every soul be subject
unto the higher powers. For there is no
power but of God: the powers that be are
ordained of God. Whosoever therefore
resisteth the power, resisteth the
ordinance of God: and they that resist
shall receive to themselves damnation"
(Romans 13:1-2).
Some say, "It depends upon the inter-
pretation." How should we regulate our
lives, by someone's interpretation or by
what God's Word says?
Is a prayer more effective atop a
Minuteman nuclear missile silo than in
God's house or in the prayer closet?
Shouldn't a Mennonite who is right with
God also be right with his government?
Remember when in the church we
always stood to pray? I remember when
we always stood for prayer every morn-
ing at devotions before breakfast.
Now we often stand to sing and sit to
pray. Why? We learn from the Jewish
rabbis: in every service the central
prayer is the "Amidah" (the standing). A
Jew stands as he recites this prayer.
God's Word reports only four postures
in prayer: bowing, kneeling, on the face
before God and standing, never sitting.
Doesn't the word of Jesus ("And when ye
stand praying") suggest a common mode
of posture for prayer? C.B. Friesen, 415
E. First St., Newton, KS 67114
Correction
The caption on the Oct. 9 cover of The
Mennonite is not accurate. Although the
picture was taken in front of the former
Faith Mennonite Church building in
Minneapolis (we have since moved to a
new location), the children pictured are
from the St. Paul Mennonite Fellowship,
which has developed a ministry to inner-
city children. The children were present
on the occasion of a joint service at which
Faith commissioned its daughter
congregation, the St. Paul Mennonite
Fellowship. A more accurate caption
would read, "The St. Paul Mennonite
Fellowship reaches out to inner-city
children." Myron Schrag, pastor, Faith
Mennonite Church, 2720 E. 22nd St.,
Minneapolis, MN 55406
Responses to ministry inquiry
My greatest question has been. Am I
being called into the ministry? I worked
with Steve Ratzlaff at Seattle Mennonite
Church to find out what a pastor does.
After working with Steve, I can make a
more intelligent decision and will be able
to listen more closely to God's calling.
Working with Steve has helped me
shed a lot of stereotypes about being a
pastor. I learned that ministers are not
pious, stuffy people. I also helped Mary
Berkshire Stueben, who is office coordi-
nator and an ordained minister. She
worked with me on the importance of
inclusive language.
In the church I saw faith and works
come together. What the church saw
happen in the "outside" world they
brought "inside" and made it the concern
of the church, praying about it. Issues
included equal rights for women and the
handicapped, Central American refugees,
U.S. involvement in the Middle East,
U.S. hostages, the poor and peace.
I helped at a soup kitchen and volun-
teered at a homeless shelter that also
provides other social services. I
struggled with how to respond to beggars
on the street. Giving them money
allowed them to buy alcohol. The best
response was to get them something to
drink or eat, although it was not always
feasible because I did not know the area
or often did not have time.
My summer in the Ministry Inquiry
Program shed biases that previously
kept me from considering the ministry.
Michael G. Regier, Bethel College, Box
127, North Newton, KS 67117
The Ministry Inquiry Program gives us
at Bethesda a sense of responsibility for
future ministers. Matthew C. Friesen
was with us two summers in a row and
has been a help to our youth. He
developed Bible studies, campouts, work
projects, taught Bible school and coun-
seled at the Northern District Camp.
The Ministry Inquiry Program helps
our church keep up to date on why and
how we minister. We are in the process
of making this an ongoing program of our
church. Brian Epp, associate pastor,
Bethesda Mennonite Church, 930 16th
St., Henderson, NE 68371
At the close of Vicki Penner's time with
us last summer, our congregation asked
Bethel College about the availability of
yet another Ministry Inquiry student
(our fifth).
This continued interest is a clear
indication that the Ministry Inquiry
Program has found a significant place in
the life of First Mennonite Church. The
program has helped our ministry and
provided a positive communication with
Bethel College. Marlin Kym, pastor,
First Mennonite Church, 52 Rambler
Road, Hutchinson, KS 67502
Of all the tasks assigned to me (as
campus co-pastor last year at Bethel
College, North Newton, Kan.), the one I
found most invigorating was working
with the Ministry Inquiry Program. I
did administrative tasks and correspon-
dence. What is so gratifying is that most
of the five students (that I placed) came
to me before I even tried to locate them.
The interest in ministry, mission and
service is attracting our best students.
This trend needs to be nurtured and
supported by Bethel. There is reason to
believe that Bethel will serve the wider
church well by providing leadership for
the future. Dorothea ("Dottie") Janzen,
Box 529, North Newton, KS 67117
Airmail, please
We missed reading The Mennonite for a
number of years [in Bolivia]. We seldom
found the time to read the copy at the
Mennonite Central Committee office and
there were restrictions about taking it
home. We often wished it could have
been air mailed, and we would have
passed it around. Margaretha Ediger,
8062 Clegg St., Mission, BC V2V 3R5
THE MENNONITE 501
REvi EWS
Get started
Foreword by Anthony Campolo
qgon
INVINCIBLE
WEAPON?
RONALD J. SIDER
AiftTOt «CM CHRGTWC N AN MX Of HJNCEfl
Non- Violence: the Invincible
Weapon? fry Ronald J. Sider, (Word,
1989, 118 pages)
Reviewed by Gene Stoltzfus, 1821 W.
Cullerton, Chicago, IL 60608
This is a practical tract that combines
stories of actions, historical perspective,
thoughts on the practicality of non-
violence and a vision for a genuine
Christian Peace Army.
Many of Sider's examples of coura-
geous, successful non-violent campaigns
are drawn from the political world —
Gandhi, resistance to
Hitler, Jewish
resistance to Pilate
over religious rights.
Another thread of the
vision is represented
by peacekeeping
missions of the
United Nations and
to some extent
Witness for Peace —
actions in which
participants position
themselves apoliti-
cally between contesting parties.
In 1984 Sider set Mennonites to
thinking with the call for Christian
Peacemaker Teams (CPT), a disciplined,
well-financed and carefully trained team
that would be prepared for emergency
actions in a variety of situations. As the
vision for CPT unfolds toward the end of
the book, the reader feels a kinship with
Badshah Khan, a Pathan Muslim who
became enthralled with Gandhi's non-
violent vision for an independent India.
Khan organized the first professional
non-violent army, which was put at the
service of Gandhi's movement.
Non-Violence is a short introduction to
the non-violent movement now gaining
momentum. I agree with Sider that we
stand at a window of unusual opportu-
nity, that people, especially people at the
bottom, want less-violent ways to
approach conflict. The book brings out a
different vision for this work from what
one might find among activists in
community organizations, unions and
anti-war groups who may embrace non-
violence out of conviction related to a
specific cause or because of necessity.
We need to be clear that non-violent
struggle for justice has been going on all
around us for a long time. In fact it
probably is more valuable when large
campaigns are backed by seasons of
experience in local communities.
In our non-violent work we need to
start in our churches, our neighborhoods,
our states, our cities, where the claims of
justice are failing and the factories turn
out weapons of war. By building on this
base we will be ready to join in Sider's
vision when the God of history calls us to
larger non-violent sacrifice.
Youth groups and church-based peace
groups will find this book a good starter.
Often we debate non-violence but seldom
get around to acting. This book can help
us get moving.
Contextual theology
Trackless Wastes and Stars to Steer
By by Michael A. King (Herald Press,
1990, 180 pages)
Reviewed by Carol Penner, Box 245,
Jordan Station, ON LOR ISO
Whether or not you feel the "homeless-
ness" that King describes, you're bound
to find this book interesting. It is
contextual theology in its most engaging
form. King doesn't just pose an intellec-
tual question and
Trackless
Stars
to
Steer^By
then answer it; he
tells you how he
came to the point
where he was forced
to question, then
relates how his
experiences and
observations have
led him to the
answers he has
found. This honest
approach and his
self-effacing style give a sense of humil-
ity to a book that is tackling huge
questions. Can we look to the Bible for
answers? How do we understand the
world and how does it affect our reading
of the Bible? What is the significance of
belonging to a church congregation?
King tackles these questions at a level
successfully geared toward the layper-
son, though at times his references to
"experts" needlessly complicate rather
than clarify his discussion. King's
tendency to categorize and label can also
become bewildering.
Perhaps the least satisfying section is
chapter three, "Taking the Bible into the
World." In earlier chapters he poses the
problem well — the historical-critical
method can leave the Bible empty and
sterile. His antidote seems to be to refer
to the Bible as a unified source for
"plausibility structures." This seems too
easy, as do his references to a "biblical
orientation" and "master stories," which
assume that such master stories are
universally recognized or that a biblical
understanding is easily discernable if
only you open the Bible and read. These
references do make sense, however, in
the context of his discussion of commu-
nity and its role in the formation of
plausibility structures.
I enjoyed this book and expect that
others will, too. King writes from a
Mennonite perspective, values the role of
the congregation. The format, which
includes questions for discussion, will
help to make this a book with which
congregations can interact.
Prayer resource
Prayers for Everyday by Elaine Som-
mers Rich (Faith and Life Press, 1990, 95
pages)
Reviewed by Janice Reusser Pauls, Route
2, Box 78, McPherson, KS 67460
A contemporary Mennonite author and
columnist, Elaine Sommers Rich has
collected a number of prayers written by
a variety of authors and compiled them
into this helpful book.
She includes prayers for morning, noon
and evening, prayers for special occa-
sions, table graces, prayers for use in
congregational settings. Obviously the
contributions to this collection have been
meaningful to Rich over the years, and
through their compilation she is able to
share her discoveries with others.
Many of the 130 prayers (five in Ger-
man) in Prayers for Everyday come out of
traditional Mennonite or Amish settings,
but Rich also incorporates some from
other denominations and a few from
writers of previous centuries. Each
prayer is prefaced with a brief descrip-
tion of the author. For example, Thomas
Ken, who was a royal chaplain to King
Charles II of England and who lost his
bishopric for refusal to take the oath to
William and Mary, authored the prayer
"No Darkness Me Molest," the fourth
stanza of which we sing to Tallis' Canon,
page 496 in The Mennonite Hymnal.
Other prayers were collected from
people familiar in Mennonite church
circles.
Readers who cannot find the time to do
extensive research but still wish for a
handy source of prayers for many
occasions will appreciate this book.
502 NOVEMBER 13, 1990
MEdiTATiON
Renew our vision for mission
Jake Harms
■ s it presumptuous to claim to be in step with God's will? I
I know people who make that claim, yet their steps make the
| claim appear questionable. But then, as one who works for
the Commission on Overseas Missions, I also make such a
claim, even boldly.
I make it on behalf of COM, which never apologizes for being
or for the purpose of its being. COM has a deep conviction that
it is in step with what God wills. This conviction is based on an
understanding of what God wills for the church, of what God's
mission is for the world. COM is in step with what God wills
for the church.
The Bible says that God "desires everyone to be saved and to
come to the knowledge of the truth" ( 1 Timothy 2:4). God
The importance of communication: Clockwise from front, Janeen
Bertsche Johnson, Donna Kampen Entz, Jeannie Zehr and Jonathan
Larson tell the COM story at Lorraine Avenue Mennonite Church in
Wichita, Kan.
desires that "all things in heaven and on earth be united in
Christ" (Ephesians 1:9). Jesus taught us to pray that God's
"kingdom come and will be done on earth as it is in heaven"
(Matthew 6:10).
God has provided for the realization of this desire by sending
Jesus, who "gave himself as a ransom for all" ( 1 Timothy 2:6).
In giving himself, Jesus became the mediator between God and
people ( 1 Timothy 2:5). Christ is the means of salvation, the
only one through whom human beings can be saved (John
14:6).
The church is to proclaim God's action and desire to all
people in word and deed. This is COM's mandate. It is
committed to the actualization of God's reign, to the realization
of Jesus' lordship.
Through COM the General Conference Mennonite congrega-
tions walk in step with what God wills with respect to overseas
mission. COM seeks to give shape to those steps so that each
local church's gifts strengthens mission efforts.
In doing its task, COM recognizes the importance of commu-
nication, education and motivation. COM seeks to renew the
vision for missions among our congregations. Vision is needed
in order to produce action.
As I ponder the idea of being in step with what God wills for
the church, I feel both joy and anxiety. The joy arises from a
sense of being in harmony with my destiny, of being on the
right track, of knowing where we are and what we should be.
Anxious feelings arise from a knowledge of our weaknesses,
failings, tendencies to look out for our own security instead of
giving ourselves for others.
I take comfort from the knowledge that within me and the
church lives the Holy Spirit, who is the source of comfort and
courage, who leads, directs and empowers. This is why I give
my energies to COM as unto God, because I am convinced that
COM is in step with what God wills for the church.
Jake Harms, 600 Shaftsbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4, is
the Canadian coordinator for the Commission on Overseas
Mission.
Joy comes from a sense of being in harmony with God: Anna Dyck
and Chiyo Sato at the annual women's retreat in May of the Japan
Mennonite Christian Church Conference
THE MENNONITE 503
NEWS 01 00 22 031 3 36
LIBRARY
ASSOC MP NN BIBLICAL SE*
3 00 3 BENHAM AVE
ELKHART IN 4-6517
EdiTOMAl
Taxes and free-will offerings
As this editorial goes to press the U.S. government
has finally finished the shenanigans surrounding
the creation of its operating budget. Several fits and
starts and a federal shutdown later, and with only
modest relief for the cancerous deficit, a new budget is
in place. No family or business or church organization
could function with such a shoddy approach to money.
With all this news about the budget comes the seldom-
heard information that my country also has a "relief
fund" for its massive debt. As one who automatically
thinks "Mennonite Central Committee" when I hear the
word "relief," this new term jars my ears.
Citizen response to the debt relief fund is varied. One
earnest citizen, it seems, donated his stamp collection.
Another a family coin collection. One woman does what
she can and sends $2 each month to this fund. Another
sends his (apparently unneeded) retirement/pension
check. One disenchanted citizen sent her hair with the
words, "Since you've gotten everything else, you may as
well have my hair, too." And a poll of passers-by on a
Washington street corner yielded only cynical no's to the
question, "Would you contribute to the national debt
relief fund?"
Over the years, however, $18 million has come in to
make a teeny dent in this beleaguered country's $3
trillion debt. All contributions are tax deductable,
smirked one radio commentator, providing that you
itemize them.
Patriotism: My observation, with all this talk about
national budget, is that the willingness to pay taxes and
therefore balance the budget is seldom linked with pa-
triotism. One would expect patriots to be eager to pay
taxes. Those who declare, "My country right or wrong"
should flock to pay their taxes. One would expect them
to beg for higher taxes to finance the kind of government
they claim to be loyal to.
Where are the millionaires who became billionaires in
the 1980s? For preferential treatment one might have
expected them to offer that $72 billion in taxes over the
last 10 years that the government did not ask them for.
One might even expect them to tithe to the government
above and beyond what is assessed. Instead they
typically hire lawyers to discover new loopholes for
avoiding taxation.
Volunteerism: "It will not be so among you," said
Jesus on a related subject. "Whoever would be great
among you must be your servant" (Mark 10:43).
All levels of our church work operate on free-will
offerings rather than taxation. While some religious
groups assess their members for "dues," I have always
been grateful that we do not. Fair-share guidelines are
instructive and suggestive but never enforced or manda-
tory. Justice is tempered with mercy. Richer congrega-
tions help poorer congregations.
Our budgets are built on volunteerism: congrega-
tional, regional, national and international. It is "for
the Lord." We have no other reason for being. Our
missionaries are "faith" missionaries in every sense of
the word, including financial. By faith we bring our
tithes and offerings as part of our worship. By faith we
draw up our annual church, regional and General
Conference budgets. We have no other source of income.
Our various organizations are accountable to us; we
know where the money goes. We see the results of our
contributions in people and print. Our church organiza-
tions exist to serve us. When there is human error,
forgiveness is needed, requested and usually granted.
We do not tolerate cover-ups. We avoid deficit spending.
Our church leaders are not getting rich off us. Invest-
ment in our church activities is one of the best around.
This issue of The Mennonite especially attests to that.
Indicators for our various levels of congregation and
conference are that 1990 will be a difficult financial
year. Woes in the United States are hinted at above. In
Canada the opposition members of Parliament have
debated a motion to condemn the government for
"planning and implementing the first-ever made-in-
Canada recession." Results will show as we begin a new
round of budget-making and regional reporting sessions.
I am convinced that redirecting some of the dollars
that go to non-Mennonite causes ($1,577,747 in 1989)
would help heal our budgets' illnesses. This would help
us to proceed alive and well into a new year. Muriel
T. Stackley
THE MENNONiTE
OTHER FOUNDATION CAN NO ONE LAY THAN THAT IS LAID, WHICH IS JESUS CHRIST
105:22 NOVEMBER 27, 1990
Between life
and death
Prepare to take
care of your own
The shifting
political
behavior of
Mennonites
pnoLoquE
CONTENTS
I n this issue is material that touches the
I nerve. Although each of us inevitably faces
illness and death, we tend to skirt these as
topics of conversation. I remember the poi-
gnancy of my eldest child, at 3 years of age,
plaintively saying, "I'm fine," when I knew
very well that he was feeling terrible. How
early he had learned to fake it!
One of my main laments about our North
American society is the way we mask death,
then pay dearly for that service. A modest
funeral in my part of the continent is just over
$2,000 ($1,490 of which is for "services"). This
does not include the casket (minimum $300),
grave liner ($365), gravedigger ($150), "equip-
ment" ($110) or temporary marker ($20).
Probably you in urban areas will smile and
say, "Is that all?"
I appreciate those in this industry who
operate with integrity. They provide a needed
service. My qualms are with the extent of
what we ask them to do. We have not ad-
smma^mmms&m^m dressed this subject in this
! issue. Would someone out
I there like to take it on?
Next Sunday, Dec. 2, is the
first Sunday in Advent.
The next issue, dated Dec.
11, is the Christmas issue
of The Mennonite. mis
Cover: Photo by Andrew F. Wade © all rights reserved
Between life and death / 507
Secondhand / 508
Black Kansas soil, grey Bolivian cement / 508
Prepare to take care of your own / 509
I asked for an overdose / 509
In or out of the hospital / 510
37 years of surgery for God / 51 1
The shifting political behavior of Mennonites and Brethren in
Christ / 512
News / 514
MILC seeks renewal after loss / 514
Budget builders will need to live in economic reality / 515
Record / 520
Letters / 524
Reviews / 525
Ethical discernment / 525
Family ordeal / 525
Family dissolution / 526
Jesus as actor / 526
Into your hands we commit our spirits / 527
To your good health / 528
(Hi) TllE MENNONiTE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100. Editor:
Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant: Sharon
Sommer; art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the Associated
Church Press, Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a Mennonite and
Brethren in Christ editors' group) and an associate member of the Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretaries: Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, and Rose Retzlaff
Klassen, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4. Business manager: Dietrich
Rempel. Special editions editors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North
Newton, KS 671 17; Window to Mission, Lois Deckert, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14;
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Richard A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave.,
Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1, Didsbury, AB TOM 0W0; (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2S 1V7: (Central District)
Lynn Liechty, 666 Columbus St., Berne, IN 4671 1 ; (Eastern District) in process; (Manitoba)
in process; (Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada) Margot Fieguth, 99 Veronica Drive,
Mississauga, ON L5G 2B1; (Northern District) Winifred Wall, Box 67, Freeman, SD 57029;
(Pacific District) Clare Ann Ruth-Heffelbower, 3198 E. Menlo Ave., Fresno, CA 93710;
(Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger, 125 Rawlinson Bay, Regina, SK S4S 6M8; (Western District)
Leland Harder, Box 363, North Newton, KS 671 17.
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506 NOVEMBER 27, 1990
May 2: Dear Aunt Adah, I saw the
three tears you cried on this restless
night. I saw the guilt, a bundle you
never needed to carry, crying deep within
you. I love you. I cried to see your
agony. I cried to see you tossed and
turned on some brink that was neither
here nor there. I do not see you in your
eyes today. I look right into the end with
you and see that there is no difference
between us in this final uncertainty.
Aunt dearest, I have held you and
touched you and rubbed your bony back.
I have kissed your hands and lips and
massaged your forehead. I want to kiss
your heart, but I cannot put my lips to so
deep a part. Thank you for the gift of
loving you. Maybe tomorrow I won't see
you anymore. I am already crying
because this must be. I do not like final
good-byes. You are my only aunt left on
this earth, and I hate to let you go. You
are the last of something for me.
You know what I know, that inner
pain is the worst pain and that our God
seems to demand too much. Maybe these
last hours will bring some marvelous
shining — making clear the half-light.
May I come and love you one more night,
or will you die tonight?
May 6: I am glad to see you today. It
is good to see that you want to talk
again. You hold the birth announcement
of your great-granddaughter and sob. I
wonder what you are thinking. I heard
you whisper, "Isn't she pretty." You
reached to hold my hand today and to
touch my face, but you, so weak, kept
dropping the picture.
I think you will win this last struggle
in your restlessness and moans. I think
you will come to terms with the years.
Between
life and
death
A diary of
my aunt's final months
Ann Wenger
You push me away and then pull me
close. That is the struggle.
May 12: I hold your hand, Old One.
You know and I know that I won't see
you much anymore. Three weeks ago
you were eating chocolates. Now you cry
out, you squirm and roll. You rest
quickly and cry out again. I feel so
lonely, sitting here with your dying. You
gift me with this work of dying. I have
died a lot, and that's the way I have
started to live. I hope I will not save the
rest of my dying to the end. But which
dyings are worthwhile?
In this room today we are somewhere
between life and death. What is this
place? Breathing, yet no life. Are you
going home bit by bit? Will it be as hard
to die as it has been to live? Oh, I don't
mean to use my heart, arms and feet to
be married into the light. I'm eating
chocolate. I don't like it much anymore,
but it distracts me from this nervousness
about your leaving in this final way.
Love is a decision. Love is sitting here
and being with your dying. I'm used to
dying, but I'm not used to you dying. I
want to run away because I don't think
I'm going to get used to it. You're
sleeping now. You look so restful and of
course that's easier for me. It's harder to
be at the wake of one's anxiety because I
feel so out of control. I can't change
anything, but I can be here with you.
Today there is no one to say good-bye, no
one to want me to keep staying. Today
there is no one to share this grief. As I
round the bend to leave, there is a little
pink in the sky, the tulips are blooming,
and the daffodils.
May 21: Are you really only 76
pounds? I find your little arms under my
hands as I lotion them. Is your spirit
outgrowing your body? Old One, you ask
me for some candy. You stay so restless
and fill my mind with questions about
how a woman dies. Everything seems so
unreal, yet my groaning reaches for
conclusions. I wash your face and brush
your teeth and wish I could do something
more for you.
June 5: Today you are a new person
with no semblance of that limp, string of
clay, sipping breath. You're talking
today. Among other things you say,
"People don't like me anymore." We have
THE MENNONITE 507
changed? Yes, I have changed. I have
learned to love you — as we journey this
last round.
June 26: Today you are the queen,
the lady of the house, shoulders back.
Today you are unaware of your pass with
death. You are yourself again — no, not
quite. You tell me you have nothing to
say and finally you pull up your chair
and reach out your hands. I hold your
head in my hands, a wheelchair hug.
Dec. 28: Tonight I felt that I won't see
you again. I was crying when the nurse
came in. I said, "It's so hard for me to
see her this way."
She said, "I can hardly stand it."
Jan. 4: Is it January already? The
nurse called to tell me you have gone.
Before the storms of winter came, you
have seen another kind of season.
Jan. 7: Uncle and I went to the
funeral home. I was surprised that so
much of my grieving had already been
done — that I didn't need to cry.
Jan. 8: Funeral today, 10 a.m.
Ann Wenger lives in
Elkhart, Ind., and is a
member of Communion
Fellowship, Goshen,
Ind. Adah Good
Burkhalter Wenger,
missionary to India,
1919-1952, died Jan. 4,
1985.
Secondhand
Suzanne Lawrence
Sadness is secondhand,
Never new.
Someone may remember seeing it
Worn before,
A garment worn
But not worn out.
Suzanne Lawrence's address is Route
2, Box 49A, Hillsboro, KS 67063. She
is a member of New Creation Fellow-
ship, Newton, Kan.
Black Kansas soil,
grey Bolivian cement
(In memory of Joel Mueller)
Helen Baergen
Two workmen in dark coveralls stood ready,
waiting to lift the coffin
to its niche in the mausoleum
No black Kansas soil to hold his body,
instead
a wheelbarrow of Cochabamba cement,
a trowel and a pail of water
to secure his resting place until that day.
From Buenos Aires, Yapacani,
Santa Cruz, and Halstead, Kansas,
with Mennonite hymns and Latin American choruses,
English Scriptures and Spanish prayers,
north and south had come together
to grieve, to look to God for comfort and hope.
And then the Capinota man stepped forward
surrounded by his people;
their babies in their black "aguayos,"
mountain mud on their rubber-tire sandals,
sorrow in their dark eyes.
"Joel," he said, placing his hand on the coffin,
"You came to us, bringing hope,
You came to us, showing that you cared.
You taught us how to plant trees
and how to make them grow.
You worked with us to build a bridge across the river
and a bridge across our misunderstandings.
What you have planted, we will water;
what you have started we pledge to continue;
Until we meet again, farewell, our friend."
In death as in life, Joel had brought people together,
had blended north with south.
Black Kansas soil and grey Bolvian cement:
a monument of faith in God.
Helen Baergen, formerly of Cochabamba, Bolivia
(now of Kitchener, OntJ, says, "We were impressed by
the way the Capinota people came to show their ap-
preciation and sorrow when Joel Mueller died" (in
1988 of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 36). He had
worked for Mennonite Central Committee in Bolivia.
508 NOVEMBER 27, 1990
John Bender
Grandmother is in a nursing center.
She's 103. She grew up in a generation
in which you took care of your own. Her
children, too, grew up with the expecta-
tions of taking care of their own. But
times have changed. Grandmother's son
and daughter-in-law are each 80 years
old. Taking care of your own has a new
twist.
Prepare
to take
Grandmother's care is a credit to her
family, church and community's aware-
ness of what is needed. While her son
and daughter-in-law are intimately
involved, they are not responsible for her
day-to-day care, such as preparing
meals, administering medicines, plan-
ning activities. They come to visit. They
come for parties with Grandmother and
other residents of the home. They also
come to have their needs met. They
come for continuing education on how to
meet the challenges of their aging.
These 80-year-olds experience commu-
nity and the resources for aging that the
103-year-old did not have. The church
now takes older people into account and
speaks to their needs. Getting older is
something to anticipate.
This couple in their 80s nurture
contact with their children. In the proud
and humble moments of daily devotions
they remember the children, grandchil-
dren and Grandmother. Caring for their
own spans the generations and adapts to
reality in the late-20th century. Does
caring for our own work out that well?
Yes, says LaJane Yoder, Goshen, Ind.
It is her 103-year-old grandmother, Mary
Richer, who reaps the benefits of a
forward-looking nursing home. Those
are her parents, Walter and Alice Richer,
Wauseon, Ohio, learning that growing
older is simply life in a new tense. That
is how LaJane muses on how our choices
and priorities shape the future that is
already present.
LaJane is part of the generation of
children scattered beyond the home
community. This age group is busy
taking care of their own middle years,
their children, their jobs, their produc-
tion, their doing. The picture is not
always so rosy.
Chart a new course: Walter Drudge,
senior social work psychotherapist with
Oaklawn, a Mennonite-related mental
health center serving communities in
Elkhart (Ind.) County and beyond, sees
the problems of parenting up close. He
reflects on problems that get in the way
of parenting one's parents creatively and
helpfully. He also holds out hope
because he has a vision for meaningful
living at every stage of life.
"One would think that after the time
when a couple has raised their children
and recognize they are no longer able to
produce offspring, many resources would
be available for helping their parents,"
Drudge says. The thought oversimplifies
the case, however, "because as children
make their exit, often the parent feels
some loss, perhaps depression, and feels
less than useful," Drudge says. "The
mother, for instance, may not have a
professional or vocational role outside
the home to turn to. The father about
this time usually is the most productive
in terms of work but realizes that he
cannot produce forever."
The middle-aged couple is sorting out
their new course at a time when their
parents develop new needs. They want
some freedom from parenting. Feelings
range from positive to negative. Some
problems have to do with the nature of
the relationship. The couple's children
may still be struggling to become adults.
Or the senior generation has not relin-
quished its parenting role.
Healthy interaction with elderly
parents is possible, Drudge says, "if there
has been a positive relationship and
freedom to be adult to one's aged par-
ents." For effective parent-to-parent
caring, the generations need to have
developed a healthy adult-to-adult
relationship over a number of years.
Avoid labels: Senior parents should
participate in decision-making. Younger
generations need to overcome the myth
that after a certain age people are only
good for being on the shelf.
Walter Drudge often finds aging people
unfairly labeled. "It is easy for people to
say that someone over 65 is becoming
senile because 'he forgot this' or 'she did
that.' Older people are no more forgetful
than teenagers, who regularly forget.
Many people in early adulthood are
forgetful, yet we don't label them senile."
Behind the labeling is a failure to
understand or account for change. The
older person may have retired from some
meaningful activity. "In the absence of
self-worth [the older person] becomes de-
pressive, and middle-aged children may
say, 'This is so unusual for my mom [or
my dad]. She [he] should probably go to
a nursing home.'" Such a response
pressures a parent to make decisions
prematurely.
Drudge recommends that middle-aged
and older people look at the meaning of
life beyond their productive years. Part
of life is doing, he says. The other part is
being. "I'd like to be remembered for
being a kind person, not what I pro-
duced," he says. Such qualities of being
are better observed than explained. For
care of
your own
instance, one may spend several hours
with another. Nothing is produced or
decided or achieved except for an
exchange of conversation. Yet the time is
uplifting and enriching. That's the worth
of being. Drudge concludes, "Human
growth and development can go on
throughout life."
John Bender, Elkhart, Ind., is director of
information services for Associated
Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart,
and director of communications for the
Mennonite Church.
I asked for an
overdose
Yes, I did. A professional writer residing
in a nursing home because of the plague
multiple sclerosis, it seemed at that time
that my writing career had come to a
screeching halt.
Greencroft Nursing Center in Goshen,
Ind., is a Christian institution and does
not give overdoses. Instead the nurses
called in my pastor at that time, Arnold
Roth.
"What discourages you?" Arnold asked.
"Not being able to accomplish the
things I want to do."
Then he quoted something I had heard
before but that spoke to my condition
that day.
"It's not as important to do as to be,"
he said.
To this day I try to remember this
advice. Helen Good Brenneman
THE MENNONITE 509
How to help yourself or others
In or out of the hospital
Mariace Berg Zacharias
nhave had at least a dozen lengthy
hospital stays. What I learned as a
patient may suggest things you can
do when you are a patient, when you get
out of the hospital and when you know
someone in the hospital.
Life is precious. Cherish each day.
Live in a way God intended. Take
nothing for granted — your health,
nature, the great outdoors. Enjoy them.
Thank God for them.
Listen to people. Sympathize. For
many, being in the hospital is traumatic.
Perhaps you can tell them how God has
helped you.
I have had opportunities to help those
more helpless than I. With the exception
of two major surgeries, I usually got
around all right when I was in the
hospital. One can mail letters, tele-
phone, bring something from the cafete-
ria for a neighbor or get help for people
flat on their back. Twice during one stay
I saved my roommate from choking to
death by running for a nurse.
A mobile patient should walk as much
as possible. It is unbelievable how
rubbery your legs become. Walk to the
solarium. Strike up a conversation with
a fellow patient. Do a jigsaw puzzle, and
others will join you. Visit other patients
confined to bed. It is a mission on legs.
You can walk to the hospital's chapel for
worship.
If you can pack before going to the
hospital, take your favorite hobby, a
thick book, lots of writing paper. I have
knitted many gifts while in the hospital
and caught up on correspondence and
reading.
Consider donating some free time to
your community. Teenagers can be
candy stripers (volunteers). They fill
water jugs and do errands in hospitals.
Fresh ice water is so important in a hot,
dry hospital room when you are flat on
your back after surgery. Adults can
volunteer to take the hospital cart
(canteen) around. They are worth their
weight in gold from a patient's viewpoint.
I have used enough donated books and
jigsaw puzzles in a hospital solarium so
that now I donate ours whenever
possible. Most children's wards need
toys.
When you are a patient, phone home if
possible. Your family is concerned about
you and needs that phone call. If you are
a mobile patient, you can phone for the
person who is bedridden or the older
person who does not know how to operate
a pay phone.
When you get out of the hospital and
are back on your non-rubbery feet, do
some visiting. Call on those you got to
know in the hospital, especially the ones
who are still there. They welcome news
from the outside world. Visit those who
may never get out. You now realize more
than ever before the importance of
visiting. The last time I was in the
hospital with pneumonia one of my good
friends asked if there was anything
she could bring me. Yes. I was out of
toothpaste.
Do not get discouraged when you are
in the hospital for a long time. All those
tests are for your good. Beds are at a
premium; you will be let out when you
are physically ready. Spend time each
day in Bible reading and prayer. Do not
pray only for yourself and your family at
home, but pray also for those around
you.
When you are a patient, be cooperative
with the nurses and doctors. They are
not often unreasonable. The treatments,
tests, study sessions (with you as the
guinea pig) and the million questions are
for your good or someone else's.
I learned not to accept sleeping pills.
It is tempting because the night noises
are often unbearable, but they are
nothing compared to weaning yourself
from sleeping pills after a long hospital
stay.
Patience becomes your middle name
when you are a patient. You wait for
visitors. You stare at a hole in the door.
You wait for nurses to answer the
buzzer. You wait for the doctor to show
up. You wait for mail, for results and
ultimately for your release.
I learned to send cards and letters to
people in the hospital. These cannot be
underestimated.
Hospitals can give you more opportuni-
ties for Christian service than you can
handle. Remember what Christ said:
"Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one
of the least of these who are members of
my family, you did it to me" (Matthew
25:40).
Mariace Berg
Zacharias' address is
Fiske, SKSOL ICO.
Needles and
nestlings
My baby is hospitalized because of
dehydration. The needles keep
slipping out of her tiny veins.
Nurses prick her again and again to
restart her intravenous feeding.
My baby is hoarse from crying.
Bewildered, her eyes search mine.
"Why do you let these strangers
hurt me?" she seems to say. "Do you
care? I wish you would hold me and
let me nestle in your arms."
If only she knew how much it
hurts me to see her suffer. I ache to
hold her but cannot because she is
restrained. I can only pray, stroke
her and cry with her.
Sometimes I am like my baby.
Life's needles hurt me. I do not
understand what is happening nor
why God allows it. But God cares.
God is with me through it all.
"As a father has compassion for
his children, so the Lord has
compassion for those who fear him"
(Psalm 103:13).
I am glad that when life's needles
prick me I can nestle in my Father's
arms. Verda J. Glick, Apartado
Postal 1929, Santa Ana, El Salvador
510 NOVEMBER 27, 1990
years of surgery for God
Beth Hege
Nearly 40 years ago the Korean
War was in the headlines.
Flattops were in style. TV talk
shows did not exist.
Thirty-seven years ago Roland Brown
began a ministry in Taiwan that has
persisted through the changing fads and
political turmoil, a work that will persist
for years to come.
Brown founded the Mennonite Chris-
tian Hospital in Hualien. When he
arrived in 1953, it was not the high-tech,
200-bed facility it is now. Brown began
as a Mennonite Central Committee
worker in a small clinic that served the
mountain people of Hualien. The
common language among the people was
Japanese, and Brown, who spoke Can-
tonese, used an interpreter.
At the clinic "a whole family would
camp at the back part of the building,"
Brown says. "I converted it to beds and
set up one small operating room." That
was the beginning of the hospital.
Brown turned to MCC when he was
drafted for the Korean War. Two months
after he began his term, Selective Service
sent him a discharge notice, but Brown
chose to stay in Taiwan for three years.
It was not the first time he had chosen
alternative service. As a college student
during World War II Brown served two
years in Civilian Public Service. He
spent the majority of his term as a
mental health worker in the state
hospital in Marlboro, N.J., after a brief
stint at the soil conservation camp in
Downey, Idaho.
Brown had taken an interest in psy-
chology while studying at Bethel College,
North Newton, Kan. Following his
graduation in 1947, he went to the
University of Chicago Medical School to
continue studies in psychiatry. "After
the first year of med school, I started
feeling the Lord calling me to mission
work," Brown says. "At first I thought I
could teach overseas in a medical school,
but I became aware of cultural differ-
ences that would make this difficult.
"Other areas seemed more useful. By
the time I took my internship, I had
decided to go into surgery."
In some ways Brown was following the
footsteps of his father, Henry J. Brown,
who had started missionary work in
China in 1909. "Somewhere along the
line Dad had a year or so of medical
training," says Brown. "But after I
became interested in medicine he
wouldn't talk about it anymore."
As a doctor Brown faced recovery and
death on a daily basis. "The relationship
between a doctor and a patient is
unique," he says. "Sometimes the prog-
nosis was clearer to me than to them.... I
knew they had a fatal disease. Some-
times it was a chance to witness."
Healing is a mysterious process, he
says. "We don't understand all that
occurs in healing. I believe that miracles
can occur, but it isn't a regular way. As
a routine God would not set aside the
laws of nature. But I personally know of
people with fatal diseases who were
cured without medication."
Now that Brown and his wife, Sophie
(Schmidt) Brown, are back in the United
States on North America Assignment for
the Commission on Overseas Mission, he
says he misses his patients, his friends
and the beautiful scenery. "We lived
three blocks from the ocean and two
miles from the mountains. It was green
all year round."
Since 1953 the Browns have spent only
nine years in the United States, four of
which were in surgical residency at
Harper Hospital, Detroit. Friends
questioned his decision to serve with
COM rather than stay in the United
States and become a wealthy doctor.
"The Lord called me to Taiwan," he
says. "There was a need there to fill. I
enjoyed working with the people and
living there. I didn't feel a reason to
leave. Then last fall I had the feeling
God told me, 'OK, you can retire now.'"
The work in Taiwan "has been very
much worth it," he says. "If the govern-
ment took over the hospital or for some
reason the hospital disappeared, it still
would have been worth it. The hospital
was not the goal. It was the ministry."
Beth Hege is news service editor for the
General Conference Mennonite Church
Healing is a mysterious process: Brown (center) doing surgery in Taiwan
THE MENNONITE 511
The shifting political behavior
of Mennonites and Brethren in Christ
Leland Harder
ennonites and Brethren in
Christ used to shun any
involvement in national or
state politics. Government, according to
their early statements, while ordained of
God according to Romans 13, cannot
operate on the non-resistant principles of
Christ's kingdom.
Already in 1972 the first Church
Member Profile of five Mennonite-related
denominations showed a shift in think-
ing about political involvement. These
groups (Mennonite Church, General Con-
ference Mennonite Church, Mennonite
Brethren, Brethren in Christ, Evangeli-
cal Mennonite Church) were moving
away from limited or no political partici-
pation to freer but selective participation
in the political process.
Now the 1989 Church Member Profile
shows this shift toward greater political
involvement increasing. In fact, in a
short, 16-year period, the shifts in
political views of these groups has been
remarkable. Here are some survey
comparisons:
Church-state relationships
1. "It is not the business of the church
to try to influence the actions of the
government in regard to such issues
as war and peace, race relations,
poverty, etc."
1972 1989
Agree 25% 17%
Uncertain 20% 14%
Disagree 56%- 70%
2. "Seeking to improve the moral
achievements of secular society is not
the central mission of the church."
Agree 62% 58%
Uncertain 21% 19%
Disagree 18% 23%
Leland Harder, North Newton, Kan., is
associate director of Church Membership
Profile II. He is writing a book based on
the survey findings for use in Sunday
schools and other settings. He is also the
adviser to The Mennonite for the Western
District Conference.
Political participation: A similar
trend is indicated by the responses to the
next five statements probing political at-
titudes and participation:
3. "Members of our denomination
should vote in public elections for pro-
vincial and national offices."
1972 1989
Agree 76% 84%-
Uncertain 15% 10%
Disagree 9%. 6%
4. "Members of our denomination
should not hold any local, state, pro-
vincial or national government office."
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
13%
22%
64%.
8%
14%
78%.
5. "Church members should witness
directly to the state (nation) by wri-
ting to legislators, testifying before
legislative committees, etc."
Agree
Uncertain
Disagree
61% 76%
30% 19%
9% 6%
6. "In how many of the elections in re-
cent years have you voted?"
None
Some
Most or all
39%
15%
46%
19%
16%.
65%
7. "Have you ever held an elective or
appointive office in local, state, provin-
cial, city or national government?"
Yes
No
3%
97%.
4%
96%
Political party preferences: In
Canada as well as in the United States
the voting decisions of Mennonites and
Brethren in Christ are made with regard
to political parties that seek to win
control of the government in popular
elections. Although there are often
smaller parties or factions within the
same party trying to gain a foothold,
each country has mainly a two-party
system. One of the main parties gener-
ally represents a more conservative and
the other a more liberal point of view.
In Canada the Conservatives have
stood for a strong central government
and the protective tariff, while the
Liberals have supported lower tariffs and
the rights of the provinces, including the
French Canadians in Quebec. The Social
Credit Party, powerful in British Colum-
bia, rose during the Depression of the
'30s. On the assumption that its main
case was a depressed purchasing power,
it promoted ways to increase that power
among the people. The New Democratic
Party started in Saskatchewan under the
leadership of a Baptist minister with a
religious social consciousness and
merged in 1961 with the Cooperative
Commonwealth Federation with more
radical reform principles of democratic
socialism. Although French-speaking
Quebec has generally supported the
Liberal Party since its own Sir Wilfrid
Laurier became Prime Minister of
Canada in 1896, several separatist
parties have attempted to gain power
on platforms of French-Canadian
nationalism.
In the United States the two-party
system emerged despite the hope of the
founding fathers that the new govern-
ment could operate without political
parties. Although no provision for
parties was written into the Consti-
tution, they quickly became the means
by which political power was brokered.
The Democratic Party dominated the
government from 1801 to 1861 on the
principles of states' rights and the strict
interpretation of the Constitution —
basically conservative principles. The
new Republican Party (also called the
GOP for "Grand Old Party") won its first
national election in 1860 under Lincoln.
Except for the terms of Cleveland and
Wilson, the GOP held the presidency
from 1861 to 1933.
The roles reversed during this period
as the Democrats became increasingly
the party of criticism and protest,
standing for lower tariffs and economic
reforms, especially during the corrupt
administrations of Grant and Harding
and the economic collapse during
Hoover's term. A new, more socially
liberal Democratic Party emerged during
Franklin Roosevelt's four terms ( 1933-
1945 ), and in principle it has been the
party of socioeconomic reform since then,
symbolized best today perhaps by the
liberal spirit of the Kennedys.
With this history and the above grid in
mind, we asked our respondents, "With
which one of the following (American)
(Canadian) political positions do you
tend to be most in sympathy or in
agreement?"
512 NOVEMBER 27,1990
1972
1989
Canada
Separatist, WCC, etc.
0%
2%
Progressive
Conservative
31%
47%
Social Credit
15%
6%
Liberal
25%
19%
Party
6%
12%
None of the above
23%
14%
United States
Republican,
conservative wing
35%
46%
Republican,
liberal wing
9%
8%
Democratic,
conservative wing
5%
10%
Democratic,
liberal wing
6%
9%
Independent or
another party
9%
3%
None of the above
35%
23%
Starting with the bottom row in each
list, we note, first, that in both countries
our church members are more ready in
1989 than in 1972 to take a political
position. Our second observation is that
not only was the party of choice in both
countries the more conservative one but
also that Mennonite and Brethren in
Christ identification with those parties
gained ground from 31 percent to 47
percent with the Progressive Conserva-
tives in Canada and from 44 percent to
54 percent with the Republican Party
(combined wings) in the United States.
In Canada this shift to the Conservative
Party results in slight declines in
references for the Liberal and Social
Credit Parties; but this shift notwith-
standing, the third interesting develop-
ment to note is that as more of our
church members were willing to identify
themselves with some political position,
both the NDP in Canada and the
Democratic Party in the United States
gained some adherence, that latter from
11 percent to 19 percent.
These smaller shifts may not seem so
significant, but if they reflect the
increased urbanization and education of
our people, we should expect a greater
increase in political pluralism in future
elections accompanying a greater
willingness in our churches to debate the
issues and discern their ethical implica-
tions in the light of our faith.
There are significant differences
among the five groups on these issues,
especially in the United States, where
party identification of members breaks
down as follows:
Republican
Mennonite Church 47%
General Conference 50%
Mennonite Brethren 78%
Brethren in Christ 71%
Evangelical Mennonite 79%
Voting behavior: The choices that our
respondents made in the voting booth in
the last national elections add little to
the picture of changes already painted,
since we do not have comparable data for
1972. What we can do is compare the
most recent Mennonite and Brethren in
Christ vote with the national vote and to
reflect on some of the factors involved in
the choices.
For whom voted in last national election
Mennonite
national
vote
vote
In Canada
Brian Mulroney
(Conservative)
59%
43%
John Turner
( Liberal )
19%
32%
Edward Broadbent
(New Democratic)
12%
20%
Another candidate
9%
5%
In the United States
George Bush
(Republican)
72%
54%
Michael Dukakis
(Democratic)
27%
46%
Another candidate
1%
In Canada (the Mennonite vote not-
withstanding) the Liberal opposition led
by Turner almost succeeded in unseating
Mulroney by focusing the campaign on
the issue of the U.S. -Canadian Free
Trade Agreement (FTA). Turner, who
had briefly served as Prime Minister
following the resignation of Pierre
Trudeau in 1984, claimed that the
ratification of the FTA would lead to
Canada's becoming an American colony
or perhaps even its 51st state. Although
this was predominantly a two-party
battle, the NDP candidate, Broadbent,
was in a position to act as power broker
should neither of the main candidates
win a majority in the House of Commons.
As it turned out, neither an NDP-Liberal
nor an NDP-Conservative alignment
was needed because Broadbent' s candi-
dacy split the anti-FTA forces and
Mulroney won a majority in the House
of Commons.
The U.S. election was less sharply
focused than the Canadian election, as
the two major candidates avoided any
meaningful debate of the important
issues facing the country. It was a nasty
campaign in which the Republican
candidate won on a media blitz centered
on the flag (the issue of patriotism),
Willie Horton (the issue of softness on
Democratic
Other
None
20%'
4%
29%
27%-
59?
18%
12%
10%
10%
3%
16%
8%.
1%
12%
criminals) and the "read my lips" slogan
(the issue of whether or not to raise new
taxes to balance the federal budget).
Political discernment: How can Jesus
Christ be Lord of our politics? Is it really
possible to discern every political issue in
the light of the Scriptures and the
teachings of Jesus? Although the
church's discernment process is complex
at best, Jesus' promise to send the Holy
Spirit to help us sort through these
difficult issues and to make political
choices is a central New Testament
teaching. It should not be difficult to
specify the basic biblical principles, such
as the following for starters:
• Religious and political freedoms are
divine rights.
• All people have a divine right to
share in the earth's resources for
sustenance and well-being.
• Christians are called to be advocates
for the poor, for victims of injustice and
for the wounded of every kind in our
fallen world.
• Every person is created in the image
of God no matter how far from that
image the person has fallen because of
sin and needs to be loved as God loved us
while we were still sinners.
When we evaluate political candidates
by their commitment to principles like
these, we assert Christ's lordship over
politics. Because they will vary in their
commitments to biblical principles and
because we cannot always assume that
so-called "born again" candidates will be
better committed than other candidates,
we should look for candidates who are
most broadly concerned about our basic
ethical principles.
As Christians trying to make political
decisions, we are dependent on each
other in the church and on knowledge-
able and concerned people and groups in
the larger community. We can trust the
Holy Spirit to guide us in our involve-
ments at each level: by using reliable
guides to the political views and voting
records of candidates, by paving atten-
tion to their public statements, by
making personal contacts and asking
pertinent questions, by commissioning
fact-finding committees in our church to
give us guidance on the issues of the
election, and by active participation in
political discernment groups in church
and community. Our political involve-
ment is one of the crucial ways by which
we bear witness that Jesus Christ is
Lord. •
THE MENNONITE 513
Christian Peacemaker Teams has received approval from Iraqi officials to send a 12-member
delegation to Iraq this month to work for peace as representatives of Mennonites and other
peace churches. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry approved CPT's request Nov. 6. CPT coordinator
Gene Stoltzfus announced the delegation's plans Nov. 9 at the Christian Peace Revival in
Denver. About 100 Mennonites and others who support CPT attended the weekend peace
gathering, which gave special emphasis to Christian response to the Middle East crisis.
Stoltzfus, who will lead the delegation to Iraq, said on Nov. 13 that the delegation will travel to
Iraq on Nov. 21 and remain there for approximately 10 days. "Our purpose is to link up with
whatever spiritual forces may be at work to create a spiritual force for peacemaking," said
Stoltzfus, who is from Chicago. Participants plan to bring food and medicine as expressions of
concern for the Iraqi people's needs. They expect to meet with government officials and
religious leaders and to pray with the Iraqi people. Stoltzfus said that the delegation would tell
the Iraqis that many Americans are deeply opposed to going to war in the Middle East. "We will
speak out of a faith position widely held among the churches that support us and many others
as well who are aware that a war will sow the seeds for a destructive relationship for decades to
come," he said. Because CPT's funds are limited, each delegation member is paying about
$1 ,500 to go on the trip, Stoltzfus said.
NEWS
MILC seeks renewal after loss, asks for prayer
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)— At its
annual meeting Oct. 1 1-14 in
Montana, Mennonite Indian
Leaders Council sought
renewal and reconciliation after
a difficult financial loss.
Approximately $1 10,000 of
MILC money earmarked for
alcoholism recovery programs,
economic development,
scholarships and Hopi Mission
School, Kykotsmovi, Ariz., was
lost in a trade by Allied Fortune,
an investment company in
Oklahoma City. MILC leaders
began investing funds in 1988
in an effort to develop an
ongoing source of endowment
income. They were shocked to
learn of Allied's collapse this
past summer.
A portion of the amount
invested may be recovered in a
settlement pool, say attorneys
working on behalf of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church. A report may be filed
with the Oklahoma Securities
Commission for possible
investigation of securities
violations. MILC relates to the
Commission on Home Minis-
tries but administers its funds
independently.
The October meeting on the
Northern Cheyenne Indian
Reservation provided an
opportunity for MILC members
to process their grief and plan
for the future. Willis Busenitz,
pastor at White River Chey-
enne Mennonite Church,
Busby, Mont., opened the
session by saying, "It's time to
renew our commitment to be
the church." Delegates
forgave — in effect ministered
to — one another concerning the
loss of monies given them
through the Call to Kingdom
Commitments fund drive.
Approximately $1 5,000 of the
CKC money not lost in the
Allied Fortune trade was used
to fund alcohol recovery
programs, economic develop-
ment and scholarships.
After the meetings, Malcolm
Wenger, CHM executive
committee member, reflected
on the situation: "MILC was
trying to set up endowments to
fund their own programs and
move away from dependency
on the General Conference."
MILC drafted a statement
(see below) that emphasized its
gratitude for the CKC gifts.
MILC delegates also dealt
with other business. Two
proposals failed: one to re-
structure MILC to include a
Phoenix, Ariz., urban represen-
tative on the executive commit-
tee and another to change the
fiscal year. The group tabled a
proposal to have an administra-
tive assistant.
MILC heard reports from
various communities and from
the Native Ministries program in
Canada. Ray Horst of Men-
nonite Board of Missions,
Elkhart, Ind., gave a report from
United Native Ministries
Council of the Mennonite
Church. Horst indicated a
strong interest for United Native
Ministries to have joint meet-
ings with MILC.
Harold Nussbaum, assistant
executive secretary of Menno-
nite Central Committee,
reported MCC's interest in
working with MILC concerning
the 500th anniversary of
Columbus' arrival in America.
Remember Fort Robinson:
Ted Risingson, Busby, pre-
sented information on the Fort
Robinson (Neb.) project, a
visitors' center. The project
tells the story of a small group
of Cheyenne men, women and
children who were captured by
the U.S. Army in 1879 while
trying to escape the reservation
in Oklahoma and return to their
home in Montana. The group
broke out of its military intern-
ment at Fort Robinson. The
massacre that followed
received national attention, and
public outrage eventually
forced the federal government
to provide a small reservation
for the Cheyenne in the
traditional tribal homeland.
The Fort Robinson project
would emphasize the history
and culture of the Cheyenne
people, provide economic
opportunities for Cheyenne
artists and craftspeople and
foster reconciliation.
The business meeting ended
with the election of new officers
for three-year terms: Wilbur
Goombi, Bacavi, Ariz., chair;
Phyllis Ramirez, Clinton, Okla.,
and Bertha Limberhand, Lame
Deer, Mont., executive board.
MILC will meet next year in
Phoenix. Beth Hege
MILC statement on CKC funds
The Call to Kingdom Commitments funds came to the
Mennonite Indian Leaders Council for projects to provide
good deeds in the name of Christ for our Indian people and
communities. We are grateful to the General Conference
Mennonite Church for giving us this gift and opportunity for
ministry. We endeavored to set up endowments for the funds
we so generously received; however, we regret that some of
the monies were lost when the company we invested with
suffered losses. We are grateful that there were monies used
for their intended purpose, namely alcoholism, scholarship
and economic development programs. These programs
remain areas of need, along with our Hopi Mission School
program. Mennonite Indian Leaders Council requests the
prayers of the wider church and for continuing support.
514 NOVEMBER 27, 1990
The Commission on Overseas
Mission of the General Conference
Mennonite Church is sponsoring a
MENNO (Mennonites Encountering
New Neighbors Overseas) work
project Jan. 26-Feb. 9, 1991, in
Colombia. MENNO needs 10
workers. COM is also accepting
applications for Colombia '91 , a
seven-week work/study camp for
young adults slated for July 1 -Aug.
19, 1991. For information contact
COM, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14-
0347, (316) 283-5100.
Mennonite Central Committee is contributing $24,000
(U.S.) to an interchurch group in Colombia. The money
will help the group initiate a conscientious objector pro-
gram. In Colombia, 17- to 18-year-old men are
obligated to serve in the armed forces when chosen by
lot. Those who object to doing military service are
"forced to join and sometimes are mistreated and
persecuted," says Peter Stucky of the Mennonite
Church in Colombia. The Collective for Conscientious
Objection to Military Service in Colombia hopes to have
conscientious objection included in the nation's
constitutional reform or as a national law that would
allow alternative civil service in place of military service.
"Colombia is one of the most violent societies in the
world," says Stucky. The armed forces, paramilitary
groups, drug traffickers, ranchers' vigilantes and
guerrilla forces all contribute to the violence, he says.
"Women at the Well" will be the
theme of the annual Women in
Ministry Conference, to be held March
1 -3, 1 991 , at Christopher Dock
Mennonite School, Lansdale, Pa.
Mary Schertz, professor at Associated
Mennonite Biblical Seminaries,
Elkhart, Ind., is the featured speaker.
For more information contact Rosie
Epp, 306 Emmons Drive, 5-B, Prince-
ton, NJ 08540, (609) 243-9601 .
NEWS
Budget builders will need
to live in economic reality
Newton, Kan. (GCMC)— When
the Division of General
Services of the General
Conference Mennonite Church
met here Nov. 2-3, they passed
a recommendation to shear
some $180,000 off the budget
for next year.
"If giving to the General
Conference Mennonite Church
continues at its current rate, the
conference will experience a
considerable shortfall at the
end of its fiscal year," confer-
ence treasurer Ted Stuckey
said. "The current trends are
the most troubling I have en-
countered in my 15 years as
treasurer." Stuckey estimates
that the conference may
receive only 88 percent of its
projected income of
$5,318,207, a shortfall of
$662,850. "Boards and staff
face difficult and painful
decisions due to the financial
realities of today and the giving
trends facing us."
Stuckey bases his calcula-
tions on data regarding giving
over the past several years.
Approximately 85 percent of
General Conference contribu-
tions come through congrega-
tions, which either collect gifts
for the conference or budget
amounts to be sent. The
remaining 15 percent comes
from individuals who send gifts
directly to the conference and
from bequests, annuities,
interest and other sources.
Stuckey compares giving to
date in 1990 to the proportion
usually received in other years
to calculate this year's rate. He
then estimates contributions for
the remainder of the year.
"Since commitments to
spending have already been
made, particularly for salaries
for missionaries and other
personnel, the conference will
likely spend more than it
receives," Stuckey says. The
fiscal year ends Jan. 31 , 1 991 .
As of Oct. 31 , the conference
had received $2,527,760 or
47.5 percent of its expected
income, compared to a five-
year average of 52.5 percent.
The implications of the
budget shortfall include
eliminating both programs and
personnel, but at this stage
board members discussed the
cuts in general terms rather
than specifics. Jim Harder,
North Newton, Kan., and Jake
Fransen, Smithville, Ont., said
that the churches may yet
respond to the needs of the
conference. "We can challenge
them to save these programs,"
said Fransen.
When asked the implications
of a downturn, Vern Preheim,
general secretary, says,
"Unless congregations and
individuals increase their giving
substantially in the next few
months, the commissions will
cut program and support
services in 1991. That's
painful, but it is the only
alternative."
"This is what it looks like
we're going to have to do," said
DGS member R. Lee Delp,
Lansdale, Pa. "We have
December and January to turn
it around."
A final decision on budget
will be made in March 1991
based on actual 1990 income.
In 1989 the conference
received 93.2 percent of
expected contributions. As a
result, the budget of 1990 was
not increased. The previous
year 97.6 percent of the budget
was raised.
In other business, the board
discussed an upcoming fund-
next two to four years but
recognizes that declining
readership levels will require
significant downscaling by the
end of the decade. In addition,
editor Gerhard Ens intends to
retire at age 70 in 1 992. DGS
named four people to serve on
the search committee to find a
successor.
Staff of The Mennonite
presented a new format for the
magazine that will be incorpo-
rated in early 1 991 . They also
"Unless congregations and individuals
increase their giving substantially in the
next few months, the commissions will cut
program and support services in 1991.
That's painful, but it is the only
alternative."
Vern Preheim, GCMC general secretary
raising strategy to follow A Call
to Kingdom.Commitments,
which ended in September. A
low-key effort focused on major
donors and churches met the
approval of the board. The
planned-giving office also
presented a proposal to
recognize major donors. After
some fine-tuning by DGS, the
proposal passed.
Publications of the confer-
ence fall under the DGS
umbrella. The board consid-
ered the future of Der Bote, a
German newspaper published
weekly in Winnipeg. The
division hopes to maintain the
paper in its current form for the
reported that the number of
subscribers to The Mennonite
on cassette has more than
doubled since last year.
While the meetings primarily
focused on the nuts-and-bolts
issues of budget and program,
DGS spent some time in a
more philosophical mode.
They discussed integration with
the Mennonite Church and
brainstormed for ideas to better
communicate with and serve
the GC constituency. Dave
Linscheid, director of communi-
cations, and Beth Hege, editor
of news service, both of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church
THE MENNONITE 515
In 1989 Witness for Peace helped a British doctor study the
psychological effects of the war among the residents of a farming
cooperative in central Nicaragua. Of the 21 men and 22 women
interviewed, most suffered from either depression, anxiety, sleep
disturbances, tension headaches, psychosomatic illnesses or a
combination of several problems. Only six showed no evidence of
stress. Almost without exception the victims said that their
disturbances appeared after the war began and affected their daily
life. Similar to symptoms shown by Jewish survivors of the Nazi
Holocaust, these Nicaraguans find themselves crippled and
haunted in the present by unforgettable memories from their past.
One 18-year-old woman said, "I feel as if my blood is terrorized."
( Witness for Peace Newsletter)
A group of Catholic, Protestant and Jewish clergy has called
the U.S. government's "war on drugs" a disaster that has done
more harm than good. The Religious Coalition for a Moral Drug
Policy issued a 54-page statement condemning federal antidrug
efforts as an attempt to enforce morality — a strategy the report
says has backfired as profits from illegal drug trade continue to
lure the young and the poor. It reads in part, "We have per-
formed the burial services for scores of the tens of thousands of
young men who have died in turf wars. ...Our conclusion is simple
and unavoidable: Decriminalize drugs as they were during the
1 9th century. Doing so would end drug gangs, drug heroes and
drug-related shootings, restore parental authority, forge again the
connection between work and reward and cut crime by one-half
to three-quarters." {National Catholic Reporter
NEWS
Dual-conference committee
seeks consensus on
ordination, calling, ministry
Chicago (MBCM)— What does
ordination mean? Who
ordains? Why do it? The joint
Mennonite Church and General
Conference Mennonite Church
leadership polity committee met
here in August to continue
building a consensus around
these issues.
"It would be easier if we still
used the King James Version,"
said Willis Breckbill, committee
chairman. "The KJV uses the
word 'ordain,' but newer
versions use the word 'appoint.'
The word 'ordain' is used six
times in the KJV New
Testament."
At the heart of the consensus
emerging from the committee's
work is the conviction that the
church should ordain to a
variety of ministries. However,
the pastoral ministry office is
Church-related job opening:
The search committee of the
Pacific Coast Conference (MC)
and the Northwest region of the
Pacific District Conference (GC) is
open to receive applications for the
position of conference minister.
The position is to be filled by the
summer of 1991 . Prerequisites
include seminary training and
pastoral experience. Confidential-
ity assured.
Contact Richard Headings, 230
View Lane, Lebanon, OR 97355,
(503) 258-8738 (home) or (503)
258-5789 (office) for job descrip-
tion or more information
one of the key roles in the
church and is understood in the
context of a threefold ministry:
conference minister, minister
and deacon (GC) or elder
(MC). Struggling to define
terms acceptable to all areas of
the two denominations, these
three terms are most often
used to describe the roles of
overseer, congregational
pastor and congregational lay
minister. It is expected that the
new polity statement emerging
from the committee's work will
have as its basis this threefold
dimension to leadership
ministries.
Another consensus emerging
from the discussions includes
the concept of "office." The
current draft of the ordination
document notes that "the
offices of ministry belong to the
church." In some parts of the
Mennonite Church this has
been referred to as "the calling"
or "the charge." John Esau,
director of ministerial leader-
ship services for the General
Conference Mennonite Church,
explains that the term "office"
means that "what the church
gives to the pastor is a position
from which to function effec-
tively in ministry."
This charge, or office, carries
in it at least four dynamics for a
pastor: (1 ) a parental-type role
in which the pastor represents
wisdom and love to the
congregation, (2) a leadership
role in which vision and
organizational skill enable the
congregation to move into the
future, (3) a representational
role in which the pastor is seen
as a symbol of the congrega-
tion to the world, representing
the faith community, and (4) a
spiritual or a priestly role
through which the pastor
represents and speaks the
word of God.
At the heart of the
consensus from the
committee's work is
the conviction that
the church should
ordain to a variety
of ministries.
The polity statement on
ordination emerging from the
committee's work is now in the
form of an outline, with the first
of three sections written and
ready for testing. This first
section deals with biblical and
theological understandings and
was to be shared with the
General Boards of the denomi-
nations at their joint meeting
Nov. 16-17 in Chicago. The
second section, dealing with
the history of ordination from
the New Testament church
through the Reformation and
through both MC and GC
history, is expected by April
1991. The third section, which
is the actual polity statement,
will be drawn together during
the summer of 1991. The
committee hopes to have a first
draft of the ordination state-
ment available for testing in
1992.
General Conference Men-
nonite Church representatives
include John Braun, Steinbach,
Man.; John Esau, Newton,
Kan.; Brenda Martin Hurst,
Newton, and Erick Sawatzky,
Elkhart, Ind.
Mennonite Church represen-
tatives on the committee
include Willis Breckbill,
Goshen, Ind.; Doris Gascho,
Kitchener, Ont.; Michael
Meneses, Peoria, Ariz., and
Everett J. Thomas, executive
secretary for the Mennonite
Board of Congregational
Ministries, Elkhart.
Goshen College seeks faculty for
a full-time, long-term position in the I
Division of Teacher Education,
with emphasis on curriculum and
educational foundations. Position
open August 1991. Qualifications-
include Ph.D. or Ed.D. with
advanced graduate study in
elementary education, curriculum,
educational foundations or other
areas. Candidates with disserta-
tion in progress may be consid-
ered. Teaching experience in
elementary school preferred.
Commitment to integrating
Christian faith and the principles of
peacemaking with teaching is
important. Minority persons are
encouraged to apply.
Send resume and three profes-
sional references to John W. Eby,
Academic Dean, Goshen College,
Goshen, IN 46526. Applications
will be received until Jan. 15, 1991.
If you have further questions, call
John Eby, (219) 535-7503, or John
J. Smith, Director of Teacher
Education, (219) 535-7439.
516 NOVEMBER 27, 1990
Canada will open its doors to take in the
highest number of immigrants in 33 years.
The plan to increase immigration to
220,000 people in 1 991 is up from a
revised projection of 200,000 for this year.
This will rise to 250,000 in 1992 and in
each of the three following years. The
numbers do not include refugees. Immi-
gration Minister Barbara McDougall said
the government wants to encourage more
skilled immigrants. Critics say this will
result in more immigrants than Canada is
able to absorb, while others say it will not
be enough to offset the aging population
and lower birth rate. (Canadian Report)
"Back to God's Future: Peacemaking with the
Earth" will be the theme of the Shalom VI Confer-
ence, to be held Jan. 20-21 , 1 991 , at Spruce Lake
Retreat Center, Canadensis, Pa. Among the
resource people for this ecumenical peace confer-
ence sponsored jointly by Presbyterians and Men-
nonites are Freeman Dyson, a physicist with the
Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton, N.J., and
author of Weapons and Hope; Dale Aukerman,
Church of the Brethren author of Darkening Valley;
Rex Ahene, associate professor of economics and
business at Lafayette College, Easton, Pa., and
Jocele Meyer, who serves in the Global Education
Office of Mennonite Central Committee. For more
information contact Dennis Rafaniello, 8 Meadow
Ave., Phillipsburg, NJ 08865, or Randy Keeler at
(215) 723-5513.
Do Isaac and Marie Hildebrand
hold a record? The couple
celebrated their 75th wedding
anniversary on Nov. 1 1 . They are
members of Vineland (Ont.) United
Mennonite Church. Isaac, 95, is
the congregation's oldest member.
Isaac and Marie were married in
1 91 5 in Manitoba, where they also
were born and raised. During their
married life they have lived in
Paraguay and Ontario.
NEWS
Tolbert: "We have to clearly articulate the role of Anabaptism in the
black community."
Les Tolbert
works
to counter
racism
Newton, Kan. (GCMC) — "I want
to see this thing work," said Les
Tolbert, unabashedly frank
about his goals for developing
African-American leadership in
General Conference Mennonite
churches. Tolbert was
appointed last year to work half
time as consultant for African-
American leadership develop-
ment with the Commission on
Home Ministries.
Tolbert lives in the Chicago
suburb of Markham, III., where
he serves as associate pastor
at Community Mennonite
Church. The church is one of
four GC churches that are
substantially or entirely African-
American.
"We have to clearly articulate
the role of Anabaptism in the
black community," said Tolbert.
"We have to find ways that
communicate that this is not the
'white gospel' but something
very applicable. We have to
put feet on the gospel. Ana-
baptism says, 'Enough with
violence,' a problem that is
endemic in black communities.
Anabaptism is about econom-
ics and housing and education;
it's about meeting the real
needs of people."
Tolbert's goal is to have five
new GC churches in major
cities by the year 2000. To do
this, he and members of an
advisory committee have
developed several approaches
to the task. One directive is to
identify African-American
church planters in churches of
other denominations who are
interested in Anabaptism and
to provide training for them in
Anabaptist thought. Another
plan is to target a Mennonite
church that is in the midst of a
black community but has not
developed a strategy for
outreach. Tolbert is optimistic
about the program's current
projects but noted there are
challenges.
"Racism," he said, "is so
subtle, so pervasive. It has to
do with how you perceive life.
It's terrible what racism has
done to all of us."
Tolbert shook his head when
he spoke of the ethnicity
problem that often shuts others
out of Mennonite churches.
"What is often construed as
'Mennonite' is just German.
Those who do things differently
are looked at askance because
it's not the 'Mennonite' way of
doing things. Some find it hard
to accept a different cultural
expression of worship. They
can't tell you what an Anabap-
tist is, but they sure know how
to be a good Mennonite," he
said.
"The core themes of Anabap-
tism have no color to them,"
Tolbert said. "That's the real
tool for going into black
communities."
Tolbert is in the second year
of his two-year assignment,
which is funded partly by the
GC Call to Kingdom Commit-
ments. CHM executive
secretary Hubert Brown
expressed concern about the
future of the program. "Re-
sources are desperately
needed to keep in place a
program that focuses on the
needs and concerns of church
planting in the African-Ameri-
can community," Brown said.
Tolbert knows his task is
enormous, but he approaches
it with enthusiasm. Somewhat
of a modern-day Isaiah, Tolbert
explained why he accepted the
position. "Quite simply," he
said, "I felt that God called me
here." Beth Hege, news
service editor for the General
Conference Mennonite
Church
Faculty position in Spanish:
Opening fall 1991 . Doctorate
preferred. Women and minorities
are encouraged to apply.
Send resume to Dr. Lee Snyder.
Eastern Mennonite College,
Harrisonburg, VA 22801.
Faculty position in nursing:
Doctorate preferred. Master's
degree in psychiatric nursing
required. Minorities are encour-
aged to apply.
Send resume to Dr. Lee Snyder,
Eastern Mennonite College,
Harrisonburg, VA 22801 .
THE MENNONITE 517
Old Santa Mesa Christian Community
Church is the name of the first Mennonite
congregation in Manila, Philippines, which
formed recently. Twelve people were
baptized Aug. 5 in Lake Caliraya. The con-
gregation held its first communion service
on Aug. 12. More than 40 people attended
the service in a crowded, upstairs chapel,
the second story of a store front.
"Ending the Pain, Beginning the Hope:
Churches Struggle for Racial Justice in the
Americas" was the theme of a consultation
of African-Americans and Indigenous
Peoples of the Americas, held Sept. 24-29
in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Hubert Brown,
executive secretary of the Commission on
Home Ministries of the General Conference
Mennonite Church, attended the meeting.
Nearly 150 representatives from 20
countries of the Americas, plus one repre-
sentative from South Africa came together
for this first consultation of indigenous and
African peoples. The group reflected on
the meaning and challenge of the 500th
anniversary of the arrival of Columbus.
The Federal Hate Crimes Statistics Act
of 1990 orders the (U.S.) Justice Depart-
ment to collect information on "crimes
motivated by religion, race, ethnicity or
sexual orientation." Fundamentalists and
other right-wing lobbies tried unsuccessfully
to stop it from becoming law. Record, the
newsletter of Evangelicals Concerned,
urges lesbians and gay men who are
victims of hate crimes to call the national
hotline (1-800-347-HATE), which is open all
the time, and to report the crimes to local
police.
NEWS
Bluffton College completes
$6 million campaign
Bluffton, Ohio — "Sharing the
Vision," a three-year campaign
to raise $6 million for Bluffton
College, has been completed
successfully, according to
college officials.
Scheduled to culminate upon
Bluffton's 90th anniversary, the
development drive officially was
completed homecoming
weekend with a program
recognizing the volunteer
efforts of alumni and friends
of the college during the
campaign.
"Gifts and outstanding
pledges totaled about
$6,185,000," said Elmer
Neufeld, president of the
college. "We are pleased with
the results."
Actual income is $5,382,913,
with outstanding pledges
accounting for $802,265,
bringing the total to
$6,185,178. The income
includes $4,510,967 in general
contributions, $617,758 in
bequests and $254,188 in
income from trusts.
Income from the fund drive
has been earmarked for
student financial assistance,
faculty endowment, general
operational expenses, faculty/
staff salary raises, construction
of a visual arts center, addi-
tional work on Sears Athletic
Complex, Mennonite Historical
Library and Business Studies
Center and plant-fund deficit.
Ground was broken in
October for the Visual Arts
Center. Funds are still being
sought for this project, which
now is estimated to cost about
$700,000— more than double
what originally was budgeted.
Neufeld gave special
recognition to three alumni who
spearheaded the campaign:
Edward D. Diller, Allen Yoder
Jr. and Ray Ramseyer.
Honorary chairman of the
campaign was Hugh Downs,
host of ABC-TV's "20/20." Ron
Geiser, Bluffton College
communications
Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada invites applica-
tions for the position of executive
secretary. Responsibilities
include implementation of the
vision and policies of the confer-
ence and its executive board,
provision of team leadership and
supervision for conference staff in
consultation with the program
commissions, coordination of
communication with congregations
and general oversight of budget
preparation and expenditures.
Qualifications include administra-
tive experience, preferably in a
Mennonite or inter-Mennonite
setting, good consultative and
relational skills, ability to lead a
team and good communication
skills. We assume a basic
commitment to Christ and the
Mennonite church's expression of
that commitment. Knowledge of
GC and MC church structures,
particularly in Canada, would be an
asset. Facility in one or more non-
English languages of the confer-
ence is an asset.
Starting time for the position is
negotiable. More specific
information on job description,
qualifications expected, salary
scale or other issues may be
directed to the address below.
Resumes containing a biographical
sketch including educational,
vocational, conference and
community experience, a state-
ment of strengths and weaknesses
in relation to the job description,
and names of three references
should be directed to Ron
Sawatsky, chairperson, Executive
Secretary Search Committee, 59
Biscayne Blvd., Scarborough, ON
M1R 1A1. The deadline for
applications/inquiries is Dec. 31.
FOR THE TOUR OF
YOUR LIFE...
Walk where Michael Sattler walked...
talk with brothers and sisters in other
cultures who share your faith story...
see the majestic beauty of God's
creation.
Call or write for more information
about our 1991 TourMagination tours.
Jamaica 91 A
Jan. 18-25
Jan Gleysteen
Jamaica 91 B
Jan. 25-Feb. 1
Wilmer Martin
Europe 91 A
June 10-30
Jan Gleysteen, Fern Yoder
Europe 91 B
July 1-19
Wilmer Martin, John Ruth
Eastern Canada 91
July 12-25
Hubert Schwartzentruber, Henry Landes
Europe 91 C
July 20-Aug. 3
Arnold Cressman, J. Denny Weaver
Europe 91 D
Aug. 29-Sept. 18
Jan Gleysteen, Henry Landes
TOUR-
In i Hi Mir
1210 Loucks Ave.
Scottdale, PA 1 5683
412-887-5440
412-887-9436
1 31 Erb St. West 569 Yoder Road, P.O. Box 376
Waterloo, ONT N2L1T7 Harleysville, PA 1 9438
519-747-0517 215-256-3011
519-745-7433 215-723-8413 l$t
518 NOVEMBER 27, 1990
Director of development at
Locust Grove Mennonite School
in Smoketown, Pa. Responsibili-
ties include fund raising, public
relations and student recruitment.
Send resume to Dave Helmus at
Locust Grove, Box 37,
Smoketown, PA 17576, or call the
school (717) 394-7107 for
additional information.
Applications are being accepted for
the position of full-time pastor at
Trinity Mennonite Fellowship,
Mather, Man. Duties to commence
April 1, 1991.
Contact Art Harms, Box 38,
Mather, MB ROK 1L0, (204) 529-
2224; John Wiebe, (204) 529-
2030, or Arlene Klassen, (204)
529-2433.
AMBS invites
you to
•^pftSp Associated
' Mennonite
Biblical
Seminaries
Interterm Courses, January 7-25,
Isaiah
Ben C. Ollenburger
Pastoral Epistles
Erland Waltner
Anabaptist History & Theology
H. Wayne Pipkin
Church & Family
Ross T. Bender
1991
Christian Ministry in the
Urban World
Gary E. Martin
Reading the Bible from the
Third World Perspective
C. Rene Padilla
Conflict, Communication,
and Conciliation
Instructor to be announced
Pastors' Week, January 28-February 1, 1991
Pastoring with Paul
For more information contact:
Steven L. Fath
3003 Benham Avenue
Elkhart, IN 46517-1999
2 1 9/295-3726
Plan ahead
-■-i.-
Give a Christmas gift that gives. Buy
ThE MENNONITE
for that relative who asks, "How is God at work in the
General Conference Mennonite Church?"
Begin a one-year subscription at $18 (U.S.) for
Name (please print)
Address
Bill me:
Name (please print)
Address
Return to Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14.
THE MENNONITE 519
Staff at General Conference Mennonite
Church headquarters in Newton, Kan.,
began a comprehensive recycling
program in September. At a Sept. 25
"recycling kickoff" sponsored by the com-
munications department and the Com-
mission on Education, employees heard
guidelines for separating and collecting
recyclable materials, including paper,
glass and aluminum.
RECORcJ
"Mennonites, Catholics and Evangelicals:
Nineteenth-Century Interconfessional Relation-
ships" was one of the papers presented at the first
Symposium on Mennonites in Poland and Prussia,
held in July at Winnipeg's Canadian Mennonite
Bible College. Wojciech Marchlewski, an ethnogra-
pher from Warsaw, focused on Mennonite popular
and material culture of the 1700s/1800s and
provided details of the daily lives of these colo-
nists— their values and how they perceived
themselves in terms of being a minority group in a
changing social and political climate. Other
international participants at the symposium included
Horst Gorlach of Heimechulo, Woierhof, Edmund
Kizik of the University of Gdansk, Reinhild Janzen
of North Newton, Kan., and Arkadiusz Rybak of
Elblag, Poland. Rosemary Kuzina
"Help people keep hoping," said
Stan Reedy in Bangkok, Thailand, in
response to (U.S.) National Public
Radio's Scott Simon's question,
"What do you do?" Reedy, a
medical doctor, and his wife, Janet,
who are members of Southside
Mennonite Fellowship, Elkhart, Ind.,
are establishing Mennonite Central
Committee's office in Hanoi. It is
one of the first Western offices there
since the United States pulled out of
Vietnam in 1975. MCC supports
medical clinics, reforestation, educa-
tion and agricultural assistance
programs in Vietnam.
dcArhs
Arthur F. Ortmann, 80, died
Sept. 19. He was the founding
pastor at the Woodland
Church, Warroad, Minn., for-
merly a GCMC congregation.
His wife, Tena, three sons and
their families survive.
Anna Quiring, 84, died Oct.
15. She was a member of the
Gospel Mennonite Church,
Mountain Lake, Minn. She
served over 20 years in Zaire
with COM.
J. Loewen
Longacre
L. Miller
Early
Osborne
Rupley
WOnliERS
Jake Dnedger and Henry Funk
have been appointed interim
pastors at Bethany Church,
Watrous, Sask.
Nick Dyck, pastor at Taber
(Alta.) Church, is also pastor at
Vauxhall (Alta.) Church.
Barb and Wilmer Froese
have begun as part-time
pastors at Laird (Sask.)
Church.
Roland Goering began Oct. 1
as interim pastor at Trinity
Church, Hillsboro, Kan.
Jake Klaassen has com-
pleted his work as pastor at
Eyebrow (Sask.) Church.
AIMM — Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission
CHM — Commission on Home Ministries
COM — Commission on Overseas Missions
GCMC — General Conference Mennonite Church
MCC — Mennonite Central Committee
MVS — Mennonite Voluntary Service
Jennifer Loewen, Carman
(Man.) Church, has begun a
one-year Intermenno term in
Brussels, Belgium, working as
a nanny for the first six months.
Her parents are Herb and Mary
Ann Loewen of Carmen.
Eleanor Loewen, Charles-
wood Church, Winnipeg, was
installed Sept. 30 as associate
pastor at Knox United Church,
Winnipeg.
Marta Longacre, Akron (Pa.)
Church, has begun a one-year
Intermenno term in Amsterdam,
Netherlands, working as a
church caretaker and tour
guide at the Singlekerk
Mennonite Church for the first
six months. Her parents are
Paul Longacre and Nancy
Heisey of Ephrata, Pa.
Paul Martin began in October
as the new interim pastor at
Sermon on the Mount Church,
Sioux Falls, S.D.
Leo
Miller,
pastor at
West
Swamp
Church,
Quaker-
town, Pa.,
has
D. Neufeld
H. Neufeld
replaced Richard Early, Zion
Church, Souderton, Pa., on
the General Board of GCMC.
Early will continue to serve on
the Integration Exploration
Committee.
Herb Minnich, pastor at
Hesston (Kan.) Inter-Mennonite
Church, and his wife, Shirley,
left Nov. 1 for a one-year MCC
term in Russia under the
Central Asian Foundation.
Doreen and Hugo Neufeld,
Kitchener, Ont., are the new
mission ministers for the
Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada. Our apolo-
gies for inadvertently printing
"Hildebrand" instead of
"Neufeld" in the Sept. 1 1 issue.
Walter Neufeld, pastor at
Hanston (Kan.) Church and
First Church, Ransom, Kan.,
has resigned effective Dec. 31.
He is retiring.
Craig Osborne, Lorraine
Avenue Church, Wichita, Kan.,
has begun a one-year Inter-
menno term in Schoorl,
Netherlands, working as a
maintenance person for the first
six months. His parents are
Conrad and Lila Osborne of
Wichita.
Henry Patkau has been
named pastor at Lowe Farm
(Man.) Church.
Michael Peak has resigned
as associate pastor at Rosthern
(Sask.) Church effective April
1991.
Peter Penner is the new
pastor at Olivet Church,
Clearbrook, B.C.
Joel Rosenberger was a
summer intern in the Ministry
Inquiry Program at West
Swamp Church, Quakertown,
Pa.
Melody Rupley, Church of
the Brethren, Akron, Pa., has
begun as personnel develop-
ment administrator for MCC in
Akron. She will promote man-
agement system changes to
support MCC worker develop-
ment at headquarters and in
the field. She and her family
returned in July from a five-year
MCC term in Burkina Faso.
520 NOVEMBER 27, 1990
Mennonite Health Services and the Mennonite
Central Committee Canada Mental Health
Program are awarding scholarships for the
1991-92 academic year from the Elmer Ediger
Memorial Scholarship Fund. The fund helps
people get the training they need to serve the
mentally ill and developmental^ disabled. To
qualify for the scholarships of between $800
and $1 ,200, candidates must be graduate
students or in their final two years of under-
graduate work, with a declared major and
vocational interest in mental health, develop-
mental disabilities or related fields. Deadline
for applications is Feb. 1 , 1 991 . For more
information write to Mennonite Health Ser-
vices, Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-0500.
Bishop K.H. Ting, president of the
China Christian Council and chair of the
Chinese Christian Three-Self Patriotic
Movement Committee, has denied
recent reports that he has been stripped
of posts in the church or government.
News Network International released a
report that Ting had been removed "from
his senior government position" and
"has also stopped making trips abroad."
Theresa Chu, director of the Toronto-
based Canada China Programme,
spoke by phone with Ting, who told her
he had been in the hospital and had
missed some meetings but that he
retains his positions with the govern-
ment and the church.
English teaching positions in China are
available, according to the Commission on
Overseas Mission of the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church. Participants
serve through China Educational Ex-
change, an inter-Mennonite teacher-
exchange program. For more information
contact COM, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114-0347, (316) 283-5100.
RECORG
Shantz J. Sommer
Lisa Schirch-Elias, a 1 990
graduate in peace and conflict
studies at Conrad Grebel
College, Waterloo, Ont., has
received the 1990 June
Schwartzentruber Fund award
of $1,350. She will use it to
develop projects to help the
Mennonite community under-
stand the Innu, one of Can-
ada's native peoples.
Irvin Schmidt is the interim
pastor at Wildwood Church,
Saskatoon, until June 1991.
Mary Mae Schwartzentruber,
pastor at Stirling Avenue
Church, Kitchener, Ont.,
resigned in June.
Lisa Shantz, Rockway
Church, Kitchener, Ont., has
begun a one-year Intermenno
term in Biebelheim, Germany,
working as a nanny for the first
six months. Her parents are
Arlene and John Groh of
Waterloo, Ont.
John Sommer, COM
secretary for Asia, visited
national church leaders, mis-
sionaries, schools and
churches in Hong Kong,
Taiwan and Korea Oct. 4-30.
Michelle Sommer, Newton,
Kan., Kelvin Woelk, Goessel,
Kan., and Lona Yoder, North
Newton, have begun working
part time at Faith and Life
Bookstore, Newton.
M. Sommer Steider
Tolbert C. Waltner
Kenneth Steider, Hesston
(Kan.) Church, returned from
Taiwan Sept. 10 for a five-week
NAA. Sponsored by COM, he
is an administrative assistant at
Mennonite Christian Hospital in
Hualien.
Bill Stucky, pastor at Fort
Collins (Colo.) Church, has
resigned and is working for
Kidron-Bethel Retirement
Services, North Newton, Kan.
Darrell Thiessen is the new
pastor at Grace Church,
Brandon, Man.
Les Tolbert, co-pastor at
Community Church, Markham,
III., was the main speaker at
the1990 Youth Institute Sept.
1-3 at Menno Haven Camp and
Retreat Center near Tiskilwa,
III. His theme was "Under-
standing and Confronting
Racism."
Mark von Kampen will begin
in April 1991 as associate
minister at First Church,
Winnipeg.
H. Waltner Wiens
Christine (Duerksen) and
Harris Waltner, Bethel Church,
Mountain Lake, Minn., AIMM/
COM workers, completed their
work in Lesotho, and returned
to North America Sept. 9. They
began in 1984, he as the
pastor at Maseru United
Church, and coordinator of
AIMM programs in Lesotho and
Transkei. She was the hostess
at the AIMM guest house and
assisted in teaching women's
groups and youth meetings.
Abe Warkentin, Steinbach
(Man.) Evangelical Church,
began this month as coordina-
tor of MCC Canada's Kanadier
Concerns program. Kanadier
refers to Canadian Mennonites
who have lived in Mexico.
Warkentin and his wife, Myrna,
are founding editors of Men-
nonitische Post, a German-
language newspaper with a
circulation of around 5,000,
half of them in Latin America.
Isbrand Hiebert, Steinbach
Church, is the the magazine's
new editor.
Greta Wiens, Niagara United
Mennonite Church, Niagara-on-
the-Lake, Ont., began a three-
year COM term Sept. 25 as an
overseas mission volunteer in
Fukuoka, Japan.
Raymond Wong, an intern at
Coaldale (Alta.) Church since
last winter, has begun as its
youth pastor.
Flora Slosson Wuellner, an
adjunct professor at Pacific
School of Religion, Berkley,
Calif., was the spirituality
seminar speaker Oct. 26-27 at
the Associated Mennonite
Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart,
Ind. She is an author and an
ordained minister in the United
Church of Christ.
Jason Yoder, Pleasant Oaks
Church, Middlebury, Ind., has
begun a one-year Intermenno
term in Bad Bergzabern,
Germany, working as a farm
hand for the first six months.
His parents are Elnora and
Paul Yoder of Middlebury.
— compiled by Sharon Sommer
Position Opening:
Commission on Overseas Mission
Canadian coordinator
3/4-time position
Starting date: Sept. 1, 1991
Applications accepted until
Jan. 15. 1991.
Function: Represent COM to
Canadian General Conference
Mennonite churches, institutions
and missionaries with an office in
Winnipeg.
Qualifications and desired skills:
Understanding of missiology,
desire to communicate missions in
congregations, relational and
administrative skills, availability for
travel, overseas experience
desirable.
To apply write to Bill Block, COM
Chairperson, 600 Shaftesbury
Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4, or
Erwin Rempel, COM Executive
Secretary, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114
THE MENNONITE 521
"MMA? You Mean the
Insurance Company?"
i
was talking with an acquain-
tance recently when the conversation shifted to
our jobs. When I told him I worked for MMA, he
replied, "MMA? So you work in insurance?"
That's a common misunderstanding. Since
insurance is one of our more visible services, it's
not uncommon for people to think of MMA as an
insurance company
The fact is, we're a lot more than just insurance.
The government has granted us special status as a
fraternal benefit society. Put simply, we're allowed
to assist people who have special needs instead of
paying that money in taxes. That's
mutual aid in action!
As manager of the Sharing Fund, I
work closely with programs that
meet those special needs. From
assisting congregations with mem-
bers who can't afford health care, to
providing help in times of catas-
trophe, to helping a couple cover
the costs of adopting a child, my
work involves a lot more than insurance.
MMA is more than insurance in other ways, too.
We offer ways to save money for retirement or a
child's education. We help share the burden of
damage to members' automobiles. We provide
assistance with financial planning, making out a
will, and planning your estate. Plus, we help con-
gregations in areas like health and wellness,
understanding AIDS, and medical ethics.
To clear up another common misunderstand-
ing about MMA — we're not really a company, at
least in the traditional sense. MMA is more like a
large congregation. We're not a
building or a place — but a group of
people who share a commitment to
God and to each other.
I like to think of MMA as a place
where real needs get met every day
out of the caring people show for
one another.
Phyllis Mishler
Sharing Fund manager
We're more than just insurance.
For a free copy of our new boooklet, Take a Closer Look, call 1-800-348-7468.
Mennonite
Mutual Aid
In Sudan, Mozambique,
Guatemala, Cambodia
and other countries where
Mennonite Central Committee
ministers to human need,
WAR EQUALS HUNGER.
0ltlMcCjr
VVin nip'^Orive
7 SK9
m
sPea
ce
et0
mil
arid
**** fa
We
ies
at
^ar.
Letters
The Mennonite for pineapples
We have been having streams of children
at our door [asking] for magazines with
which to cover their school notebooks.
They have many classes and a notebook
for each. The only stapled magazines we
have are back issues of The Mennonite. I
hate to part with them, but the children
plead so hard that I am giving the older
copies away. The children bring pine-
apples or termite hills in exchange. The
ducks eat the termites, and the crushed
hill is good for making dirt paths to the
house. Glen and Phyllis Boese, B.P.
4081, Kinshasa 2, Republic of Zaire
Messed up, needing grace
In response to your editorial of Sept. 11:
Our Christian education should start
in a human context. There are only two
choices, spiritual or material. Reality is
both.
The Christian life is a daily repenting
and committing. It is the same tension
of the kingdom — already here but not yet
fully realized. The only way to grow into
maturity is a daily recognition of our
spiritual poverty. Then one day the
kingdom will be given to us. Recognizing
our spiritual poverty, we will be able to
become (as you say) "vulnerable, able to
admit errors, to ask forgiveness, to be
willing to give up and to hold things
loosely."
We are so messed up that while we
talk of the spiritual we live striving for
the material. All the time we talk of
being accepted by grace, but we ourselves
accept on the basis of the commandments
kept. Let us accept people without
conditions (grace). Let us keep the
commandments as a response to the
acceptance shown (law). Let us remem-
ber that we won't be able to keep the
commandments (repentance). Finally,
let us strive together to follow with
others our Lord Jesus Christ in daily
acts of commitments and repentance.
Realizing that God is the one who saves,
let's leave salvation up to him and dedi-
cate ourselves to love our neighbor. Stop
playing saviors. This way the fellowship
may become more relaxed and friendly,
and our offspring may stay with us.
Greetings to all brothers an sisters.
Yours in Christ, Raul Badia, 500 Muhoz
Rivera, Centro I, Apt. 705, Hato Rey,
Puerto Rico 00918
Re-entry to North America
Leaving Taiwan and returning to North
America is, to say the least, a great
upheaval in our lives. It is different from
the North America Assignments, which
were short times of preparation to return
to Taiwan. An older returned mission-
ary said to us, "Yes, you must be called to
go as a missionary, but you must also be
called to retire from missionary service."
Knowing God's will makes the inevitable
adjustments easier.
That does not mean there will be no
confusion or discomfort. Everything is
different: air, water, food, cooking,
shopping, language, church involvement
and even our bodies' reaction. To deal
with this all at once and to set up house-
keeping as responsible stewards is mind
boggling. How do I know what the price
of beans should be? It is different here.
However, talking about our experience
and sharing with others who have served
overseas or are serving here helps.
Deliberately trying to understand our
local scene while carrying over some
values and aspects from Taiwan into our
lifestyle here is also helpful. The
Taiwanese love of art, strong family ties,
thrift, rice-vegetable-fish diet and
generosity are some things we have
admired.
We have not yet arrived, but with the
help of God, family and friends, we will
make it. Roland and Sophie Brown, Box
509, North Newton, KS 6711
Response to warmaking
What is the response of "peace church"
Christians to any military involvement?
First, we pray for a peaceful solution.
We pray for the U.S. soldiers; we also
pray for the Iraqi soldiers, for George
Bush, for Saddam Hussein and other
world leaders. We pray that leaders of
nations will not go to war in order to
maintain their pride, stay in power, be
re-elected, become wealthy or sustain an
addiction.
Some of us respond by relocating.
Mennonite Central Committee personnel
are interrupting their plans to work at
refugee camps.
Many of us have written letters to urge
legislators toward a peaceful tone to
decrease heightening tensions.
We encourage one another to resist the
temptation to hate people who have been
described to us as our enemies. In
Christianity Today (Oct. 22 issue) an
editorial is entitled "When International
Disputes Escalate, the Church Has
Special Responsibility to Douse the
Flames of Hatred." Columnist Mike
Royko recently published an article
entitled "American Patriotism Becomes a
Cycle of Hate." Extreme nationalism in
any country is something that Jesus
prohibits. Franklin Littell of Temple
University shocked me when he stated,
"Christians need to know that 6 million
Jews were killed by baptized Christians.
There would not have been a Third Reich
if Protestants and Catholics had not
betrayed their baptisms."
We invite our young people to register
as conscientious objectors and commit
themselves to an intense and creative
study of non-violent conflict resolution.
Our world needs a percentage of the
population that is committed to non-
violent conflict resolution. In Newsweek
(Oct. 15 issue) Howard Morland, a
transport pilot in the Vietnam War,
What I need to
tell you, Lord
Helene W. Dick
No need for me to tell you, Lord,
That I on You rely.
I love to walk and talk with you
And wait on Your reply.
You do not need our worship, Lord,
You do not need our praise.
But let me tell You how I feel —
I need You all my days.
You let me cry, you let me laugh,
You let me gripe and sigh.
And, O dear Lord, I love You so
When you are far or nigh.
So let me walk the way You lead;
The path before seems bleak.
I do not know what lies ahead.
Your way, not mine, I seek.
You do not need for me to tell
That I love You, my Lord.
You're bigger, greater far than that,
But Lord I need retell —
I love you.
Helene Dick lives in Bloomington, III.
524 NOVEMBER 27, 1990
states, "In my view no American should
be required to kill or die simply as a test
of manhood, and certainly no American
should die simply because as a nation
our imagination is too poverty-stricken to
figure out how to live without cheap oil."
One church [Good Shepherd Mennonite
Church, Sioux Falls, S.D.] sponsored
refugees from Ethiopia last summer, and
the Lutheran Social Services trainer told
us that we would have to register them
for the draft. We said that our denomi-
nation has traditionally been COs.
We encourage everyone not to fight in
order to protect pride. In Jeremiah 38
the prophet suggested that Jerusalem
should surrender to the Babylonians in
order to avoid massive loss of life. He
was then thrown into a cistern by the
authorities because they said he was
destroying the morale of the soldiers.
Some prophets in the United States are
calling us to reconsider our positions
because they see imminent war before
Christmas. I earnestly pray that this
will be avoided. Let us unite in earnest
prayer that the world will truly have
"peace on earth and goodwill to all
people." Dave Waldowski, 1801 W. 41,
Sioux Falls, SD 57105, and Edie
Tschetter, Route 1, Box 135, Freeman, SD
57029
Editor's note: Dave and Edie prepared
this statement at the request of the Sioux
Falls ministerial alliance.
Will we be prepared?
With the threat of war that exists in the
Middle East, are we as Anabaptists
preparing ourselves to deal with a war
and a military draft?
Have we as parents and church
members fulfilled our responsibility of
teaching the Christian way of peace to
our young people and new adult mem-
bers? Do our draft-age and soon-to-be-
draft-age young men know what they
believe about Christians taking part in
war? Do they know how they would
respond to a call for induction into the
military?
Whatever our young men's response to
a draft or to social pressure to enlist, do
we as parents or fellow church members
know how we would react to their
actions? Are we prepared to be suppor-
tive of those who would seek alternative
service or refuse induction and to help
them stand against what would possibly
be strong societal pressure to enlist or
cooperate with conscription?
Even if a war begins and our govern-
ment does not start conscription, our
young men may still feel pressure from
society to enlist. Are we committed to
help them resist this pressure?
As the father of one draft-age young
man and of another approaching the age
of draft registration, these issues, while
always important to me, have become
real and urgent. In the event of war, will
we be prepared to respond as faithful,
Anabaptist Christians, or will we be
caught unprepared? Scott Kennedy, 6027
Sir Lancelot Court NE, Salem, OR 97303
REVi EWS
»ooks
Ethical discernment
Bioethics and the Beginning of Life
edited by Roman J. Miller and Beryl H.
Brubaker (Herald Press, 1990, 227 pages)
Reviewed by Bernie Wiebe, Menno
Simons College, Winnipeg, MB R3B 2E9
Bioethics and the Beginning of Life is an
attempt to provide Anabaptist perspec-
tives on beginning-of-life issues.
Dorothy Jean Weaver suggests that
biblical material presents us with the
fundamental motif
if
Life
of God as
Lifegiver. This
foundation can
help us relate to
contemporary
questions not
addressed by the
Bible, e.g. legal
status of the
r & Beryl H. Brubaker
unborn.
J.R. Burkholder
suggests that the "first-level principles"
of Anabaptism (Jesus as the norm of
truth and life-discipleship, the church as
new social reality and the rejection of
violence) in tandem with the Stanley
Hauerwas challenge for any sincere
church to be a "moral community" needs
to instruct our theological perspectives
on bioethics. While Burkholder concedes
(and I concur) that absolute positions on
anything today are hard to come by in a
pluralistic society, we can help the
ongoing discussion by taking the bloom
off the Western focus on individual
rights/freedoms and call more attention
to the moral authority of the community.
This thought is also picked up by
Gregory Jones in his chapter on "Chris-
tian Communities and Biomedical Tech-
nologies" and by Donald Kraybill in
"Communal Responsibilities."
A considerable portion of the book
(chapters 3-5) is a careful review of the
biology of the human reproduction
system and how it can be influenced by
modern technology. This is helpful
material only to the uninformed, since it
contains basic information readily
available elsewhere.
The journey into "bioethical systems"
(chapter 6) is one of the outstanding
chapters in the book. Unless you are an
ethicist, most books on ethics tend to
leave you floundering. James Childress
does an excellent job of leading the
uninitiated through the maze of ethical
theories in a manner that leaves you
feeling introduced and welcome.
Another constructive chapter is
"Historical Perspectives," in which
Michael Gorman looks at views from
antiquity and throughout Christian
history.
The chapter on psychological perspec-
tives seems the least constructive. The
writers seem more intent to make a point
or two than to offer solid psychological
insights.
Marlin Miller also disappoints in the
final chapter. While appropriately
helping us see the "Maze of Bioethical
Dilemmas" and a better meaning of
dilemma ("a choice between equally
unfavorable or disagreeable alterna-
tives"), his summary of responses is far
too non-committal: "The potential
implications of biomedical research for
human life and social relations are also
far-reaching and call for ethical discern-
ment." I am perplexed that he does not
venture into at least a couple of pro-
phetic suggestions.
This book is a landmark aid for
Mennonites to look at bioethical issues
from a more consistently global Ana-
baptist perspective. I highly recommend
it for all sincere study groups on this
issue.
Family ordeal
Wings of Hope by Henry Plett (Herald
Press, 1990, 150 pages)
Reviewed by James Rinner, 329 Muse St.,
Newton, KS 67114
contin ued on next page ^
THE MENNONITE 525
REVIEWS
This true story of one family's ordeal
with a liver transplant is told by the
father of Roxanne, the patient. He
relates the family's struggles and
victories as they, their church and their
friends pray and support each other
through the ordeal of illness, transplant
decisions, acceptance and coping with life
as it comes.
The author emphasizes that there are
many lessons to learn about the frailty
and value of life and
that, at least in their
case, these lessons
came a little at a time
so that they were not
overwhelmed at once
by a flood of circum-
stances.
The family
struggles with these
questions: How does
one pray for an
organ? Is it as harsh
as it sounds? In
praying for an organ are we indeed
praying for the death of the donor? If the
Lord answers prayer, why does he do it
in such a roundabout way? The conclu-
sion of the author is that God answers
prayer, but not in our way, in our time
nor according to our understanding.
The strength of the book is the au-
thor's frequent references to and descrip-
tions of his feelings and those of the rest
of his family, including Roxanne, who
eventually recovers after two liver
transplants. At one point he says, "My
faith was definitely stretched. Had I not
taken God at his promise when he said,
'Ask and you will receive'? We were
certainly not receiving; instead we were
set back six months in fulfillment of our
prayer requests. What did God have in
mind?"
Through this story Henry Plett wants
others to sense God's message of love
coming from this family's heart-wrench-
ing ordeal.
JRms
the grandchild of Jewish immigrants in
Balitmore.
Avalon explores the dissolution of an
extended family over the course of three
generations. Sam Krichinsky (Armin
Mueller-Stahl) is a Russian Jew who
arrives in Baltimore on July 4, 1914, and
joins his three brothers. The bulk of the
movie is set in the late '40s, when the
Krichinsky families live on the same
block, eat their annual Thanksgiving
dinner together and hold "family circle"
meetings to discuss family business.
We watch the families gradually drift
apart. Sam's son Jules (Aiden Quinn)
and his wife, Ann (Elizabeth Perkins),
move to the suburbs, and Jules makes a
Family dissolution
Avalon, written and directed by Barry
Levinson, produced by Barry Levinson
and Mark Johnson
Reviewed by Gordon Houser, assistant
editor
Memory is tricky, but without it our lives
lack meaning. In his new film Barry
Levinson explores his own memories as
Family togetherness: Mueller-Stahl, Quinn,
Perkins and Pollak
pile of money when he opens Baltimore's
first discount warehouse with his cousin
Izzy (Kevin Pollack). As the American
dream unfolds, the old ways, which Sam
talks about to his grandson Michael
(Elijah Wood), are lost.
The predominant symbol of this loss of
family is the dinner table. The film
begins with all four brothers and their
families around the table at Thanksgiv-
ing. By the end a couple and their child
are eating in silence on separate TV
trays, eyes glued to the tube. The
breakup of family togetherness by
television has become a cliche, and
Levinson overplays it. The film's saving
grace, however, is its abundance of
detail. The clothing, furniture, cars,
cultural artifacts are perfectly repre-
sented. But any nostalgia for this
bygone era is nullified by the sinister
effect of our consumer society.
Avalon, like many of Levinson's films,
goes against the grain of Hollywood.
Full of wonderful dialogue, subtle in its
humor and pathos, it lacks the typical
exaggeration of sex or violence. Instead
we witness the passage of people's lives,
fully drawn characters who reflect to us
our own foibles and desires. The portrait
painted here is haunting because it is so
damning of our society's destructive
tendencies.
Jesus as actor
Jesus of Montreal, written and directec
by Denys Arcand, produced by Roger
Frappier and Pierre Gendron
Reviewed by Gordon Houser
Nominated for an academy award for
best foreign-language film last year, this
film is only recently appearing in
theaters in smaller markets (like central
Kansas). If you catch it, or if it comes
out on video, it is worth seeing as one
more — and one of the better — modern
portrayals of the Jesus story.
Daniel (Lothaire Bluteau), a young
actor who finished at the top of his class
in the conservatory, then dropped out of
the public eye, wants to portray Jesus in
a passion play at a cathedral in Mon-
treal. He does research on Jesus, then
gathers three other actors (disciples) to
help him put on the play.
The play itself is moving, less visually
than verbally. The narrators describe,
for example, the cruelty of crucifixion:
"The victim dies of asphyxiation... and
usually lives two days. Stronger ones
live as long as a week."
The play presents a problem for the
local priest, who arranged for Daniel to
put it on, because it does not conform to
church teaching. The authorities
demand that the actors change it or close
it down. In a climactic scene of confron-
tation between the audience at the play
and security guards, Daniel, who is
portraying Jesus on the cross, is criti-
cally injured.
Arcand draws creative parallels
between his story and the events of the
Gospels. Along the way he makes funny,
cutting comments on the acting trade, on
the church, on the media and business. J
Satan appears as a lawyer who makes
his clients famous to the facile public.
Bluteau is a charismatic, intense Jesui
character, and the acting throughout is
fine.
The problem with the film is that it
lacks transcendence. Arcand seems
drawn to the mysterious Galilean, but hf
cannot find a handle on the Mystery.
What makes Jesus more than just a gooc
person? His portrayal of the resurrectioi
as Daniel living on as others receive his
transplanted heart and eyes seems like s
commercial for the kidney foundation.
Still, Jesus of Montreal presents a
picture of Jesus that is enlivening and
thought provoking, adjectives that
describe the Jesus portrayed in the
Gospels as well.
526 NOVEMBER 27, 1990
bible
Into your hands we commit our spirits
Darrell Fast
The last words that Jesus uttered from the cross before he
died were words of Scripture committed to memory as a
child. "Into your hands I commit my spirit" is taken from
Psalm 31. This psalm was used by the faithful Jewish wor-
shiper as an evening prayer. Even as his senses were fading
and life failing, Jesus remembered this prayer.
When visiting one of our oldest church members in a nursing
home, I tried to connect with her through the channel of
memory and recollection. "I am your pastor from the Bethel
College Mennonite Church." No response. "I know your
children." I mentioned their names. No response. After a long
pause I recited, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."
Suddenly she was with me. Or rather, I was with her, and to-
gether we walked through that psalm phrase by phrase. We
were together in God's presence, and nothing else mattered.
And she was still with me as I started to sing, "So nimm denn
meine hande." Even though she could not sing, she mouthed
the words.
As I said good-bye I trusted that the reality conveyed by the
psalm and the song would continue to be hers for the rest of the
day and the rest of her life. "Father, into your hands I commit
her spirit."
I have pondered the meaning of that experience and its
implication for our future as a Christian community. About
fourscore years ago a Mennonite community served this woman
well. She was expected to commit Psalm 23 to memory. Even
now, 80 years later, when reason had failed, eyesight and
hearing had dimmed and much of memory was gone, this re-
mained. God's Word was hidden in her heart, and it was hers
eternally. What will there be of faith to serve me when I
become like her? And what have I given my children to serve
them at such a time and age? What will they recall? Will it be
something from Scripture?
I can think of no argument more persuasive for memoriza-
tion of Scripture and hymns than this experience. May it
continue to be so in our congregations. "Father, into you hands
we commit our spirits — and our lives for generations to come."
Darrell Fast is pastor at Bethel College Mennonite Church,
North Newton, Kan.
The 23rd anew
J. Randy Lepp
The Lord is our Shepherd — our guiding, caring God.
We have no reason to be empty or needy.
Our Shepherd is a provider — a caretaker extra-ordinaire.
He invites us to the most pleasant of places.
He invites us to green pastures.
God guides us and leads us. He nourishes us.
God is our best companion, never absent as we walk along
on our life journey.
God restores our souls and makes us whole by forgiving our
human errors.
In Christ he offers us redemption and reconciliation.
God guides us to do right and sheds a light on that ethical
pathway.
He asks us to do good for the sake of his name.
And although death exists as a separation, although death
exists as something that casts a lonely shadow,
God truly claims victory over death.
With God, death cannot be evil.
Instead it can be the celebration of life's fulfillment,
because the Lord has a rod and staff, tools of comfort.
God's hand and tools can heal grief and mourning.
The Lord, the Shepherd, is a truly gracious host.
This host has set a banquet feast for all of his beloved.
Pain, suffering, the limitations of the human body, and all
other enemies will be able to view the new wholeness of
each beloved person who sits at the Shepherd's banquet
table.
The Lord, as Shepherd, will acknowledge each beloved as
special, with a touch of sweet oil.
The cups on the banquet table will flow over, eternally, as a
symbol of God's unending love.
The hall of the banquet will be named "Goodness" and
"Mercy."
Each day will be spent at the banquet.
Each day of this new life will be spent in the banquet hall,
for it is within the house of the Lord.
The Lord is my Shepherd. The Lord is our Shepherd.
J. Randy Lepp, 78 Oak St. E., Leamington, ON N8H 2C6,
wrote this on the occasion of officiating at a funeral at
Leamington (Ont.) United Mennonite Church. He says,
"Maybe each of us must rewrite Psalm 23 so that we own it. "
THE MENNONITE 527
NEWS
L T BRARY
AS5HC M'- -}M BIBLICAL SEM
3^03 3ENHAM AVE
ELKHART IM 46517
EdiTORiAl
To your good health
When you get sick, whom do you phone first, your
pastor (or someone else in your church) or your
doctor? Are there people in your congregation who feel
free to speak up at Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and
AIDS support group meetings but not in church? Does
your church have a place for such words?
Conversations about health belong in church. Jesus
Christ, our foundation, embodied a mix of preacher and
healer. In addition, he did not buy the idea that illness
necessarily results from sin (John 9:3). However, he
made clear that healing can be linked to forgiveness of
sin. The church has much to say about this paradox.
The church must speak to the issues all across the
spectrum of health care. The reality is that our current
plagues (domestic abuse, substance abuse, sexually
transmitted diseases, cancer, heart disease) are rooted
in behavior, and behavior is rooted in values. The
church has been commissioned to speak to individuals
and to society about values.
Every congregation should have a "parish nurse."
David Helmuth, a Mennonite pastor in Middlebury,
Ind., says his congregation trains and commissions "care
givers" who help him in ministry. The congregation also
has an anointing service once a month for those who
seek healing. The Mennonite Church of Normal, 111.,
includes "healing" along with "growing" and "witness-
ing" in its congregational mission statement.
Every retirement center should employ a highly
trained chaplain. Rest assured, retirement centers will
only increase according to demographic statistics. By
the year 2050 one in four Americans will be age 65 or
over. The church should have much to say about aging.
And where if not in our churches should we talk about
dying? How much time, effort and money should be
spent on a dying loved one? The church should have
much to say about the fear of death. While treasuring
life, do we act on our "official" anticipation of eternity in
the presence of God? Paul Kraybill, the new executive
secretary of Mennonite Health Association, asks, Will
we join our society in its apparent campaign to banish
dying? Death is too sacred to leave to technologists.
Good news: Parish nurses, chaplains, pastor/coun-
selors— these and more are needed for a world that
needs good news about health. Not surprisingly we
Mennonites seem predisposed toward health care as a
profession. Health care occupies 10,000 of us Menno-
nites (says MennoSearch, a computer program that
links health-care people with jobs). This figure includes
5,000 nurses, 1,000 doctors and lists 160 institutions.
Mennonites and Brethren made up the largest portion
of the 1,500 people who attended the Protestant and
Health and Human Services Assembly last February, as
reported by Steve Shenk, assistant editor of Gospel
Herald.
To find an excellent prototype of a many-faceted
health-delivery system we need go no farther than
Jesus' story of the Good Samaritan. Charles A. Neff,
retired Mennonite psychiatrist from Cornwall, Pa.,
encourages us to examine that man's responsible
behavior and learn from it.
Fred Loucks, 15, helped me learn from it at my
congregation's annual retreat this fall. He was one of
the young people acting out the story of the Good
Samaritan. Fred was the responsible caregiver who
arrived on the scene balanced skillfully on his skate-
board. Spotting the victim "on a street in Newton,
Kan.," he swooped him up, got back on his skateboard
and delivered the wounded one to the emergency room
with the words, "Take care of him. I don't know his
name. I'll pay for it."
Tears: Healing (to be differentiated from curing) is in
the church's job description. Grace Mennonite Church,
Lansdale, Pa., and Manhattan (Kan.) Mennonite Fel-
lowship have had sections in their weekly bulletins and
newsletters called "Tears of Joy and Sorrow." This is
where they name the pain as well as the well-being.
These two congregations model for the rest of us how to
formally allow sorrow as well as joy, in describing tears
as acceptable — even in public.
Together, says Ron Ropp (of Mennonite Church of
Normal), "we work to heal our woundedness," our
illnesses, so that we may offer healing to others. In
season and out, I know that I am healthier when I
rejoice and weep, when I give words to my well-being
and my pain, in the midst of my congregation. Muriel
T. Stackley
THE MENNONiTE
pnoloquE
CONTENTS
We, the staff of The Mennonite, wish you
much joy as you celebrate the birth of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We join
you in prayer for peace on earth and goodwill
to all.
The Mennonite staff (from left): Muriel T. Stackley,
Gordon Houser, Sharon Sommer, John Hiebert
The next issue, dated Dec. 25, will feature
reports from our 10 regions: four Canadian
provinces, the Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada and five U.S. districts. These
are written annually by the respective advis-
ers to The Mennonite. mts
Cover: RNS photo © 1984 Pueblo Publishing, N.Y.
God breaks into the darkness / 531
To you is born. ..a babe / 532
The politics of the Holy Spirit / 533
Light in fall / 533
Lisa at six / 534
Cost of discipleship / 534
Anna / 534
Who is this guy? / 535
Savor Christmas right through the alphabet / 536
Man-hands / 537
News / 538
General Boards tell Bush to cease buildup / 538
CPT struggles for acceptance / 541
Record / 544
Resources / 545
Letters / 548
Reviews / 550
Mary's diary / 551
I wonder / 551
A good word from an unpeaceful place / 552
MENNONITE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, (316) 283-5100. Editor:
Muriel T. Stackley; assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant: Sharon
Sommer; art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the Associated
Church Press, Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a Mennonite and
Brethren in Christ editors' group) and an associate member of the Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretaries: Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, and Rose Retzlaff
Klassen, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4. Business manager: Dietrich
Rempel. Special editions editors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff, Box 306, North
Newton, KS 671 1 7; Window to Mission, Lois Deckert, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14;
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Richard A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave.,
Elkhart. IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1, Didsbury, AB TOM 0W0; (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford, BC V2S 1V7; (Central District)
Lynn Liechty, 666 Columbus St., Berne, IN 46711; (Eastern District) in process; (Manitoba)
in process; (Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada) Margot Fieguth, 99 Veronica Drive,
Mississauga, ON L5G 2B1; (Northern District) Winifred Wall, Box 67, Freeman, SD 57029;
(Pacific District) Clare Ann Ruth-Heffelbower, 3198 E. Menlo Ave., Fresno, CA 93710;
(Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger, 125 Rawlinson Bay, Regina, SK S4S 6M8; (Western District)
Leland Harder, Box 363, North Newton, KS 67117.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape for $30 (U.S.) per year. The past 14 years of
The Mennonite are also available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College, North
Newton, KS 671 17, and from University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann
Arbor, Ml 48106.
Circulation: 10,553
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build the
Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the guidance of
the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly by the General Conference
Mennonite Church, 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14. Subscription rates: one
year, $18 U.S., $21 Canada; two years, $32 U.S., $38 Canada; three years, $44 U.S., $52
Canada. Outside North America add $24 U.S. per year to U.S. rate for surface mail,
$55.20 U.S. for airmail. Single copies: $2 U.S. Five or more: $1 U.S. each. Second class
postage paid at Newton, Kan., and additional mailing offices. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMAS-
TER: Send Form 3579 to The Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. ©1990
530 DECEMBER 1 1 , 1990
God heah into the (krlwss
A message from Florence Driedger,
our conference moderator
There is a yearning in the land. There is a cry for love
and caring. There is a yearning for peace, justice and joy.
Many are hungry and hurting and seeking to be healed.
They live in our nations, even in our homes and
churches.
As we enter this Christmas season we are challenged to
hear and see. We are challenged to walk with the hurting
and hungry as they seek to be healed.
We are also challenged to consider how we add to the
pain and suffering, to take steps to make the necessary
changes to relieve suffering.
The message seems cold and bleak and depressing in a
time of joyous expectation. But isn't it just at times like
these, when we are yearning , when we are seeking, that
we are open to the light?
God broke into the darkness when he sent Jesus. He
proclaimed the peace and goodwill that reflects his great
love.
May this Christmas be one in which all of us experience
the hope of his great love breaking into our lives, our
churches, our nations and the world so that there truly
may be peace on earth.
Florence Driedger
is a member of
Peace Mennonite
Church, Regina,
Sask.
THE MENNONITE 531
Bret Harte's short story "The Luck
of Roaring Camp" tells about
some rough goldminers in
California who find themselves with the
responsibility of a newborn babe.
Harte gives a picturesque description
of the filth and vulgarity in the camp.
During the day the men work in the
gulches extracting the precious metal; at
night they drink and gamble. Violence,
resulting in wounds and even death, is
not uncommon.
In the camp is only one woman, and
she is not of a reputable character. The
day she gives birth to a baby boy, she
dies. What to do with this tiny babe is
the problem these rough men face. All
agree that he must remain in the camp;
he is their responsibility. That is when
things begin to change.
The baby is wrapped in an old piece of
red flannel and placed in a box. As these
rough men with uncovered heads
contemplate this beautiful child, the
inappropriateness of the "garment and
cradle" is impressed upon them. They
decide to order the best cradle and
layette from Sacramento, 80 miles away.
In due time these articles arrive. But
now there is another problem. The
beautiful baby, dressed in fancy clothes
and sleeping in the rosewood cradle,
shows up the squalid condition of the
cabin and surroundings as well as the
dirty bodies and clothes of the miners.
Regeneration begins. The men clean
and whitewash the walls of the cabin.
They plant flowers. In short, the whole
camp undergoes a complete process of
renovation and beautification. This child
is to grow up in a clean and wholesome
atmosphere.
1
In the presence of the babe even the
roughest of the men takes off his hat
and speaks in a low voice, avoiding all
profanity. The men come bathed after
work and wearing clean clothes to hold
the baby. Each considers the baby his
personal possession. Evenings are no
longer spent drinking and gambling.
Rather, in working together the men
create a beautiful and peaceful environ-
ment for this child that has come into
their lives.
Divine intervention: Two thousand
years ago another baby came into a
world filled with sin, injustice, immoral-
ity, greed and corruption. The world was
ready for a savior. No philosophy or
religion in existence was able to satisfy
the longing in the human heart.
The Greco-Roman world was in a most
deplorable state. The moral condition of
society, according to the writers of that
period (including the apostle Paul), was
extremely low. The world needed a
change. This could happen only through
divine intervention.
God, in a wonderful plan of redemp-
tion, had prepared the world in the
physical aspect: the political unity and
geographical extension of the Roman
empire, the transportation and communi-
cation facilities through the system of
roads and maritime commerce, the
common language — Greek, the fervent
desire of the Jews for the appearance of
the long-awaited Messiah.
This was the situation into which
Jesus was born (Galatians 4:4). Philip
P. Bliss, in his hymn "The Light of the
World is Jesus," aptly expresses the
contrast between the moral condition of
the world and the change produced by
the coming of Jesus:
"The whole world was lost in the
darkness of sin;
The light of the world is Jesus;
Like sunshine at noonday his glory
shone in;
The light of the world is Jesus."
We see in Bret Harte's story how the
arrival of a baby into the lives of some
rough goldminers began a chain reaction
of regenerative effect. Even greater are
the changes that occur in the life of every
person who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord
and Savior.
Society also experienced great changes
as a result of Jesus' coming into the
world: the Christian church, when at its
best throughout the centuries, has
promoted education, social work, the care
of the sick, the aged, the handicapped
and orphans — all this through the love
and in the name of Jesus Christ in an
effort to bring about the reign of God on
earth.
This is the meaning of "To you is
born... a babe."
Mary Becker Valencia, a former editor of The
Mennonite and worker for the Commission on
Overseas Mission, lives
at Apartado Aereo 53-
024, Bogota 2, Colom-
bia. Her article was
translated and
adapted from one that
appeared in Menoti-
cias, the publication of
the General Conference
Mennonite Church of
Colombia.
532 DECEMBER 11, 1990
jfayolitks
of the
Holy Spirit
Lidi in fell
Leo Hartshorn
■ walked the downtown Houston streets
■ in biting cold. The season of Advent
| filled the frosty air. The city, decked
out in its Christmas array, unknowingly
awaited the coming of the Prince of
Peace.
I tried to hurry to my destination. The
frigid air cut me to the bone. Finally I
came upon a small group of saints
huddled in front of the federal building.
I was the lone Anabaptist who had
agreed to gather on this martyr-cold day
with a group of Catholics for, of all
things, a prayer vigil. We could have
been praying together around the
warmth of a fire. Nevertheless we stood
Greta Hiebert
The falling light of autumn slants headlong
down the streets and touches all the leaves
left lying. The cobblestones have strong
sharp shadows where the frosted earth has heaved.
Last summer's tyrant rays turn dainty, nimble, slight;
they husband their contested force, caress
twin sycamores — their bark now better than bright,
a subtle disavowal of fancy dress.
The branches lay a winter tracery
on the wall their summer leaves had screened
and teach us to begin to better see
what richness owed the strength on which it leaned.
Amen! Give this seductive light consent
to soften us toward the dark's advent.
Greta Hiebert lives at 608 E. Sixth, Newton, KS 67114.
there stiffly, shivering in the open air
with wooden crosses and signs displaying
our protest of U.S. policy in El Salvador.
The cold that we felt that day could not
compare to the coldness of the hearts of
those who had dragged six Jesuit
brothers from the warmth of their beds
and executed them. The crosses we held
represented some 75,000 in a country
being crucified by injustice, repression,
poverty and death squads. A cold wind
blows in El Salvador. And what irony! A
country named after our Savior yet
experiencing so little of the coming of
salvation.
We stood in the cold wind and prayed.
The words of our prayers came out
quivering. Between prayers we sang a
familiar Advent hymn, the longing,
almost mournful "O come, O come
Emanuel." As we sang, our voices
became the voices of the living and dead
in El Salvador. The words of the hymn
seemed to change as we moaned them
again: "O come, O come Emanuel, and
ransom captive. ..El Salvador." The
presence of the Spirit infused an old song
with new life, all its social and political
meaning laid bare. Beneath the gray,
Advent sky the Spirit sang, cried out in
our foggy tones: "From the depths of hell
thy people save; and give them victory
over the grave. Disperse the gloomy
clouds of night, and death's dark shad-
ows put to flight. Make safe the way
that leads on high, and close the path to
misery." The Spirit of the living God
stood on the streets of Houston, shiver-
ing with us beneath death's cold shadow.
But with each refrain the Spirit sang in
the warmth of Advent's hope: "Rejoice!
Rejoice! Emanuel shall come to thee...,"
and I heard "...El Salvador."
None too soon the prayer vigil ended.
The cold remained. We piled our crosses
into a heap, like some kind of grave. I
walked back to the warmth of my car.
But I felt another warmth. I had heard
the cracking of ice in a cold, political
world by the Spirit's brooding.
Leo Hartshorn is pastor at Houston
Mennonite Church, 1231 Wirt Road,
Houston, TX 77055.
THE MENNONITE 533
Lisa at sit
Frieda Bark man
High on the piano bench she sits,
feet dangling,
fingers searching
the ivory for a carol,
one note at a time.
She squirms
and changes position.
"Mommie,
'Silent Night' sounds like a prayer.
I think I'll play it
on my knees."
Frieda Barkman's address is 73616
Sunnvslope Drive, Twentynine Palms,
CA 92277.
Cost of
Tim Wiebe
Spices and gold,
choicest of wines,
baskets to spare,
essence of nard,
blood on a cross;
lineage
of extravagant
Life.
God's gift, wrapped
in flesh,
human,
divine,
is lavish
beyond
all thought.
Impoverished offering —
heart,
soul
and mind —
lends strength to hope
for incarnation,
endlessly again,
of this priceless
Epiphany.
Tim Wiebe's address is Box 417,
Gretna, MB ROG 0V0.
Anna
James R. Coggins
Waiting in the temple chambers
for half a century,
fasting and praying,
building up decades of anticipation,
playing the role of advance publicist
not knowing her purpose,
her whole life a sign
so that, when she speaks,
50 years reverberate
through her simple pronouncement.
It would have been a waste
had he not been worth waiting for,
his greatness reducing her anguish
to a moment on the threshold
of eternity.
Jim Coggins, 75 Martin Ave. W., Win-
nipeg, MB R2L 0B3, is associate editor
of the Mennonite Brethren Herald.
534 DECEMBER 11, 1990
who is
Walter Neufeld
y name is Frank. Please excuse
me for being so forward. I feel a
sense of urgency in getting the
formalities out of the way. I want to get
to the heart of the matter as quickly as
possible. After I had met the lunatic in
the mall the other night I felt the need to
talk to someone.
There I was, shopping with my wife
and kids. Shopping, in my estimation, is
about as exciting as taking out the
garbage. But my wife said that it would
be good for our relationship if I went
along to help with the family's Christmas
shopping. I understood her veiled threat,
so I accepted the "invitation."
My job was to guard the kids. Not an
easy job for a man who has no formal
training in wrestling or karate. Active
children like ours tend to be as slippery
as fish and quick as weasels the moment
you set foot in a mall.
Anyway, there I was, barking out
instructions as to how our eldest could
most easily and with the least amount of
damage get out of the display of fine
china. Our youngest, in the meantime,
was dunking for goldfish in the wishing
well. We were joined by some teenagers
who were obviously amused by my sons'
brief but well-choreographed escapades.
Horror replaced mockery when I turned
to them and said, "Hey, which one of you
guys wants a part-time job babysitting?"
As all five of them rushed toward the
exit, I thought to myself, "Kids sure
aren't as keen to work as I was when I
was their age. We lived on the farm as
children and our parents sure...."
As those thoughts flowed through the
warm wrinkles of my not-so-recent
memory, an old man sat down at my
side. After a moment he turned to me
and asked, "How long have you been
waiting?"
Interesting, I thought, here was a man
many years my senior who still got
dragged to the mall. His hands looked
like he was a farmer. My sons were
I've been
waiting an
eternity, too.
Do you
know how
old I am?"
probably thinking, "Dinosaur." He
looked like he was close to 100. I looked
at his tattered clothes. He could use a
haircut. Should I take him to see my
barber, try to be a good Samaritan?
"How long have I been waiting? I'd say
about 15 minutes, but it seems like an
eternity. I just hope I can control the
boys before they smell the made-to-scale
Austrian chocolate castle sitting just
around the corner."
The old man interrupted my story.
"I've been waiting an eternity, too. Do
you know how old I am?"
Before I could answer, he went on,
"My birthdays have been a celebration of
friendships. Many of my friends are no
longer able to celebrate with me and I'm
getting old and tired. That is why I've
come to talk to you. You are the chosen
prophet who will be the next to carry the
message to succeeding generations."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Christmas. It's the
reason you and your family are shopping
at this mall today, isn't it? Buying gifts
so you can celebrate the birth of Jesus.
Why do you suppose Jesus is the only
human being whose birth is the focus of
so much celebration? Why is that?"
He answered his own question: "The
reason you celebrate Jesus' birth is that
it is to your advantage to keep him an
infant, a helpless member of the human
race, sucking on the milk of human
indifference."
Huh? Who is this guy anyway?
Probably some left-wing liberal or maybe
a secular humanist whose sole purpose it
was to debunk the way we've celebrated
Christmas. I won't stand for it. Me, a
chosen prophet? No way.
"Let's go boys," I said as I got up to
leave for another bench in the mall.
"This guy's a lunatic."
After my boys and I had walked maybe
10 paces, I glanced back to glare at the
old man, but he had already left. In his
place sat a mother nursing her baby.
Walter Neufeld's address is 2636 Ade-
laide St., Clearbrook, BC V2T 3N2.
THE MENNONITE 535
Savor Christmas riaht tfaowfi the
Son.
for "angels,"
showed them-
to people, re-
joicing over the gift of God's
And it is for "Anna," who rejoiced
over the coming of the promised Messiah.
B is for "Bethlehem," which found
itself called not only the city of David but
on this special night the "birthplace" of
God's Son.
C stands for "Caesar Augustus," who
ruled the Roman Empire at the time of
Jesus's birth. His edicts had far-
reaching consequences, even over in
Judea, while his royal court was in
session in Rome.
E is for the "enrollment" that Caesar
demanded of each family in Israel. It is
also for "Egypt," where God sent Joseph
with his young family. Thus they
avoided the terror caused by King Herod,
who sentenced to death all male babies 2
years old and under.
With F we find ourselves in the "fields"
with the "flocks" where the news was
first announced about Jesus' birth.
There is also "frankincense," an unusual
gift for a baby. Nor can we forget the
"fear" that pervaded the scene because of
unexpected events.
[J KML^J^ is for the "decree"
issued by Caesar that
resulted in a tiring journey for Mary and
Joseph just before Mary's time to give
birth. D is also for the "dream" that
encouraged Joseph to proceed with his
plans to make Mary his wife in spite of
his earlier misgivings.
brings us to
God's special messenger,
"Gabriel," who told Zechariah, Mary and
Joseph that the time was right for the
long-awaited Messiah to come. G is also
for the "gold" presented to Jesus.
The Christmas story is filled with
various Hs. There is "Herod," who
feared he might be deposed as king and
so slaughtered innocent children. The
"heavenly hosts" told the shepherds
about the event, and they made "haste"
to see the baby.
I stands for the "inn" or the "inn-
keeper." With so many looking for
lodging during the time of the enroll-
ment, all inns put out "no vacancy" signs.
brings us to
"Joseph," a
godly man who
made his decisions regardless of what
the neighbors might say. J is also for
"Jerusalem," where Herod received the
wise men from the East.
K can stand for "knelt," which is what
visitors did when they came to see the
Holy Child.
L brings us to "Lord," whose glory is
mentioned. L could also be for the
"lamentation" when Herod's soldiers
killed all the baby boys.
is for "Mary." God
chose her from all
the young women who might have been
eligible for the assignment. M is also for
"manger," the animals' feed trough that
substituted for a cradle. M could also be
the "myrrh," another of the gifts given to
Jesus.
For the N we remember the "night"
Christ was born in such humble circum-
stances.
O reminds us that all the Jews were to
go to their "own" city for the census, no
matter how far that journey was.
536 DECEMBER 11, 1990
ushers in the
"prophets" who wrote in
the Old Testament about the coming
Messiah. P also reminds us of "praise,"
of the promise of "peace" and of Mary,
who "pondered" these things.
Q can only be "Quirinius," whom we
know to be the governor of Syria at that
particular time. (Syria is Israel's
neighbor to the northeast of Galilee. )
For R choose "rejoiced." This was
evident in the appearance of the angel
multitudes to the shepherds.
o
5 H^^^£XZ1_ words include
"star," which provided the map for
visitors from the East, "Simeon," who
awaited the Messiah's coming, "swad-
dling" clothes to wrap the baby in,
"shepherds," who got the first invitation
to see the baby, and "Savior."
T is for "taxation," part of the census
process. One could also add the "treas-
ures" presented to Jesus.
I can think of no words for U. Take it
from the inside of "Judea," the province
where Bethlehem was located.
V stands for the "virgin" whom
prophets had predicted would bear this
child.
With the W we think of the "wise men"
from the East who traveled many miles
to find the newborn king they wished to
"worship." We read that the shepherds
were "watching" their flocks of sheep.
For X we remember that we read in
Matthew 2:10 that the wise men rejoiced
"exceedingly."
The exciting part of this story is the Y.
We read that "for 'you' is born this day a
Savior." God's Son was born for each of
us.
From "Nazareth" we borrow the Z to
complete the alphabet. Nazareth was
the town where Jesus lived so many
years in the home of Mary and Joseph,
helping in the family carpentry shop.
Put each part of the story in its proper
sequence, and once again we stand
amazed at the unspeakable gift God gave
Helen Friesen's address is Box 471,
Mountain Lake, MN 56159. David
Ediger, the illustrator, lives at 702
S. Pine, Newton, KS 67114.
A tool for
teaching about
the coming
of Jesus
Man-hands
Paul F. Barkman
My man-hands were never so uncertain
as when she smiled
and laid there a tiny life
with nothing between
its helplessness and destruction
but me.
No, no — the star, the angels, the wise men —
these were not the wonder,
but the helplessness of God
in the hands of a man.
Vulnerability ultimately defined.
I could have dropped him,
wrenched his eyes out of focus
as they searched for mine —
my hands almost paralyzed from fear.
I could have crippled or destroyed my Savior.
I still can.
He let it be that way.
I know myself and am afraid.
He knows me and smiles.
Paul F. Barkmans address is 73616 Sunnyslope
Drive, Twentynine Palms, CA 92277.
THE MENNONITE 537
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NEWS
1995 sessions to be in Wichita
MC/GC General Boards tell Bush to cease buildui
Chicago (GCMC)— For the first
time ever, the General Boards
of the General Conference
Mennonite Church and the
Mennonite Church approved a
statement in joint session when
they met here Nov. 15-17. The
two groups convened sepa-
rately and spent time together.
The two bodies adopted a
unified statement on the
Persian Gulf crisis, calling on
churches to seriously study and
witness for a non-violent
solution in the Persian Gulf.
U.S. President Bush should
"cease the inflammatory
military buildup and threat of
war against Iraq," says the
statement. It encourages
church members to pray for
world leaders and "all who live
in fear, loneliness, despair or
hunger" because of the crisis.
One of the seven points of
the document calls congrega-
tions to confess "our own
complicity and selfishness in
utilizing more than our share of
the world's supply of oil and
other resources, ...limited
concern for longstanding
injustices in the Middle East
and. ..paying for the military
buildup through our taxes."
The 49 board members
represent 170,000 Mennonites
in the United states and
Canada.
Talk of integration between
the MC and GC denominations
GC General Board members (from left) Clare Ann Ruth-Heffelbower,
Larry Tschetter, Anna Juhnke discuss budget concerns.
dominated other joint sessions.
The group examined a
proposal by general secretaries
Vern Preheim (GC) and James
Lapp (MC) called Vision 2000.
Vision 2000 presents a model
of increasing cooperation
between the two denomina-
tions. Each board adopted it in
separate sessions.
The boards approved
Wichita, Kan., as the site for
the joint assembly in 1995.
Edmonton had been a con-
tender until the steering
committee found lower cost
and more adequate facilities
available in Wichita.
The two boards also met
separately. On the General
Conference side, budget
concerns flavored almost every
discussion. GB members
unanimously accepted a
proposed budget of $5,138,672
for 1991, a 3.4 percent
decrease from the current year.
In light of an inflation rate of 6.6
percent, they also recom-
mended a 2.5 percent increase
in staff salaries.
The board approved a six-
month fund-raising effort for
Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind. The
plan will encourage givers to
donate $33 or multiples thereof
in honor of the 33rd birthday of
AMBS in 1991.
Preheim presented a plan to
establish a Many Peoples
Emphasis Committee to
continue the work of the Many
Peoples program that recently
ended. The board favored it.
"It's a good idea. In Canada,
we've had a multicultural
program for many years," said
John R. Friesen, St. Cathar-
ines, Ont.
"Racially, ethnically, we are
all different," said Ivorie Lowe,
Markham, III. "Now how can
we get together and work
through some things? Every-
one has to give up a little.
White people find it harder to
accept ideas of other ethnic
groups, and consciousness of
that needs to be raised."
The Commission on Over-
seas Mission presented an in-
depth report, warmly com-
mended by the board. The
board approved the appoint-
ment of an ethnic minority to
the board of COM. Discus-
sions centered around the
possibility of sponsoring
missionaries not only from
North America but from other
countries, cooperating with the
Commission on Home Minis-
tries in Chinese ministries and
relating to the mission agencies
of the Mennonite Church. Beth
Hege, news service editor for
the General Conference
Mennonite Church
538 DECEMBER 11, 1990
A group of Mennonite musicians (left) met informally Sept. 7-9 at Alive
Recording Studios in Harrisonburg, Va., to renew friendships and make
new ones, to hear and to learn from each other and to play music. The
majority of the 20 participants-who came from an invitation list of more than
40 — had honed their vocal and instrumental skills on the folk, blues and
rock sounds of the early to mid-1 960s. James Krabill. Elkhart, Ind., initiated
the idea, and Dean Clemmer, Lancaster, Pa., and Rob Eby, Harrisonburg,
helped with planning. Chuck Neufeld, Newton, Kan., who directs Mennon-
ite Voluntary Service and has released five albums of original material,
found the meeting "a freeing experience to do music" and "to meet and to
hear the stories" of the other musicians. "This encounter represents people
struggling with their relationship to the church and how to express their
artistic gifts within the church," said Krabill. The weekend closed with
worship and communion.
NEWS
MCC signs agreement
with Vietnam government
Bangkok, Thailand (Meeting-
house)— A government guest
house in Vietnam's capital city
was the scene of a ceremony
Oct. 30. Reporters and TV
cameras recorded the signing
of an agreement between the
Vietnam government and
Mennonite Central Committee
that gave official recognition to
MCC in Vietnam.
"The mood was convivial,"
reported Janet Reedy here two
days later. Reedy and her
husband, Stan, established an
MCC office in Hanoi last
February. A local staff mem-
ber, Mr. Kiet, was hired in
August.
Signing English and Viet-
namese copies of the agree-
ment were Bui Sung Nhat for
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
and Pat Hostetter Martin,
director of Indo-China pro-
grams at MCC headquarters in
Akron, Pa. In his response,
Nhat referred to the long
relationship MCC has had with
Vietnam since1954 and
expressed hope for deepening
cooperation among "old
friends."
Martin, speaking in Vietnam-
ese and English, stressed the
importance of having resident
workers in the country. Only
when you live among the
people can you learn their
customs and language, she
said. Martin and her husband,
Earl, worked in Vietnam before
and after the U.S. military left in
1975. MCC had no workers in
the country from 1 976 to 1 989.
Janet Reedy said that MCC
is one of the first non-govern-
mental organizations to reach
such an agreement. "The
signing was also meaningful in
light of the deportation of
Miriam Hershberger and the
uncertainty last June about our
ability to continue working
there," she said. Hershberger,
the first resident MCC worker in
Vietnam since the war, was
accused of teaching students
to oppose their government.
The government received some
strong negative response over
Hersberger's expulsion and
appears to be trying to make
amends.
Also present at the signing
ceremony and dinner was Ray
Brubacher, director of MCC
overseas programs. 'Agree-
ments MCC signs with host
countries do not usually have
as high a profile and as many
political overtones as this one,"
he said. "MCC remained
involved with Vietnam with a
genuine desire to bring
reconciliation between people
who had been at war."
Nguyen Thi Hoi, another
official in attendance, described
the granting of the agreement
as a symbol of bridge building,
said Brubacher.
The agreement was also
judged significant enough in
the United States to warrant
coverage in The New York
Times and on National Public
Radio. Margaret Loewen
Reimer, associate editor of
Mennonite Reporter
Help your pastor
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THE MENNONITE 539
Last year Americans threw out enough
aluminum to rebuild the nation's entire
commercial airfleet four times, enough
wood and paper to heat 5 million homes for
the next 200 years, enough office paper to
erect a 1 2-foot-high wall from New York to
Los Angeles, enough motor oil to equal 41
Exxon Valdez spills and enough garbage to
fill a convoy of trucks, bumper to bumper,
halfway to the moon. (National Wildlife
Federation)
NEWS
Marian Franz, executive director of the
(U.S.) National Campaign for a Peace Tax
Fund, attended the Third International Con-
ference on Peace Tax Campaigns, held
recently in Aosta, Italy. Twelve national
delegations met to seek alternatives to
taxes for military purposes. According to
Franz, the peace tax movement has
burgeoned in Italy in a few years to include
thousands of supporters, including 300
priests and 100 bishops. The Italian
Supreme Court has ruled that "not paying
[taxes for the military] is no crime." The
Vatican, responding to "requests from
many countries," is engaged in a doctrinal
study on the moral aspects of war tax
resistance, says Franz.
Students from Bethel College, North
Newton, Kan., and from Newton High
School organized a walk from the Bethel
campus to the Newton Post Office, about
three miles away. Sixty-eight people
mailed 139 letters to U.S. government rep-
resentatives, calling for withdrawal of U.S.
troops from Saudi Arabia and for a peace-
ful resolution to the conflict with Iraq.
Bethel English professor Anna Juhnke
said, "Now is the time to speak. When war
is on, people feel they have to rally around
the flag."
Peace revival addresses
'drowsy' church
Denver (Meetinghouse) —
Peacemaking is too important
to let adults do all the work.
Just ask Miriam Kindy and the
other children who wrote a
letter to President Bush at the
Christian Peace Revival.
"Instead of spending money
for bombs and stuff, our peace
conference collected $4,000 for
food," the children wrote. "We
think God wants us to help
people, not to kill people."
Kindy, 10, North Manchester,
Ind., read the letter to partici-
pants at the Nov. 9-1 1 peace
event here. By writing to the
president the children got
involved in the weekend's main
focus: the urgency of peace-
making as war threatens to
break out in the Middle East.
About 100 people — mostly
Mennonites, plus Brethren in
Christ, Church of the Brethren,
Friends and a few others
coming from 12 states, Canada
and Germany — took part in the
event sponsored by Christian
Peacemaker Teams.
The weekend ended with a
Sunday afternoon demonstra-
tion and "peace altar call" at
Lowry Air Force Base, the focal
point for worldwide Air Force
finance operations. The peace
action took the form of a
worship service, focusing on
the injustice of spending money
on the military while human
needs go unmet. After the
demonstration five people,
including CPT coordinator
Gene Stoltzfus of Chicago,
were detained by military
authorities. The five illegally
entered the Air Force base to
tell military personnel of their
concerns about war in the
Middle East.
Speakers called for a rea-
wakening of commitment to
biblical peacemaking ex-
pressed in action. "The
greatest problem in the church
today is drowsiness," said John
Stoner of the Mennonite
Central Committee Peace
Office, who recently went to
Iraq with a peace delegation.
"The enemy of nationalism ap-
proaches from the bushes. We
don't see it. We are asleep in
our churches, cozily wrapped in
our American flags."
We must look to the example
of Jesus, Stoner said, to
discover how to love the people
we must confront and whose
evil must be resisted. Jesus
chose to confront his deadly
enemies with love, not with
violence. The choices we face
are not so different from those
Jesus faced, he said.
Bob Hull, CPT steering
committee chairman from
Newton, Kan., asked, "How is
Christ the model for us in his
words and his life, his actions
and his deeds, as well as in his
victory on the cross?" Hull said
that exorcism of evil and
engaging in worship that
empowers people for action are
parts of the peacemakers'
calling. Hull's vision for CPT is
that "we will learn to lead and
engage in transforming Bible
study. ..we will learn to exorcise
Participants place sacks of groceries on the "peace altar.
the structures of evil publicly."
Vincent Harding, a professor
at lliff Theological Seminary,
Denver, said that peacemakers
must not be afraid to take risks.
"Some of us have gotten pretty
good at taking risks," he said.
"But we take safe risks. Maybe
we need to try the riskier risks."
Workshops dealt with such
topics as "Abortion and War
Arguments: A Comparison,"
"Peacemaking With Families
and Neighbors" and "Military
Tax Refusal and the Peace Tax
Fund."
The Mideast crisis was on
everyone's mind. Stoltzfus
announced that CPT had
received approval to send a
delegation to Iraq. Participants
laid their hands on him to
commission him for the
journey. The group also gave
$760 to help the delegation
with expenses, which may run
to around $24,000.
Sunday afternoon partici-
pants gathered by the road
several hundred yards from the
gate of Lowry Air Force Base.
Singing "Just As I Am," they
carried bags of groceries,
bought with $4,000 contributed
from across the United States
and Canada, to an altar of hay
bales. The food will be given to
needy people in Denver.
Five demonstrators ap-
proached the Air Force base
gate, carrying containers of
infant formula. They asked the
military to take the formula to
the Iraqis because the em-
bargo has caused a shortage.
As uniformed personnel
looked on with folded arms and
stern expressions, an Air Force
spokesman said the base had
no authority to deal with that
kind of request. The peace
activists then illegally walked
through the entrance to the
base. Personnel led them
away, searched and ques-
tioned them, gave them "ban
and bar" letters — warnings not
to enter the base again — and
released them. They will not
face charges in court. Paul
Schrag, assistant editor for
Mennonite Weekly Review
540 DECEMBER 11, 1990
Front page from left to
right: man, Vietnam; boy,
Nigeria; man, West Bank
Re-personalization
MCC workers recently returned from Egypt spoke of
their dismay at the view of Arabs shown on the nightly
television news in North America. The television
impression was that all Arabs are fanatics calling for war,
they said. But the Arabs they know in Egypt are not
fanatics. They are people living their lives day to day as
we all do, caring for their families, concerned about their
future.
We are all susceptible to stereotyping other people by
their nationality, race or politics. But when we work to
see beyond those stereotypes, we find people made in
the image of God, diverse in their cultures, languages and
traditions.
In this issue of MCC Contact, Ed and Norilynn Epp ask
us to see the individuals who are affected by conflict and
the calls for war. Helping resolve large conflicts may
seem beyond the scope of individuals. But as Christians
we can each promote peace — both internationally and at
home — by seeing the people behind stereotypes and
sharing their stories with others.
• • • Ardell Stauffer
MCC Information Services
Human faces replace stereotypes
In reading War Games by Thomas B. Allan, a book
detailing the reliance the U.S. government has placed on
war games, a familiar theme emerged. The theme was
this: war is easier to manage and better fought if the
world is depersonalized. Indeed, when one looks at the
history of wars, one can see the progression from
hand-to-hand combat, to weaponry that kills at further
distances, to bombs and missiles pointed by radar, and
finally to a future war fought on computer screens
where the target is simply a blip. The casualties are
human but war-makers are shielded from that fact.
One theory states that any conflict in the world fuels itself
on depersonalization. The individual has an easier time
hating a stereotype or a representation of an opposing
ideal, than hating a face, a name, a person. In times of
war armies are forbidden from fraternizing with the
"enemy." It is considered dangerous for one person in a
conflict to see the other side as human.
If we accept this theory that depersonalization assists in
war making, fighting, hating, destruction and hurts, then
we must accept that the opposite is also true. Looked at
in this way we, as instruments of peace, must work at "re-
personalizing" the world around us. If the hiding of
faces, names and stories assist in evil, then we must put
names to the faces and stories to the people.
An example of this type of re-personalization is the
summer camps for children held in Lebanon. These
camps take children from all the warring communities of
the country and bring them together. Not only do they
live, play and learn skills together but it is hoped that they
begin to see a face of someone from another equally
hurting community. When they return to their homes and
hear talk of the "enemy" perhaps they will be equipped to
challenge the stereotypes.
At a meeting in Beirut with a large group of Lebanese
social workers we asked how an organization like MCC
can be of more assistance to them. They were adamant in
stating the most helpful thing we can do is to share the
stories of Lebanon with friends in the West. It was
through these stories, they said, that people would realize
that Lebanese were not terrorists. They are simply people
like us, with families, hopes, dreams and fears.
The re-personalizing of conflicts has a side affect, and
this is the blurring of issues. Human faces begin to
replace stereotypes. "Sides" blend into hurts. The
longer we are in MCC, the more we feel that MCC exists
not only for theological, philosophical or moral reasons.
MCC exists for people reasons.
• • • Ed and Norilynn Epp of Winnipeg, Man.
MCC Lebanon
2 MCC Contact/November 1990
rl, Nigeria
"If the hiding of faces, names
and stories assist in evil,
then we must put names to
the faces and stories to the
people."
MCC Contact (USPS 689-760) is published in
February. April, June, August, and November
by Mennomte Central Committee. PO Box 500.
Akron, PA 17501-0500. Editors are Charmayne
Denlinger Brubaker. Ardell Stauffer and John
Longhurst. Graphic design by Ronald Tinsley.
Copies are sent in bulk to church addresses upon
request. Address correspondence to MCC
Contact Editor, 21 South 12th Street, PO Box
500, Akron, PA 17501-0500. In Canada,
address correspondence to MCC Contact
Editor. MCC Canada, 134 Plaza Dr.. Winnipeg,
MB. R3T 5K9. Second class postage paid at
Akron. Pa., and additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PO
Box 500, Akron, PA 1 7501-0500. Printed in
U.S.A.
Photo credits:
Page 1 , Ardell Stauffer, Stan Reedy. Judith Dick;
Page 3, Dave Klassen; Page 4, Eric Thiessen,
Bill Gingerich; Page 6. Joan Zahler, Mark
Beach.
3 MCC Contact/November 1990
Children, New Orleans
News from MCC
• • •
MCC contributed $24,000
(U.S.) to an inter-church
group in Colombia working
toward legal provisions for
conscientious objectors.
Colombian men age 17 to
18 are obligated to serve in
the armed forces when
chosen by lot. Those who
object are forced to join
and sometimes mistreated
and persecuted.
• • •
Seventy Native and non-
Native people in
northwestern Ontario
received employment
this summer through an
MCC-supported job
creation project picking
blueberries. The project
sold more than 1 1,000
kilograms (12 tons) of
blueberries. The success
of the project will allow
participants to finance it
next year.
• • •
The MCC executive
committee adopted a
statement September 6 on
the use of food as a
weapon. "As an
organization responding to
human need 'In the name
of Christ,' we oppose the
inclusion of food and
medicines in the embargo
against Iraq," reads the
statement in part. "We
believe Jesus' words, 'Give
them something to eat'
(Mark 6:37), are a call to
share food with the hungry
irrespective of race,
religion or political
persuasion."
• • •
Beth and David Moser
completed a
MCC/Mennonite Board of
Missions term in Belfast,
Northern Ireland, in
September. David worked
at the Saltshaker Youth
Center, which provides a
place for Catholic and
Protestant young people to
socialize. This summer
140 students participated
in a summer Bible club
sponsored by the
Saltshaker.
Resources from MCC
• • •
In search is a 20-minute
VHS video produced by
MCC U.S. Peace Section.
A young man looks for
answers to serious
questions about life and
whether the military would
be a way out for him.
Promotes educational,
vocational and mission
service opportunities
available through church
agencies and institutions.
Information packet
included. For free loan
from all U.S. MCC offices.
• • •
Journey to pacifism:
Siegfried Barters story is a
22-minute VHS video
cassette produced by MCC
Ontario and Rogers Cable
TV. Former MCC executive
committee member
Siegfried Bartel tells how
he became a pacifist. As a
Christian and a German
officer during World War II,
he realized he was fighting
against Christians in other
countries. Challenges
Christians to profess
Christ's love in actions as
well as words. Available
from MCC Resource
Library, PO Box 500,
Akron, PA 17501-0500,
and all Canadian MCC
offices.
• • •
MCC's 12th Occasional
Paper, Entering Samaria:
Peace ministry among U.S.
military personnel in West
Germany is now available.
The paper is by MCC
worker Andre Gingerich
Stoner. Includes an
introduction to U.S.
military presence and MCC
ministry in West Germany,
stories of encounters and
relationships with U.S.
military personnel, and
discussion questions for
peacemakers and the
church. Can be used for
small group, Sunday
school or youth group
reading and discussion.
$1 donation is requested
per paper to offset printing
and mailing costs.
Available from MCC, PO
Box 500, Akron, PA
17501-0500.
Africa
A psalm
for the people of New Orleans
I am the Lord your God.
I am He who made the tulip trees to bloom in January.
I am the One who caused the skies to break clean of clouds
and shine brighter than the sun on a Mississippi morning.
I am your creator, judge and friend.
You are the children of my womb, born lusty and livid;
black, brown and pink; screaming your innocence through
the wards of Charity Hospital.
You are my chosen, a greater prize than pearls, spears, cups
or coconuts on Mardi Gras day.
And for you, the summers will not always be humid.
There will come a day when air conditioners need only
freeze ice cubes.
For you, stomachs will not always be empty.
There will come a day when soup lines are not needed,
when all tables are open, when a father does not have to
steal for his sons' supper.
For you, death will not always parade through your
backyards and front yards and hallways and playgrounds.
There will come a day when drugs lie spoiling in the
gutters, when guns sit beneath glass as curiosities of days
gone by, when tears drop salty on the death bed at 99.
Oh, my children, my people, my friends, my heart cries for
you like rain falling on an August afternoon.
But do not be afraid. Do not let the tendrils of despair
strangle your heart.
Throw back the blankets of guilt bearing you down.
Drink deep from the spring water fountains boiling in me
and rejoice for justice and peace will flow like the
Mississippi, holiness will be among you, within you, upon
you, closer than the air when humidity tops 95 percent.
No more homeless. Hallelujah. No more hunger. Praise
the Lord.
The Saints will win more than football games and my
power will move beyond all political corruption.
I am the Lord your God, healer, health-giver, enabler and
friend.
• • • Jody Miller Shearer of Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
MCC New Orleans
MCC country profile
Burkina Faso
Population: 8,930,000
Per capita income: $210
MCC present since: 1975
Number of MCC workers:
16
1989 expenses: $210,436
The West African country
of Burkina Faso ranges
from the Sahel (the semi-
arid region south of the
Sahara) in the north to
savanna grasslands in the
south. The climate is hot
and dry, with rainfall
averaging 10 to 40 inches
per year. Drought
conditions for much of the
past 20 years make
farming difficult.
Many MCC volunteers in
Burkina Faso work with
water-related issues. Some
provide training, counsel
and encouragement
to villagers digging wells or
building dams or dikes to
retain water and slow run-off
during the rainy season.
Others do public health
education, related to water
issues due to the prevalence
of water-borne diseases. In
Ouagadougou, the capital,
an MCC worker teaches
woodworking and computer
skills. Another works at a
center for street children.
An MCC worker based in
Burkina Faso coordinates
resources on food and
environmental concerns for
MCC workers throughout
West Africa.
MCC work in Burkina Faso is
done under the umbrella of
FEME, the Federation of
Evangelical Churches and
Missions.
5 MCC Contact/November 1990
Refugee girl, El Salvador
Rice and beans
Learning from other cultures
Is God calling you to
fill one of these
urgent personnel
needs?
Former MCC worker with
street kids, Burkina Faso
It was the last morning in Biu, the town where our family
had a 10-day village orientation with a Nigerian family. We
were lining up to snap a photo of our two families together.
Instead of the normal practice of standing one family on the
left and one family on the right we decided to mix up.
"Just like rice and beans," suggested Daniel Bdliya, our
host. At the time, we heartily enjoyed the comment, yet
even then we felt the remark was significant.
I am not a nutritionist but I understand that rice is a
carbohydrate and beans are rich in protein. And yet on
their own, beans are not nutritionally complete and eating
rice alone will not strengthen significantly a growing young
body. When they are eaten together, however, they become
almost "perfect food."
If rice and beans are eaten alone we will not only miss the
enjoyable exchange of colors and flavors, but we will be
unhealthy people.
Viewing cross-cultural contact through the "rice and beans"
image gives rise to some questions. What understandings
of ecology or politics or economics do I need to overhaul
in light of another culture? What unhealthy images of God
do I have that need to be completed by another world view?
How can my faith be made whole or more wholesome by
another's faith?
Bolivia: regional
coordinator; community
health education worker
• • •
Haiti: agro-forestry
worker
Cambodia:
physician
public health
Kentucky: hospice
volunteer coordinator;
low-cost housing director
• • •
Quebec: caregiver to
AIDS patients
• • •
Akron, Pa.: assistant
director of personnel
• • •
Zaire: country
representative
If you or someone you
know are interested in any
of these positions, contact
MCC Personnel
Department, PO Box 500,
Akron, PA 17501-0500,
(717) 859-1151.
Dave shared the "rice and beans" story as we greeted a
Nigerian congregation of 1,200 or so one Sunday morning.
While it was humorously received, we were overwhelmed
by the number of "beans" compared with our five kernels
of rice. And yet, maybe we need to feel that sense of
insignificance if we hope to learn what the "beans" are
saying to the "rice."
• • • Mary Lou Klassen of Guelph, Ont.
MCC Nigeria
6 MCC Contact/November 1990
"Does our wealth make us more
willing to accept the violence
our governments are prepared
to undertake?"
Unfortunately, this conflict between rich and poor, and the
appropriateness of the Ahab/Naboth analogy, does not end
with the situation in the Middle East. Indeed, as Newsweek
posited in its September 17, 1990, issue, "Future cleavages
will be economic: not socialist versus capitalist, but poor
versus rich." Rich nations will use their enormous military
power to defend their access to food, oil and other
strategic resources, while the poor continue to suffer or
resort to violence themselves.
Staff comment
Ahab, the rich young ruler
and the Middle East crisis
Like George Bush, we spent some time on vacation in
August 1990. Amidst picnic suppers and sand castles on
the beach, we struggled to keep pace with the news
from the Middle East. With greatly troubled hearts, we
watched the world's armies collect weapons from our
factories and young people from our communities, and
prepare for a dreadful battle in the desert.
Since that time, we have sought to understand why the guns
of our nations are trained on a people we hardly know. We
have also pondered what our faith in Jesus should lead us to
do. In this regard, two biblical stories seem instructive.
The story of Ahab, who killed Naboth in order to take his
vineyard, is a scathing critique of the arrogance and
ruthlessness of the powerful. Ahab and Jezebel insisted on
acquiring Naboth 's vineyard because it was adjacent to
their own. Rather than sacrifice by acquiring a vineyard
farther away, they enlisted the support of the local
townspeople to falsely accuse Naboth and stone him to
death.
This story does not contain all the complexities of the
Middle East crisis, yet there are some striking parallels.
At first glance, it appears that Saddam Hussein is the
obvious Ahab in this conflict. Among other things, he
coveted the rich oil fields of Kuwait and ruthlessly took
them, killing more than one Naboth in the process.
Some Arabs would claim, however, that the vast oil
resources of the Middle East "vineyard" have too long
served the consumptive way of life of powerful
industrialized countries and of wealthy Arab rulers. This
has left many Arab peoples impoverished and embittered.
Thus when our nations threaten military violence rather
than willingness to "inconvenience" ourselves with energy
conservation or higher gas prices, we also exhibit the
selfishness and cruelty of Ahab. From this perspective, the
conflict in the Persian Gulf is not between a corrupt power
and a righteous world community; rather, it is ultimately a
conflict between rich and poor.
In such a world, where do we in the North American
Mennonite and Brethren in Christ family find ourselves?
Hopefully, our attitudes do not reflect the arrogance and
violence of Ahab and Jezebel. Yet we must admit that we
are rich. Does our wealth makes us more willing to accept
the violence our governments are prepared to undertake?
In this context, the encounter between Jesus and the rich
young ruler is important to consider. This man came to
Jesus, as we do, sincerely seeking salvation and a life in
God that is eternal. Like us, he also hoped Jesus would
bless his clean moral life and reassure him that he was on
the right path to God. While Jesus implicitly affirmed the
rich man's piety, he astounded him with the injunction to
sell all he had and give it to the poor. Jesus went on to note
that it is very hard for rich people to enter the kingdom of
God. These are hard statements to hear. Nevertheless, in a
world increasingly polarized between rich and poor, we
must take Jesus seriously. Our participation in Jesus'
kingdom of righteousness and justice will depend on our
ability to relinquish our possessions, to share rather than
hoard and defend.
It is interesting that in Luke, this story of the rich young
ruler is followed almost immediately by the story of
another rich man, the hated chief tax collector, Zaccheus.
Unlike the pious young ruler, Zaccheus is known as a
sinner. Yet because of his willingness to share with the
poor and to repent of unjust gain Jesus tells him, "Today
salvation has come to this house..." (Luke 19:9)
The hard words of Jesus are thus balanced with a joyful
possibility of salvation. While the world calls us to seek
security and a comfortable way of life, even if it means a
cruel war in the desert, Jesus calls us to "lose" ourselves
and follow him. Our own salvation and our ability to be
peacemakers depend on it.
• • • Linda and Titus Peachey
MCC U.S. Peace Section
7 MCC Contact/November 1990
Children,
Sudan
Thoughts on personnel
Wanted: People eager to learn
As an administrator in MCC's personnel department, part of
my job is to screen applicants' motivation for service. Many
North Americans quote Matthew 28 as their motivation. A
good percentage of North American applicants are disturbed
by the imbalance of world resources and want to give
something back to less privileged people. In almost all cases,
North Americans wanting to do service are interested in
giving.
Their motivation stands in contrast to what many overseas
partners say they want in mission and service workers. Here
are quotes from two of MCCs international partners:
"Mission candidates should know that, whatever they learned
in seminary, they do not know enough. They should be
willing to put their seminary knowledge aside to learn afresh
from the country and people." (Tanzanian bishop)
"No Mennonite missionary who has been to our country
came as a committed Anabaptist. They learned those ways
of living here." (Guatemalan Mennonite pastor)
MCC currently needs 18 nurses and 18 agriculturists. Our
international partners are asking for workers who come
willing to learn from local people in exchange for sharing
nursing and agricultural skills. MCC needs professionals
interested in being "re-educated." Two international service
workers who recently returned from Asia stated that they
entered service ready to give, but now feel they received far
more.
If you have nursing and agricultural skills, and are interested
in learning and receiving from Christian brothers and sisters
in other countries, MCC would like to hear from you today.
• • • Bill Loewen
Director, Personnel Services
Material aid projects
(January) School kits: MCC
needs 3,000 school kits for
children living with their
families in camps around
Khartoum, Sudan. The
families fled their homes
because of civil war. To
prepare a school kit, place
these items in a 10- by 16-
inch (25- by 41 -centimeter)
drawstring bag: 4
unsharpened pencils, 1
plastic metric ruler (30
centimeters long), 4 spiral
notebooks (a bit smaller
than the cloth bag and about
75 pages each), 1 package
of 1 2 to 1 6 crayons or
colored pencils and 1 pencil
eraser.
• • •
(February) Clothing: In 1990
MCC has shipped some 48
tons of clothing. Major
recipients include
Mozambique, Cambodia,
Nicaragua and Sudan.
Donated clothes should be
light- or medium-weight,
preferably wash-and-wear.
New or good quality used
clothing is welcome.
• • •
(March) Blankets and quilts:
So far this year MCC has
shipped 10,000 blankets to
Bangladesh, 25,000 to
displaced people in Sudan
and 19,000 total to seven
other countries. Bedding
made of new material that
does not show stains and
dirt easily is preferred.
Suggested sizes are 60 to
72 inches (152 to 183
centimeters) wide and 80 to
90 inches (203 to 229
centimeters) long. However,
all sizes are acceptable.
Cash projects
• • •
(January) Tree planting,
Nigeria: Tree planting in
northern Nigeria slows
down the advancing
desert. Two MCC workers
plant fruit and firewood
trees at tree nurseries,
educate about benefits of
tree-planting and sell
trees at a low price. $5
plants 10 trees. $400
supports MCC work at one
tree nursery. Please
include project number
B629-16 with your
contribution.
• • •
(February) Bibles for
students, Egypt: The
Coptic Orthodox Church
offers a free Bible
correspondence course to
thousands of Egyptian
youth each year. Students
receive a new Bible when
they complete the course.
$1.75 provides one Bible
for a student. Please
include project number
B853-7 with your
contribution.
• • •
(March) Bicycles,
Cambodia: Cambodian
workers plant trees for
firewood, shade and
soil fertility. MCC
provides bicycles for tree
planters working over
large areas. $60 provides
one bicycle. Please
include project number
B71 1-60 with your
contribution.
^ennon'rte
Committee
cashproie*5
POeo*5°°750v0500
Akron,
8 MCC Contact/November 1 990
Five hundred people helped celebrate the
inauguration of Marlin E. Miller Oct. 21 as
president of Associated Mennonite Biblical
Seminaries, Elkhart, Ind. Miller is the first
joint president of AMBS, which combines
Mennonite Biblical Seminary and Goshen
Biblical Seminary. He assumed office July
1. David Schroeder, Winnipeg, longtime
Canadian Mennonite Bible College teacher,
author and Mennonite leader, gave the
inaugural address, "Pursue a Vision,"
based on 1 Peter 1:10-12. Darrell Fast,
Newton, Kan., who chairs the MBS board,
and Charles Gautsche, president of
Mennonite Board of Education, read the
charge to Miller.
New AMBS president Marlin Miller (left) and
Darrell Fast at an October board meeting
Jerilynn Prior and her supporters
continue their efforts to gain freedom from
paying taxes for war and war preparation in
Canada. Prior asserts that as a Quaker
she feels she is morally responsible for
military expenditures when she pays her
taxes. The Federal Court of Appeal of
Canada did not accept her petition to
present her case to the Supreme Court.
1 Her lawyer is preparing to reapply for
2 appeal. {Friends Journal)
NEWS
CPT struggles for
acceptance from members
Denver (Meetinghouse) — Six
years after the Christian
Peacemaker Teams idea was
born, CPT is emerging as a
high-profile peace action group,
but it continues to struggle for
acceptance. CPT's response
to the Middle East crisis —
including October's oil-free
Sunday and November's peace
mission to Iraq — has placed the
organization in the limelight.
But some Mennonites,
Brethren in Christ and Church
of the Brethren members
disagree with CPT's style of
activist peacemaking, which
sometimes includes civil
disobedience — breaking the
law because of one's beliefs.
CPT supporters say there is
a lot more to CPT than civil
disobedience. They see CPT
as a way to get more church
members involved in peace-
making and to give various
kinds of organized peace
action more of a key role in the
church. Grass-roots enthusi-
asm is apparent, but so is
ambivalence, even opposition.
"Many people in the church
are not comfortable with CPT's
brand of peacemaking," said
Harriet Bicksler, Harrisonburg,
Va., Brethren in Christ repre-
sentative on the CPT steering
committee. "The activist model
is something that is difficult for
people to accept."
Most peace church members
do not feel called to take part in
peace marches or to trespass
on military installations. But
others say those activities are
ways to be faithful to the
gospel.
"There are a lot of ways to
carry out Jesus' message.
Working with CPT is one way,"
said John Darrow, a member of
Garden Park Mennonite
Brethren Church, Denver. "We
may differ in terms of tactics,
but we're all trying to be faithful
to Jesus and the Word of God."
Darrow was one of about a
dozen Mennonite Brethren
members at CPT's Christian
Peace Revival in Denver Nov.
9-1 1 . Though MB leaders
decided in 1987 to withdraw
their denomination's support
from CPT, MB individuals and
churches are free to be
involved in CPT activities.
Herb Brandt, moderator of
the General Conference of MB
Churches, said the board of
reference and counsel decided
to withdraw from CPT for two
reasons: Few MB leaders
supported CPT, and the MB
representative on the steering
committee in 1986-87 had
raised some concerns about
CPT's direction.
The representative was
Harold Jantz, Winnipeg. Jantz
said he thought the steering
committee had not followed the
original CPT mandate, outlined
at a meeting in Techny, III., in
1986. "The vision at Techny
was that we would act as
peacemakers between groups
that were in conflict," Jantz
said. "The emphasis was on
intervention and trying to be
mediators. That kind of activity
was the original vision, which I
think MBs could identify with.
After that it seemed to me that
some of the agenda had been
taken away by those who were
much more interested in
confrontation [such as protests
at military installations]. I didn't
feel comfortable with it, and I
felt many MBs wouldn't feel
comfortable with it."
CPT coordinator Gene
Stoltzfus, Chicago, and
"There are many
ways to work for
wholeness and
shalom and to
change society. We
need a non-violent
activist group...
[but] civil disobe-
dience isn't the only
way to work for a
position."
Ron Sider
steering committee chairman
Bob Hull, Newton, Kan., both
said the committee had not
deviated from its original
mandate. "I strongly disagree
with the accuracy of their
perception that we moved
away" from the Techny
statement, Hull said. "We have
continued to work at mediation
efforts." He cited CPT media-
tion in the conflict between
Mohawk Indians and the
Canadian military at Oka,
Quebec, this past summer.
Stoltzfus cited this phrase
from the Techny statement:
"We believe a renewed
commitment to the gospel of
peace calls us to new forms of
public witness which may
include non-violent direct
action." Protests and civil
disobedience fall under the
category of non-violent direct
action, he said.
Historically Mennonites have
favored quiet non-resistance to
non-violent resistance, Hull
said. "That is a tremendous
turnaround for those who grew
up in a non-resistant theology."
Stoltzfus, who was one of the
five detained for trespassing at
Lowry, thinks civil disobedience
is a legitimate form of public
witness. He believes CPT has
room for various expressions of
peacemaking.
That is also the opinion of
Ron Sider, the "father of CPT."
Sider is a professor at Eastern
Baptist Theological Seminary
and executive director of two
peace-and-justice organiza-
tions: Evangelicals for Social
Action and Just Life.
At the Mennonite World
Conference in Strasbourg,
France, in 1984, Sider pro-
posed a non-violent peace-
keeping force that would stand
between warring parties. That
kind of risky peacemaking has
not caught on, but he is not
critical of CPT's emphasis. He
says that he is delighted that
the CPT vision is being
pursued. He only wishes it
could have happened faster.
"There are many ways to work
continued on next page ►
THE MENNONITE 541
Becoming a born-again Christian does
not necessarily cause a person's behavior
to improve, reports a study commissioned
earlier this year by High Adventure
Ministries and conducted by the Roper
Organization. The study examined
behavior in three major categories: use of
illegal drugs, driving while intoxicated and
marital infidelity. "We are 'marketing'
salvation in such a way that discipleship is
simply not occurring," said Don Otis, vice
president of High Adventure.
After a bloody coup attempt in Umtata, Transkei, missionary Gary Isaac reported Nov.
23 that he and his family were unharmed. The attackers blew up an army base in the
early morning of Nov. 22, then went into the main government building, where the military
ruler, Major General Bantu Holomisa, has his office. By 2 p.m. the attempt had ended.
Officially, 18 died, including coup leader Craig Duli. Holomisa has expressed support for
the African National Congress and opposition to the homeland system. Transkei is the
oldest of the black homelands, for people of the Xhosa tribe. South Africa has declared
the homelands independent countries, but no other nation recognizes them as such.
Holomisa said he suspected that the South African government was involved in the coup
attempt; South African officials denied this. Isaac said that reports there indicated that
the coup attempt was not tribal in nature. Gary and Jean Isaac are missionaries with the
Commission on Overseas Mission of the General Conference Mennonite Church and
with Africa Inter-Mennonite Mission and have served in Transkei since 1986. Their sons
are Mitchell, 14, and Stuart, 12. The Isaacs' ministry has focused on Bible teaching
among people of the African Independent Churches.
NEWS
CPT continued
for wholeness and shalom and
to change society," he said.
"We need a non-violent activist
group. ..[but] civil disobedience
is not the only way to work for a
position."
While seeking to build
support in the churches, CPT
has struggled financially.
Funding from some of the
supporting conferences has
been less than expected. The
Mennonite Church and General
Conference Mennonite Church
each have given more than
their $2,000 commitment this
year. The BIC has made a
$1 ,000 commitment and has
paid $500 so far. Bicksler said
she hoped the other $500 also
would be paid.
The Church of the Brethren
has never provided any funding
to CPT. Brethren peace
consultant David Radcliff said
that he would like to contribute
to CPT but that would mean he
would have to cut something
else out of the Brethren peace
budget. He thinks Brethren
members do not know much
about CPT.
Stoltzfus says that CPT's
financial problems have been
frustrating. CPT's 1990 budget
is about $26,000, and $8,000 is
still needed to avoid a year-end
deficit. This does not include
expenses for the Iraq delega-
tion. Each person going to Iraq
has to pay $1 ,500 to subsidize
the trip. "We need to increase
our income so we can do
creative things," Stoltzfus said.
"What's the use of having CPT
if we can't respond to needs?"
CPT should have at least
$5,000 budgeted for sending
people to work in conflict
situations like the Mohawk
dispute in Canada last summer
and the Iraq crisis now,
Stoltzfus said. CPT ought to
be able to respond to conflicts
like Mennonite Disaster Service
responds to floods and
tornadoes, he said. When a
situation arises, you need to
drop everything and go there to
help.
Hull has a vision for a group
that would serve as "CPT
reserves," like military reserves
but peaceful. He envisions
these reserves working in a
voluntary service unit. The
members would be able to drop
their work on short notice and
go to serve as mediators in
crisis situations.
Stoltzfus sees reasons to be
hopeful that CPT's dreams can
be accomplished. He discov-
ered lots of grass-roots support
for oil-free Sunday, estimating
that 40 percent of CPT's 2,000
constituent congregations
participated. This showed CPT
involvement by local congrega-
tions, which is the best place
for CPT work to be done, he
said. "I think there is a seed in
the soul of the peace
churches," Stoltzfus said.
"There is something we have to
offer to our nation and our
world if we can just find a way
to call it out."
CPT will continue to try to be
a prophetic voice in the church.
Sider, the person who started it
all, says he hopes CPT's
peacemaking ventures will
always be "grounded in historic
biblical faith and dependence
on the Spirit. Pay/ Schrag
542 DECEMBER 11, 1990
Lois Kreider's idea for a store that
would sell Third World crafts along
with secondhand thrift items has
grown into a Mennonite success story
across North America. From the first
store that Kreider, who is a member of
Faith Mennonite Church, Newton,
Kan., started in Bluffton, Ohio, in
1974, Mennonite Central Committee's
self-help and thrift stores have spread
to at least 130 locations. Last year
the stores raised more than $1 million
for MCC and returned at least $1 .5
million to Third World poor people
from 35 countries who earn their living
by making self-help crafts.
"The Arts and Prophetic Imagination: Expres-
sions of Anguish and Hope" is the title of a
symposium to be held Jan. 11-13,1 991 , at Bethel
College, North Newton, Kan. Sponsored by the
Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution
and the Bethel College Division of Humanities and
Fine Arts, the symposium will explore connections
between religion and artistic expressions of
anguish and hope in our culture. It will include
plenary lecture-format sessions followed by time
for discussion as well as visual art exhibits,
dramatic performances and concerts. Presenters
include professor Wilson Yates of United Theo-
logical Seminary, painter and printmaker Ruth
Weisberg, Irene V. Jackson-Brown of Yale
University's Institute for Sacred Music and
philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff.
Eddy Hall, Goessel, Kan., was chosen to
attend a writers' training conference
Sept. 23-28 in Rye, N.Y., sponsored by
Guideposts magazine. Hall competed
against 4,500 other writers who submit-
ted writing samples. Only 1 3 were
chosen for the conference. Hall is a free-
lance writer and co-editor of With and
YouthGuide for the General Conference
Mennonite Church. He is a member of
New Creation Fellowship, Newton, Kan.
NEWS
1992 hymnal
nears
completion
Elgin, III. (Meetinghouses-
After seven years of sorting
and debating, the three Hymnal
Project committees made their
final recommendations Oct. 30
here and then disbanded. That
night they received official
thanks at a dinner hosted by
the leaders of the three
participating denominations.
For the next three days the
decision-making Hymnal
Council then voted — hymn by
hymn — on the recommenda-
Goshen College seeks faculty for
a full-time, long-term position in the
Division of Teacher Education,
with emphasis on curriculum and
educational foundations. Position
open August 1991 . Qualifications
include Ph.D. or Ed.D. with
advanced graduate study in
elementary education, curriculum,
educational foundations or other
areas. Candidates with disserta-
tion in progress may be consid-
ered. Teaching experience in
elementary school preferred.
Commitment to integrating
Christian faith and the principles of
peacemaking with teaching is
important. Minority persons are
encouraged to apply.
Send resume and three profes-
sional references to John W. Eby,
Academic Dean, Goshen College,
Goshen, IN 46526. Applications
will be received until Jan. 15, 1991.
If you have further questions, call
John Eby, (219) 535-7503, or John
J. Smith, Director of Teacher
Education, (219) 535-7439.
tions, singing many of them,
rejecting some, accepting
others. By the end of the
meeting the number of ap-
proved hymns reached nearly
600. The final 100 or so will be
selected at the last meeting of
the 14-member council in
January 1 991 . Then three
Hymnal Project staff people
(managing editor Rebecca
Slough, music editor Ken
Nafziger and administrative
secretary Lani Wright) will
prepare the hymnal for
publication. They will present
the book to the printers by early
1992, with a release date set
for June 1 . The price of the
hymnal will be $14.95. A
reduced price of $1 1 .95 will be
offered for prepaid orders June
1-Dec. 31 of next year.
The new hymnal, produced
jointly by the Mennonite
Church, General Conference
Mennonite Church and Church
of the Brethren, will replace the
1951 Brethren book and the
1969 MC/GC book.
Reflecting renewed interest
in congregational worship, the
new hymnal will have a large
section of worship resources at
the back, including prayers,
litanies, Scripture readings and
materials for special occasions.
Another change is that the
hymns and the worship
resources will be organized not
by topic but by order of service.
The thorniest issue over the
years has been "inclusive
language." Should a hymn
about "men of God" be
changed to "people of God"?
Although many Christians now
agree that God is neither male
nor female, should the deity be
referred to as "he"?
After much struggle, the
council reached a compromise
consensus that the newer
hymns will have inclusive
language but that some old-
time favorites will not always be
inclusive. The council also
agreed that God-language (like
"he" for God) will not be altered
text and worship — received a
certificate designed by artist
Gwen Stamm, who will design
the new hymnal.
"There will be a special place
in heaven for you," Don Miller.
Church of the Brethren general
secretary, told the committee
members. ("The choir loft,"
someone quipped.)
Marilyn Houser Hamm and John Rempel examine their certificates of
appreciation for their work on the Hymnal Council.
as much as human language
(like "men" for people).
The appreciation dinner
opened and closed with hymns
from the 1 989 Hymnal Sam-
pler—the traditional "Now
Thank We All Our God" and the
contemporary "When In Our
Music God Is Glorified." Each
member of the three Hymnal
Project committees — music,
Vern Preheim, general
secretary of the General
Conference Mennonite Church,
recalled the first meeting of the
Hymnal Project and noted the
"big bumps on the road" since
then. "There have been tears
of joy and sorrow along the
way," he said. "I hope it will be
worth every ounce of your
energy." Steve Shenk
THE MENNONITE 543
The World Council of Churches has
condemned the use of deadly force by
Israeli security forces against Palestinians
in Jerusalem on Oct. 8. Israelis killed more
than 20 Palestinians and wounded hun-
dreds. WCC general secretary Emilio
Castro said, "The manner in which the
Israeli authorities have acted reflects total
disregard of their obligations under the
international law and makes them fully
responsible for this tragedy."
RECOltd
"Tensions between Catholics and
Evangelicals have increased from bad to
worse," write Karen and Tig Intagliata,
Commission on Overseas Mission workers
in Bolivia. "A first-ever Evangelical prayer
breakfast with the Bolivian president — with
the hope of gaining more respect and
recognition from the government —
prompted sharp criticism from the Catholic
hierarchy." Evangelical groups are cooper-
ating more, but increased awareness of dif-
ferences in theology and methodology and
competition for new members have caused
divisions among Evangelicals. The
Bolivian Mennonite churches have also
experienced "the power of cooperation"
and "the pain of competition," they write.
People from White River Cheyenne
Mennonite Church and their pastor, Willis
Busenitz, have for several years set aside
funds for the construction of a tennis court
in Busby, Mont., where the church is
located. They secured a grant from the
Montana Coal Board, and work began.
Vern Buller from Lame Deer served as
project foreman, and support came from
local businesses, tribal officials and
community members. The new tennis
court opened Sept. 1 6. More than 75
people attended festivities, which included
a prayer of dedication.
WOdliERS
Jim Brown began Oct. 5 as
pastor at Harrow (Ont.) Church.
Jake and Tina Friesen, Zion
Church, Winkler, Man., began
four-month Mennonite Central
Committee terms in September
in Akron, Pa. He is a puller and
she a store clerk with Self-Help
Crafts.
Donald W. Fry, pastor at
Emmanuel Church, Reinholds,
Pa., was the primary resource
person for a church growth
seminar Oct. 20 at Salunga,
Pa.
Dale and Karen Glass-Hess,
Shalom Fellowship, Tucson,
Ariz., have begun three-year
MCC terms in Ipil, Philippines.
He is working in literacy and
community development and
she in agriculture. Their
children are Laura and Wesley.
His parents are Dale and Jean
Glass of Grantsville, Md. Hers
are Dorothy and Walter Hess of
New Danville, Pa.
John Heyerly, Whitestone
Church, Hesston, Kan., began
a two-year MCC term in July in
Reedley, Calif., as director of
the West Coast MCC develop-
mental disabilities program.
Angelika Jantz and Walter
Nikkei, Thompson (Man.)
United Mennonite Church,
have begun three-year MCC
terms in Atbara, Sudan. She is
working with women in a craft
collective. He is an English-
language teacher. They have
one son, Jacob. Her parents
are Hugo and Katherine Jantz
Van de Veer
Warrenfeltz
Heyerly
HUHi SlldtPT
D. Glass-Hess K. Glass-Hess
of Neuwied,
Germany. His
are Cornelius
and Helga
Nikkei of
Steinbach,
Man.
Bill Janzen,
Camrose
(Alta.)
Fellowship,
began as executive director of
MCC Alberta in September.
Irene and John Klassen,
Calgary, began four-month
MCC terms in September in
Akron, Pa. She is a clerk and
he a stock clerk at the Self-
Help Crafts warehouse.
Olga Kliewer, Bethesda
Church, Henderson, Neb.,
began a 3-1/2-month MCC
term in September in Akron,
Pa., working as a packer for
Self-Help Crafts.
I. Klassen J. Klassen
Kliewer
Ribble
Aldred Neufeld, First Church,
Calgary, has received the
Mennonite Health Association
1990 Allen Erb Memorial Award
for his work as a developmen-
tal-disabilities expert. He
chairs the handicap concerns
committee of MCC Canada.
Harold Penner, Arnaud,
Man., and Ernie Wiens,
Glenlea, Man., visited the
Soviet Union Oct. 17-Nov. 13,
exploring the creation of an
MCC agricultural exchange
between Canadian, U.S. and
Soviet farmers.
Phyllis Ressler, Akron (Pa.)
Church, began a two-year MCC
term in April in Akron, working
as a product design coordinator
for Self-Help Crafts.
Barbara Ribble, Wideman
Church, Markham, Ont., began
a two-year MCC term in July in
Stouffville, Ont., as manager of
Care and Share Shoppe, a
Self-Help Crafts store.
Arnold Snyder, associate
professor of history and peace
and conflict studies at Conrad
Grebel College, Waterloo, Ont.,
is the new editor of Conrad
Grebel Review, succeeding
Rodney Sawatzky.
Erik Van de Veer, Spring
Valley Church, Newport,
Wash., has begun a two-year
MCC term in Akron, Pa., as a
canner with the MCC meat-
canning crew. His parents are
Bobbie and Phil Van de Veer of
Spokane, Wash.
John Warrenfeltz, Fairfield
(Pa.) Church, began a four-
month MCC term in September
in Akron, Pa., working in
receiving and pricing in the
Self-Help Crafts warehouse.
His parents are Dorothy and
544 DECEMBER 11, 1990
Nineteen General Conference pastors
came to Newton, Kan., Sept. 30-Oct. 2 for
the annual Ministers' Orientation Seminar.
The purpose of the meeting was to
acquaint pastors with GC programs and
personnel as well as to talk about issues
facing churches. "The group that was here
demonstrated we have high-quality,
dedicated new pastors who come from
various backgrounds," said John Esau,
director of ministerial leadership. "They
see themselves as Anabaptists and have
found their home in the Mennonite church."
Max Ediger, a longtime Asian-human-
rights activist, on Sept. 8 was awarded the
seventh annual Harriet Hanson Award by
Synapses, a Chicago-based interfaith
peace action group. The award recognizes
the recipient for "persistence and innova-
tion as a thorn in the side of the powers
and principalities who presume to call
themselves owners of God's earth." Ediger
worked in Vietnam with Mennonite Central
Committee (1968-1975), and since then
has lived in Bangkok, Thailand, where he
organizes solidarity efforts to support
democratic forces in Burma and is a
leading advocate for squatter's rights. Born
in Turpin, Okla., he is a graduate of Bethel
College, North Newton, Kan.
Mennonite Central Committee needs
people trained in forestry or with experience
in tree husbandry to fill assignments in
several countries, including Haiti, Nigeria
and Cambodia. MCC plants trees in about
20 countries, including Bolivia, Brazil,
Ethiopia, Jordan, India, Laos, Bangladesh,
Zambia, Kenya and Burkina Faso. Tree
planting is one way MCC promotes care of
the environment. To apply contact MCC
Personnel Services, Box 500, Akron, PA
17501-0500, (717) 859-1151.
recorcI— RESOURCES
Weaver Wiebe
Mike Warrenfeltz of Gettysburg,
Pa.
Elizabeth Weaver, Akron
(Pa.) Church, began a two-year
MCC term in August in Akron,
working as an administrative
secretary in the Personnel
Services department. Her
parents are Anne and Glenn
Weaver of Blue Ball, Pa.
Jill Wiebe, Trinity Fellowship,
Mather, Man., began a two-
year MCC term in May, working
as a purchasing assistant for
Self-Help Crafts. Her parents
are Frank and Mert Wiebe of
Mather.
— compiled by Sharon Sommer
Mennonite Mutual Aid is looking
for an educational resources
manager. Person will be
responsible for developing
educational materials and
seminars on mutual aid and
stewardship concepts and other
topics related to MMA's mission.
Candidates should have skills in
developing, managing and
educating; good written and verbal
communication skills; and a strong
commitment to the Mennonite/
Anabaptist church.
If interested, please contact
Personnel Department, MMA,
1110 N. Main St., Goshen, IN
46526, (219) 533-9511.
ooks
Hunger 1990: A Report on the
State of World Hunger is
available from the Bread for the
World Institute on Hunger and
Development, 802 Rhode
Island Ave., N.E., Washington,
DC 20018, (202) 269-0200.
Art and Jocele Meyer of the
Global Education Office of
Mennonite Central Committee
U.S. have sifted through the
avalanche of information and
come up with the best current
materials on how individuals
may help heal the environment:
The Global Ecology
Handbook (Beacon Press),
Only One Earth (United
Nations, DC2-803, New York,
NY 10017), Design for a
Livable Planet (Harper &
Row), The Green Lifestyle
Handbook (Henry Holt & Co.)
and Caring for Creation
(Wood Lake Books, Box 700,
Winfield, BC V0H 2C0).
Human Sexuality and the
Christian Life (Faith and Life
Press, 1990, $5.95), a "working
document for study and
dialogue," was first published in
1985 by the General Confer-
ence Mennonite Church and
the Mennonite Church. These
denominations' delegate
bodies, at Saskatoon ('86) and
Purdue ('87), reviewed
sexuality. In their statements,
included in this book as a
supplement, delegates
covenanted "to take part in the
ongoing search for discernment
on the complex issues of
sexuality."
A list of prime military
contractors in the United States
is available from Mennonite
Central Committee U.S. Peace
Section, Box 500, Akron, PA
17501-0500.
The Country Lily Quilt by
Cheryl A. Benner and Rachel
T. Pellman (1990, $12.95) is
the third in a series of original
pattern books from Good
Books.
Bill Hybels, in his book
Honest to God? Becoming an
Authentic Christian (Zondervan,
1 990, $1 4.95), presents the
case for abandoning the pursuit
of material success and
embracing a Christian faith that
actually influences a person's
everyday actions.
Gifted Hands: the Ben
Carson Story by Ben Carson
with Cecil Murphey (Zonder-
van, 1 990, $1 2.95) is the story
of Ben Carson, who overcame
a broken home, poverty, limited
opportunity and scholastic and
behaviorial problems. It
chronicles the transformation of
an angry inner-city boy,
growing up in Detroit with a
violent temper, into a medical
genius renowned for his unique
surgical skills, innovative
medical procedures and a mild
bedside manner.
Developing a Drama
Group, edited by Robert Smyth
(World Wide Publications,
1990, $19.95), is a comprehen-
sive how-to book that explains
the process of starting or
building a drama group for
churches and others who want
to entertain, teach or present
the gospel in a new way.
Using theology and autobiog-
raphy, Michael A. King in
Trackless Wastes and Stars
to Steer By (Herald Press,
1990, $14.95, $18.95 in
Canada) offers a new faith
home, one whose bicultural
members challenge the bad
and love the good of God's
world, take the world into the
Bible and connect Bible and
world.
Feedback, edited by Ken
Hawkley, is a young adult
congregational ministry
resource published quarterly by
the General Conference
Mennonite Church and the
Mennonite Church. For a
sample copy write to Ken at
Box 347, Newton. KS 67114-
0347.
Volume 60 of Christmas: the
Annual of Christmas Literature
and Art (Augsburg, 1990, $9.95
paper, $1 1 .95 in Canada,
$19.95 cloth, $23.95 in
Canada) focuses on the
tradition of the Christmas tree.
Grace Kaiser, author of Dr.
Frau: a Woman Doctor Among
the Amish, continues her
reminiscences in Detour (Good
Books, 1990, $15.95), including
her spinal cord injury that left
her a quadriplegic.
Jesus (Pinchpenny Press,
1990, $6) is a book of poems
by Yorifumi Yaguchi, a Japa-
nese poet and Mennonite
pastor, illustrated by Georgia
Liechty. It is available from the
translator, Ross Bender, 613 S.
48, Philadelphia, PA 19143.
— compiled by Gordon Houser
THE MENNONITE 545
MCC workers help communities
give their children nutritious food
and adequate health care.
Be more than a spectator. Send a
contribution to MCC with this
note --" I want to share health
and happiness with a few children
this Christmas."
Healthy, happy children are
a wonderful sight. Yet many
children go to bed with empty
stomaches. And many die
from measles, diarrhea and
other curable diseases.
0^a -r 5\<-9
Columbia Bible College invites
applications for missions faculty
position. Qualifications include
• commitment to Christ, the church,
evangelism/missions
• commitment to Anabaptist/
Mennonite theology
• missionary experience
• gifted in administration
• relational strength with under-
graduate students
• ability to motivate students for
evangelism/missions
• doctoral degree desirable.
Position effective Aug. 16, 1992.
Resumes accepted until Feb. 28,
1991. Send to Academic Dean.
Columbia Bible College, 2940
Clearbrook Road, Clearbrook, BC
V2T 2Z8.
Mennonite Conference of
Eastern Canada invites applica-
tions for the position of executive
secretary. Responsibilities
include implementation of the
vision and policies of the confer-
ence and its executive board,
provision of team leadership and
supervision for conference staff in
consultation with the program
commissions, coordination of
communication with congregations
and general oversight of budget
preparation and expenditures.
Qualifications include administra-
tive experience, preferably in a
Mennonite or inter-Mennonite
setting, good consultative and
relational skills, ability to lead a
team and good communication
skills. We assume a basic
commitment to Christ and the
Mennonite church's expression of
that commitment. Knowledge of
GC and MC church structures,
particularly in Canada, would be an
asset. Facility in one or more non-
English languages of the confer-
ence is an asset.
Starting time for the position is
negotiable. More specific
information on job description,
qualifications expected, salary
scale or other issues may be
directed to the address below.
Resumes containing a biographical
sketch including educational,
vocational, conference and
community experience, a state-
ment of strengths and weaknesses
in relation to the job description,
and names of three references
should be directed to Ron
Sawatsky, chairperson, Executive
Secretary Search Committee, 59
Biscayne Blvd., Scarborough, ON
M1R 1A1. The deadline for
applications/inquiries is Dec. 31.
Are you lonely? Maybe Cross-
roads can help you too. Some of
the couples who have met their
mates through us include a nurse
and a minister, a teacher and a
carpenter, and a widow and a
farmer. Other clients are meeting
friends who share their interests.
Some are still waiting to meet the
right one. Perhaps they are
looking for you. How will you find
out if you don't join?
For information write to Cross-
roads, Box 32, North Tonawanda,
NY 14120.
Faculty position in education:
Opening fall 1991 in early
childhood and elementary
education. Doctorate preferred.
Women and minorities are
encouraged to apply.
Send resume to Dr. Lee Snyder,
Eastern Mennonite College,
Harrisonburg, VA 22801.
OMSC for Missionary Renewal
Ralph R. Covell
"The course stretched me and showed me where I
need to grow."
— Missionary in Hong Kong
"Lessons for Mission from the Church in
China" is the topic for Ralph R. Covell's
course Jan. 28-Feb. 1, 1991. David Bosch
explores "a new paradigm for mission" April
1 5-19; Ted Ward deals with third world leader-
ship training April 22-26; and Samuel Escobar
teams up with Ray Bakke for an urban mis-
sion seminar April 29-May 3. These and other
seminars at OMSC are waiting for your input
and inspiration. Tuition $90 unless otherwise
indicated; room and meals $116-$136.
Position Opening:
Commission on Overseas Mission
Canadian coordinator
3/4-time position
Starting date: Sept. 1, 1991
Applications accepted until Jan.
15, 1991.
Function: Represent COM to
Canadian General Conference
Mennonite churches, institutions
and missionaries with an office in
Winnipeg.
Qualifications and desired skills:
Understanding of
missiology, desire to
communicate missions
in congregations,
relational and adminis-
trative skills, availability
for travel, overseas
experience desirable.
To apply write to Bill
Block, COM Chairper-
son, 600 Shaftesbury
Blvd., Winnipeg, MB
R3P 0M4, or Erwin
Rempel, COM Execu-
tive Secretary, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114.
Jan. 21-25: The Role of Social Justice in
World Evangelization. Dr. William E. Pannell,
Fuller Seminary.
Jan. 28-Feb. 1: See "Lessons from China,"
above.
Feb. 11-15: "Translating the Message: The
Missionary Impact on Culture." Reading
Week with Dr. Lamin Sanneh, author of the
book. (No tuition charge.)
Mar. 1 2-1 4: Theology and Mission: The Con-
nection Between Blacks in Africa and the
Americas. Dr. Cayraud Wilmore gives three
lectures cosponsored by the Richmond
Theological Center, at the Presbyterian School
of Christian Education, Richmond, Va. $35
Mar. 18-22: Doing Theology in Missionary
Contexts: Risk and Reward. Dr. Dean Cilliland,
Fuller Seminary.
April 8-12: Spirituality for Cross-Cultural
Mission. Fr. Joseph bonders, Washington
Theological Union. Cosponsored by Mary-
knoll Mission Institute, at Maryknoll, N.Y.
April 1 5-1 9: Toward a New Paradigm for Mis-
sion: One Gospel, Multiple Models. Dr.
David J. Bosch, University of South Africa. Co-
sponsored by Christian Reformed World Mis-
sions and Mennonite Central Committee.
April 22-26: Third World Innovations in
Leadership Training. Dr. Ted Ward, Trinity
Evangelical Divinity School. Cosponsored by
Baptist General Conference, MAP Inter-
national, Mission to the World, OMS Inter-
national, SIM International, World Concern,
World Relief Corporation, and Wycliffe Bible
Translators.
April 29-May 3: Grace and Grit: The Gospel
and Mission in the Contemporary City. Dr.
Samuel Escobar, Eastern Baptist Seminary,
and Dr. Raymond Bakke, International Urban
Associates. Cosponsored by Eastern Men-
nonite Board of Missions, Latin America Mis-
sion, Mennonite Board of Missions, New York
Bible Society, SIM International, Southern
Baptist FMB, World Relief Corporation, and
World Vision.
Dear Friends at OMSC: Send more information about the following programs
NAME
ADDRESS
Mail to: Overseas Ministries Study Center, 490 Prospect St., New Haven, CT 0651 1
Tel: (203) 624-6672 Fax: (203) 865-2857
Publishers of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research
THE MENNONITE 547
Letters
Hold up the peaceful arm
War is not necessary. We must dedicate
ourselves to communicating and using
every ounce of brain power that our
Creator has endowed us with. With all
the genius of high tech that has come
about during this century, surely we can
divert that same genius of creativity and
problem-solving ability into keeping
peace, building up and preserving
human life and peaceful existence. It
must begin sometime and some place or
eventually we will end up destroying
ourselves and our world. Let this crisis
set a precedent for a new way of diplo-
macy in the world. Let us hold up the
peaceful arm of diplomacy higher than
ever.
I encourage others to write a letter to
the U.S. president, encouraging a stand
for a peaceful solution to this crisis in the
Middle East. Joyce C. Hedrick, Box
390001, Kailua-Kona, HI 96739
Editor's note: A copy of Joyce Hedrick's
letter to George Bush is available upon
request. Send a self-addressed envelope
to The Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114.
Prayer and evangelism
I thank those who pray for us and those
who write us. Never have we been so
discouraged by a new start [in church
planting]. But never have we been so
encouraged by letters from Christians in
our home churches assuring us of their
prayers. That makes all the difference.
It's important to pray. But it's also
important to let people know you are
praying for them to give encouragement.
We've been especially impressed with
letters from the elderly. Recently I heard
of one Christian in her 80s who spends
six hours daily praying for missionaries.
That's why we're still here. That's why
the church of Christ moves forward in
spite of all Satan's attacks to destroy it.
Three [August] papers arrived yester-
day, Oct. 14: The Mennonite, Mennonite
Brethren Herald and Mennonite Re-
porter. I got carried away with the
excitement [of Mennonite World Confer-
ence reporting]. I agree with the MB
editor who said we lost a great challenge
in Winnipeg by not making Sunday an
evangelism emphasis and inviting the
general public.
Peter and I are excited about a
renewed emphasis in the General
Conference Mennonite Church of making
evangelism our number one priority. Is
that getting watered down now by
suggesting that "holistic evangelism
includes sharing God's love and concerns
for all of creation and working together
on environmental issues"? Christ died
on the cross to forgive us for all our sins.
The environment is a matter of
stewardship. Mary Derksen, No. 602,
Excellent 36, 23-11, 5 chome, Mugino,
Hakata ku, Fukuoka shi, Japan 816
Baptism in the 'neighborhood'
I have followed with interest the recent
discussions in The Mennonite about
infant and believer's baptism and what it
means to be Mennonite. These questions
hit home as I was recently ordained and
am pastoring a United Church of Christ
congregation in Pennsylvania, though I
retain membership at Akron (Pa.) Men-
nonite Church.
[At a recent] meeting with other UCC
clergy from this area, the discussion
topic was the mutual recognition of
ordained ministers in the UCC and
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
In 1985 these two denominations, UCC
and DOC, entered into a "full ecumenical
partnership," committing themselves to
common mission work, theological work
and worship, with the intent of moving
toward full union.
Both groups have historically shared a
vision for church unity. The UCC is a
product of four original groups. A
merger of the Evangelical and Reformed
Churches took place in 1933, and a
merger of the Congregational and
Christian Churches occurred in 1931.
The E&Rs and the CCs joined to become
the UCC in 1957. The Disciples of Christ
is the result of a melding of various
"Christian" churches that were begun in
19th-century revival movements in the
United States.
Differences of tradition, history,
ethnicity, doctrine and polity exist
between and among all these strands
that are now being woven together. The
Germanic E&Rs tended to have a more
educated clergy and a more formal
liturgy than the CCs. And E&R polity
was decidedly presbyterial. The CCs, of
course, have always been adamantly
congregational in polity and have their
roots in New England Puritanism and
early American independence. E&R
churches have "altars," whereas CC
churches have "communion tables." Now
bring in the DOCs, who practice be-
liever's baptism and have communion
weekly. (In most UCC churches, infant
baptism is still the norm, although
believer's is accepted, and communion is
not usually celebrated more than once a
month.)
In the 1957 merger of E&R with CC,
the uniting bodies felt that a reconciled
and undivided church was the most
faithful expression of obedience to the
will of Christ, who prayed "that they may
all be one." Thus they were willing to
subordinate differences of doctrine and
practice to a higher goal of Christian
unity.
Some pastors [at this meeting] ex-
pressed concern that not enough atten-
tion is being paid to theological differ-
ences between UCC and DOC, that
basically the same actions take place in
infant baptism followed by confirmation
as in infant dedication and believer's
baptism: First, God welcomes the child,
and the parents and the church make a
commitment to nurture it in the Chris-
tian faith; then when the child is of
knowledgeable age a voluntary profes-
sion of faith is made and the youth is
accepted into full membership in the
church.
I do not have answers, but I do admire
the UCC's commitment to "live the way
toward unity," a commitment to work
and witness and worship together with
other Christians despite differences.
Dialogue about these differences occurs
along the way, as the covenantal commit-
ment of unity is lived out.
My prayer is that Mennonites will
resolve the sibling rivalries in the
sandbox and start playing with some of
the neighbor kids across the street.
Linda Schmidt, 1018 Whitehall Road,
Littlestown, PA 17340
We mourn and celebrate
Albany Park Mennonite Church, Chi-
cago, began in 1984. Its final worship
celebration was held Oct. 28 (see Nov. 13
issue, page 492).
The decision to discontinue this
church-planting effort was difficult. The
church became "family" for over 100
people in its six-year history but
struggled to become rooted in an inner-
city community that many were leaving.
Evangelistic efforts met with frequent
disappointment. Decreasing worship
attendance dampened members' enthusi-
asm to reach out. Energy levels of the
mostly working- and lower-economic-
class members were limited.
At its closing service the church
mourned its closing but celebrated its
ministry. It was a catalyst for an
ecumenical neighborhood food pantry
548 DECEMBER 11, 1990
and refuge for refugees from El Salvador.
It provided leadership training for
several pastoral interns. Anglo-Ameri-
can, black and Hispanic people with
diverse educational and economic
backgrounds found unity in Christ at
Albany Park Mennonite Church.
Throughout its history Albany Park
remained confident of one all-important
fact: God is present in our lives together.
Albany Park is grateful for the support
over the years from Central District
Conference and Illinois Mennonite
Conference. Our members will be
participating in Mennonite and other
Christian churches in the Chicago area.
Ulli Klemm, former pastor, Albany Park
Mennonite Church, 3841 W. Sunnyside,
Chicago, IL 60625
Speak the truth in Guatemala
How can one place be so wonderful and
so horrible at the same time? That was
what I asked myself during a visit to
Guatemala. The beauty of the land and
its people was stunning. Equally
stunning were the poverty and the
ubiquitous presence of the military.
My wife, Mary, and I stayed for a week
in a picturesque town situated on a lake
encircled by menacing green volcanoes.
This village is a haven for tourists.
One could get up in the morning, go for
a boat ride on the lake and come back to
order granola and yogurt at one of
several stylish restaurants.
I found it difficult to be comfortable.
The contrasts were unsettling. For the
tourists with Birkenstock sandals, it was
heaven. For the local people without any
shoes, it was a village that used to be
theirs.
At another town where tourism was
absent, we saw a more representative
portrait of Guatemala. In the meager
market, we saw 14-year-old boys buying
bananas. They were soldiers, completely
equipped with automatic machine guns.
We visited the office of a human rights
organization in this town and talked
with Guatemalans about the situation in
their country. One man was living in the
office because he was afraid to go back to
his own village. Three months ago his
cousin had been murdered by the
military. His cousin was part of a group
of farmers who had decided to resist
participation in the so-called "voluntary"
civil defense patrols instituted by the
Guatemalan army. These patrols were
set up in indigenous villages as a way of
controlling the insurgency movement
and preserving an unjust status quo.
Men from the village "volunteer" to do
service on these patrols without pay and
"agree" to leave their crops and families
unattended. They also "volunteer" to
report on any neighbors who may seem
dissatisfied in any way with their lives.
Those who would rather not volunteer
are threatened and often killed. The
leader of the human rights organization
is working for the rights of those farmers
who refuse to participate. He says that
the policy of the army in forming these
patrols is in direct contradiction with the
constitution of Guatemala. Due to his
work he has received numerous death
threats and cannot leave his home
unaccompanied.
What a contrast to the tourist town.
All is not well in Guatemala. The church
is affected. We visited a Mennonite who
is also involved in human rights work.
He needs to return home at a different
time every night in order to protect his
life. He has been interrogated by the
national police and threatened. He lives
with fear. He knows he may be called
upon to make the "ultimate sacrifice" due
to his Christian commitment to speak
the truth about what is happening in his
country.
He said that what Guatemalans need
is for people from other countries to
discover the truth about Guatemala and
to put pressure on the government to
stop the repression. The military
tyranny in Guatemala is still a secret to
many people. The majority of Guatema-
lans suffer in silence. The repression
and injustice need to be uncovered and
stopped. The Guatemalans themselves
are trapped. They rely on us to make a
difference. Scott Brubaker-Zehr,
Escuela de Idiomas Costa Rica, Apartado
250-2010, San Jose, Costa Rica
Correction
"Denck was born near Augsburg,
Germany, probably in 1500. He died of
'the pest' in Basel, Switzerland, in
November 1927" (Oct. 23 issue, page
462). I did not know that Hans Denck
lived to be around 427 years old. I think
somebody made a little mistake. J.
Alma, 3833 Watson Drive, New Port
Richey, FL 34655
Editor's note: You are right. The
second date should be 1527.
Concern about committee
I am concerned about the people named
to the listening committee on homosex-
ual concerns (Oct. 23 issue). Are any of
them gay? I know that some have gay or
lesbian family members, but that is not
the same. Do we have committees
looking at the needs of Hispanics or
American Indians that do not actually
have members of those groups? What a
weird standard. I am disappointed in my
church. It is really a committee for the
rest of the church on how to deal with
homosexual people — treating them as
the outsiders many want them to be.
Patricia C. Mack, 712 Grain Exchange
Building, Minneapolis, MN 55415
A new day in South Africa
I attended a women's conference in
Durban, a 275-mile, 5-1/2-hour trip. We
took a carload of women from Transkei.
The conference was an outgrowth of
South Africa Council of Churches'
"Ecumenical Decade of Women." Our
particular purpose was for women to
have a part in shaping the constitution of
the new South Africa. Nearly 200
women came from all over South Africa.
Most were "church delegates" like us.
Women presented papers on constitution
making, women and economy, health,
education, the church. We divided into
10 "commissions" to discuss what we
would like to see reflected in the new
constitution. We drew up specific
resolutions to be presented to the South
African constitutional committee. The
final item was a communion service.
I wished that more white women had
come. One white woman said how
difficult it is to conscientize white
women. They feel secure and compla-
cent. I was most impressed with the
definite Christian tone throughout. A
woman might be representing a political
organization, for instance, but her
commitment to the church and to
Christianity was evident. The "Mission
Statement" began, "We Christian women
assembled here...." Jean Isaac, Box 65,
Umtata, Transkei, South Africa
Thanks, and please pray
Thank you for sending me The Menno-
nite regularly. Let me thank the brother
or sister who has contributed toward
this. May the Lord bless him or her
richly. The Mennonite has always been a
source of blessing to me. Articles on
spiritual life are important factors in my
spiritual growth. Testimonies are a
great source of encouragement. Case
studies and profiles are living evidences
of what God can do in and through
ordinary but dedicated lives, and news
features are eye openers. In short, a big
thank you to the staff of the magazine.
Please uphold me by your prayers and
stand beside me to proclaim the message
of the love of Jesus to my motherland,
India. Michael Sona, 104, Bastipuram,
P.O. Jagdeeshpur, District Raipur, M.P.
493 555 India
THE MENNONITE 549
REvi EWS
ks
Relationship with the poor
And Who Is My Neighbor? by Gerald
W. Schlabach (Herald Press, 1990, 210
pages)
Reviewed by Katherine Burkey Wiens,
122 S.W. Third, Newton, KS 67114
This book emphasizes "changing the
heart through a relationship with the
poor — not simply changing your mind
through information about poverty."
Unlike many books that simply state the
depressing plight of the poor and the
overconsumption of
the rich, this gives
helpful suggestions
on how the non-poor
may relate to the
poor.
In this book the
poor are viewed as
people the non-poor
need to be in commu-
nity with and need in
developing a relation-
ship with Christ.
Also it is not possible
to love God and ignore the needs of the
poor. One must look at the poor as
equals with talents and ideas to share,
not as a group of people who need a
handout. The breakdown of community
between the poor and non-poor leaves all
in poverty.
To receive the most benefit from the
book one should read it with a small
group. At the end of each chapter,
Scripture plus questions for thought and
discussion are given. The book suggests
including the poor in groups through role
playing. Some chapters also give ideas
for encountering the poor in one's local
area.
The second half of the book, "Making
Connections," gives ideas for action and
organizations to contact in dealing with
the problems of the poor. It suggests
that a group choose one area of poverty
to work on. This is helpful because the
issue of poverty is so widespread and
overwhelming it is hard to feel that
individuals or small groups can make a
difference.
And Who Is My Neighbor? is designed
to help people recognize what impover-
ishes their lives, society and world and to
personally encounter the poor and
understand them. Readers will draw
close to God as they draw close to the
poor.
New possibilities
Finally Comes the Poet: Daring
Speech for Proclamation by Walter
Brueggemann (Fortress Press, 1989, 142
pages)
Reviewed by Donald R. Steelberg, 220 N.
Pershing, Wichita, KS 67208
This is a preaching book for pastors — the
1989 Lyman Beecher Lectures at Yale
Divinity School — that pastors will want
their people to read and reflect on,
though perhaps with mixed emotions.
The pastor is urged to speak new
possibilities of forgiveness and new life;
but is the pastor prepared to be the poet
Brueggemann invokes?
The book aims to help toward that
goal. Within each of the four chapters
Brueggemann expounds two or three
Scripture passages or themes, giving the
book a rare solidity. He not only details
the human condition but suggests
biblical ways to address it.
Preaching today, says Brueggemann,
should help its listeners construe an
alternative world to those of numbness
and ache, alienation and rage, restless-
ness and greed, conformity and auton-
omy. This preaching must be poetic
because to speak of God and God's self-
giving outruns all our capacities to
speak. It must evoke rather than define:
"Unless we speak poetically, we invite
terrible reductions. Unless we speak
poetically, God's self-giving transforma-
tion will be heard as a form of cheap
grace."
This poetry may be evocative; it is not
elusive. Brueggemann speaks poetically
and provides as well the content with
which to build our poems.
Jeremiah names our guilt and Lev-
iticus tells us how we may be restored in
concrete ways of acting if we are to
recover life. The Psalms allow us to
speak our alienation and rage, while
Isaiah and Job help us come back to
doxology and obedience. Two command-
ments, "Remember the Sabbath day" and
"Do not covet," disclose our restlessness
and greed while lining out a new world.
Two vignettes from the life of Daniel
complete the poem, showing that our
crisis today is not persecution but
seduction into false notions of the self
and temptations toward autonomy. My
only criticism is that Brueggemann does
not remind pastors that modern
Nebuchadnezzars (CEOs, heads of state)
also have nightmares and need their
humajiity and imaginations touched.
This is what preaching can do, says
Brueggemann: "At the end, there is a
breathless waiting: stunned, not sure we
have reached the end. Then there is a
powerful sense that a world has been
rendered in which I may live, a world
that is truly home but from which I have
been alienated. The speaker must truly
be a poet. After the scientist and the
engineer, finally comes the poet (which
Israel calls prophet) — to evoke a different
world, a new song, a fresh move, a new
identity, a resolve about ethics, a being
at home."
Aging, death and love
If You Do Love Old Men by Virginia
Stem Owens (Eerdmans, 1990 211 pages)
Reviewed by Martha F. Graber, Box 182,
North Newton, KS 67117
How do you recapture the heritage of
family stories that encapsulate the
identity of someone you love? For
Virginia Stem Owens it was a search to
recover the life of a grandfather whose
memory was no longer reliable. She lives
in the house he built and wants to
discover the context of his life story.
As a storyteller she unearths vignettes
that give vivid pictures of his relation-
ships with family and community
through earlier years as well as during
his later years, when his stubborn
independence and loss of contact with
reality create difficulties she observes.
Interspersed between the chapters that
reveal his character and the influences of
changing times are other chapters she
calls "intrados" (referring to an interior
curve or arch) that provide connecting
links, giving a perspective of the history
and philosophies underlying the period of
his lifespan and the effects of his illness
on his mind. These give an insight into
the broader influences on his life.
Her conversations with her grandfa-
ther and the revealing interviews show
both family love and conflict, ties that
bind and events that are painful and pull
family members apart. All of this makes
a story that is both personal and univer-
sal. Readers will become involved in this
story, which touches on realities in
everyone's life. It will help them under-
stand aging and death and perhaps lead
to reflection on the many influences on
the house one lives in.
This is a readable book that blends
biography, story and reflective commen-
tary into a whole that probes the myster-
ies of aging, death and love.
550 DECEMBER 11, 1990
Philip E. Friesen
Z-~ he day after returning from the visit to Elizabeth: Now
they find out. There is no way to hide it. What will
Joseph say? Joseph will support me. It's incredible, my
lightness of spirit. I should be depressed. Everyone thinks I've
been fooling around. Today in the market no one spoke to me.
Sarah and Rachel refused to look at me. I saw the boys
snickering. It was clear they were talking about me. Still, I
felt no shame. So what if they think ill of me. I have God
inside and angels all around.
After learning about the emperor's decree for Joseph to go to
Bethlehem: The daylight is less oppressive than the night.
Last night fear devoured my soul. Joseph, it is you who kept
the devils away before. What will happen to me while you're
away. It's been your love which gave me strength to laugh at
my accusers. Even if I make it through the day, how will I face
another night?
The second morning after hearing that Joseph must go to
Bethlehem: I will go with him. Nine months pregnant or not,
I'm going. God will take care of us. I can go to Bethlehem. As
soon as that was settled I slept peacefully. There is still one
problem: How do I tell Joseph?
The first morning on the road: God, you provide everything.
I didn't even have to mention it to Joseph. He arranged it all.
But how did he know? Did he see another angel?
The second night on the road: It has been cool and cloudy,
unusual for this time of year. And the child hasn't seemed
heavy. Sometimes I do feel like a rock; other times I float on
air. It is because of Joseph's love, I know. He cannot look my
way without smiling, and each smile energizes me.
Soon after finding a house in Bethlehem: It is strange to first
have a son and afterward experience union with a man. I
cannot help but feel sad that there is no crowd outside waiting,
no feasting and drinking. Beside me, Joseph is asleep. Under
my arm, baby Yeshua slurps and gurgles. I cannot complain. I
have Joseph and I have Yeshua.
The shepherds opened up the town for us, waking everyone
up before dawn to announce Yeshua's coming. No one disbe-
lieves us here. No one laughs behind our backs. No one mocks
or stares when we walk by. It hurt so much to be misunder-
stood, but now God has made a place for us. We have good
reason to be thankful.
Philip E. Friesen, former missionary with the Commission on
Overseas Mission in Taiwan, lives at 2279 Brewster, St. Paul,
MN 55108.
I wnkr
Ruth Nay lor
It's my guess
that Mary wasn't exactly overjoyed
at the angel's message.
God's gift burden for her
was a surprise, perplexing
to say the least.
Surely it could not have been
the fulfillment of her girlhood dreams.
Did she want to wrestle
with the messenger or the message?
Did she wish that God would call
someone else instead?
How did she tell Joseph?
Did she truly dread the risk?
Oh, Mary, I think I know.
But did you really have a choice
once you had heard that mystical voice?
Ruth Naylor, 119 Church, Bluffton, OH
45817, is president of Central District
Conference.
THE MENNONITE 551
NEWS 01 0022 031 339
L I BR A3 Y
ASSOC ME NN BIBLICAL SEM
3003 3ENHAM AVE
LLKHA7T IN 46517
EdiTORiAl
A good word from an unpeaceful place
The women of Bethlehem have a tradition that Mary,
the mother of Jesus, had her first labor pains at the
village of Tantur, a few miles away. Even today preg-
nant women come to Tantur to pray for safe deliveries of
their babies.
We in the West are beginning to understand that the
long-awaited birth of peace in the Middle East (in Iraq,
Kuwait or anywhere else) must involve resolution of the
Arab-Israeli standoff in the Holy Land. At Tantur,
meaning "hilltop," an ecumenical Christian institute
was built in the 1970s. Its purpose: to make a place for
"singing, prayer, dialogue," especially dialogue with
Jews and Muslims. This continues even while stones
and bullets fly in the immediate area.
"Tanturs" are needed all over the world. The spirit of
Tantur is needed, especially now at Advent, in every
General Conference Mennonite congregation. From
these "hilltops" let the word of God's good news of
reconciliation go into the world.
Mary helps us with that word. Her song (in Luke 1),
called The Magnificat, staunchly echoes Hannah's in the
Old Testament, in 1 Samuel 2. But it goes further back,
to the Song of the Sea in Exodus 15. Examine these
three texts. Mary's song does something new. Mary
leaves out vengeance.
Similarly, Jesus in his "acceptance speech" in Luke 4
quotes Isaiah 61. He, too, does something new (and was
probably informed on this point by his mother). He
leaves out vengeance, "the day of vengeance of our God"
(Isaiah 61: 2).
Listening to Mary, listening to Jesus, we must labor to
assist in the birth of a new Israel-Palestine, a home for
Christians and Muslims and Jews.
The original Good News spread to the world from this
tiny area (about 60 by 140 miles, 97 by 161 kilometers).
Just so, I believe the rediscovery of no vengeance could
be spread by faithful people this Advent and in 1991 to
• the Persian Gulf, where our own Christian Peace-
maker Team presented alternatives to war in the days
just past;
• El Salvador, where we are represented by Menno-
nite Central Committee in the middle of an agonizing
civil war;
• Burma, where the military is preparing to wage war
on its own people, a situation that we may affect by
Arab women of the Holy Land: Labor pains continue for peace
in Israel-Palestine.
calling U.S. companies Unocal, Amoco and Pepsi Cola to
account;
• Southern Africa, where we are represented by
missionaries through the Commission on Overseas
Mission;
• Vietnam, where we are newly represented by an
MCC office (see page 539);
• our own congregations, where impasses mar the
risky joy of vulnerability that the infant Christ embod-
ied at his birth and in his life.
May it be so. Muriel T. Stackley
Domestic violence
in our midst
Scandal and the
church press
pRoloquE
CONTENTS
Elsie Voth reads The Men-
nonite onto a cassette tape.
On the inside back page of this closing
issue for 1990 are "bouquets" well-
deserved by the volunteers who make The
Mennonite on cassette available. Without
these folks, the 24,
90-minute audio cas-
sette tapes would
cost considerably
more than $30 a
year.
One bouquet must
be given posthu-
mously. Elsie Epp
Voth, a retired
teacher, one of
coordinator Martha
F. Graber's regular
readers these four
years, died suddenly
on Nov. 1. She is
survived by her
husband, Stanley
Voth; a son, Tim
Voth; a daughter, Debra Voth-Gaeddert; two
sisters, Hilda Buller and Anna Cunningham;
and four grandchildren.
This issue also marks the completion of
Walter Klaassen's series of six columns on
"Anabaptist Saints with Feet of Clay." (Wal-
ter never missed a deadline. He is an editor's
dream.) I recommend that you gather the six
together for future use. They are a resource
for when you want to put a human face on our
spiritual forebears. If you would like copies of
the previous five, send me a self-addressed
business envelope.
As in Don Ratzlaff s title (see next page),
may God's light also illuminate and heal the
shadows of our lives, particularly as we
continue to commemorate the birth of him
who "pitched his tent
among us" (John 1:14) and
offers forgiveness and re-
demption.
The next issue of The
Mennonite , dated Jan. 8,
1991, will discuss racial
and religious prejudice.
Mu riel T. Sta ck ley
Cover: Photo by Daniel J. Ransohoff
Domestic violence in our midst / 555
Scandal and the church press / 558
God at work among us / 560
Balthasar Hubmaier, ca. 1480-1528 / 563
News / 564
Nobody wants 'utter madness' in Persian Gulf / 564
Western District Conference report / 566
Record / 568
Letters / 572
Reviews / 574
Turning the tables / 574
Encouraging guides / 574
From the sewing closet to tape recorders / 575
If you're thankful, say so / 576
Correction: The photo on page 535 of our Dec. 11 issue is by Carolyn Prieb
of Chicago.
([0) fht MENNONiTE
Editorial offices: 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14, (316) 283-5100. Editor:
Muriel T. Stackley: assistant editor: Gordon Houser; editorial assistant: Sharon
Sommer; art director: John Hiebert. The Mennonite is a member of the Associated
Church Press, Evangelical Press Association and Meetinghouse (a Mennonite and
Brethren in Christ editors' group) and an associate member of the Canadian Church Press.
Circulation secretaries: Doris Yoder, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114, and Rose Retzlaff
Klassen, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg. MB R3P 0M4. Business manager: Dietrich
Rempel. Special editions editors: Western District, Debbie Ratzlaff. Box 306, North
Newton, KS 671 17; Window to Mission, Lois Decked, Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14;
Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Richard A. Kauffman, 3003 Benham Ave.,
Elkhart, IN 46517.
Advisers: (Alberta) Henry and Erna Goerzen, Route 1 , Didsbury, AB TOM 0W0; (British
Columbia) Amy Dueckman, 33247 Ravine, Abbotsford. BC V2S 1V7; (Central District)
Lynn Liechty, 666 Columbus St., Berne, IN 4671 1 ; (Eastern District) in process; (Manitoba)
in process; (Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada) Margot Fieguth, 99 Veronica Drive,
Mississauga, ON L5G 2B1 ; (Northern District) Winifred Wall, Box 67, Freeman, SD 57029;
(Pacific District) Clare Ann Ruth-Heffelbower, 3198 E. Menlo Ave., Fresno, CA 93710;
(Saskatchewan) Viola Ediger, 125 Rawlmson Bay, Regina, SK S4S 6M8; (Western District)
Leland Harder, Box 363, North Newton, KS 671 17.
The Mennonite is available on cassette tape for $30 (U.S.) per year. The past 14 years of
The Mennonite are also available on microfilm at the Manz Library, Bethel College, North
Newton, KS 671 1 7, and from University Microfilms International, 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann
Arbor, Ml 48106.
Circulation: 10.553
The Mennonite (ISSN 0025-9330) seeks to witness, to teach, motivate and build the
Christian fellowship within the context of Christian love and freedom under the guidance of
the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit. It is published semimonthly by the General Conference
Mennonite Church, 722 Main St., Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. Subscription rates: one
year, $18 U.S., $21 Canada; two years. $32 U.S., $38 Canada; three years, $44 U.S., $52
Canada. Outside North America add $24 U.S. per year to U.S. rate for surface mail,
$55.20 U.S. for airmail. Single copies: $2 U.S. Five or more: $1 U.S. each. Second class
postage paid at Newton, Kan., and additional mailing offices. Printed in U.S.A. POSTMAS-
TER: Send Form 3579 to The Mennonite, Box 347, Newton, KS 67114. £1990
554 DECEMBER 25, 1990
"O righteous God, who searches minds
and hearts, bring an end to the violence
of the wicked, and make the righteous
secure" (Psalm 7:9).
Dana Neff has begun perhaps his
most difficult assignment:
reconciling the injustice and
violence done to him during his most
formative years by an abusive father.
Neff, 34, regional assistant for
Mennonite Central Committee Central
States, has administered peace and
justice efforts around the world. Now he
focuses inward.
Memories, long buried, are allowed to
surface and breathe new life into the
pain. Memories of his father slugging an
older brother when the boy beat the man
at chess. Memories of stumbling upon
the scene of his father raping his 8-year-
old sister. Memories of his father
molesting him in the bathroom when
Dana was 6. Memories of his father's
death in a car accident several months
later. Today, Dana sees the accident as
an act of God's grace; his father abused
his family no more.
During her youth, Clarice Kratz was
abused by her father, mother and an
older brother. Her memories are no less
painful than Dana's. But for her the
road toward healing has been hurtful,
too. Some family members denied the
past and resented her need to confront it.
Her local Mennonite church would not or
could not help her bear her burden.
Their need for secrecy nailed shut the
door to healing she longed to open, a door
that would shed light into the darkness
of her past.
Thanks to God's help, her persistence
and the help of friends and therapists,
Clarice has overcome the desperate hurt
that at one point drove her to attempt
suicide. Today she is a co-pastor with
her husband, Lawrence, at Maple
Avenue Mennonite Church in Waukesha,
Wis. She is determined to help others
like herself open doors to the light.
The courage of abuse survivors like
Dana and Clarice may at last be opening
doors in the Mennonite and Brethren in
Christ faith community. For the first
time the institutional church, in the form
of caregivers, pastors and professionals
(and more than a few survivors) met to
speak publicly about the unspeakable:
violence and sexual abuse in the family.
In all, some 200 people converged at the
THE MENNONITE 555
Regular liturgies of confession and healing:
Sarah Lawrence and Janis Mallory, part of an
eight-member cast, perform "Interior Refurbishing.
Upland (Calif.) Brethren in Christ
Church in November to share stories and
be better equipped to accomplish the
theme, "Shedding Light on Darkness."
Three arms of Mennonite Central
Committee — the Domestic Violence Task
Force, Committee on Women's Concerns
and the West Coast MCC regional
office — organized the gathering. The
purpose was to share personal stories, to
increase knowledge and acknowledge
responsibility for the problem, and to
empower the church to minister to
abused people in their communities.
Whether or not family violence and
sexual abuse exist within the Mennonite
and Brethren in Christ community was
not an issue. "It's not just something out
there somewhere; it is among us," said
Harriet Bicksler, a member of the
planning committee, at the outset.
Through worship and workshops,
participants from 19 states and five
provinces across the United States and
Canada sought to shed light on a pain
that may be inflicted on as many as one
in three people in our society, but
particularly children and women.
Keynote speaker Ruth Krall called
domestic violence in the United States a
"virulent epidemic." She said the
Christian community, including
Mennonites and Brethren in Christ, is
not immune. One study indicated that
except for families of alcoholics,
"fundamentalist" Christian families
report the highest incidence of domestic
violence.
Krall, associate professor of religion
and psychology and director of peace
studies at Goshen (Ind.) College, said
that despite their historic stands against
war and international violence,
Mennonites and Brethren in Christ have
not confronted violence and sexual abuse
in their homes. "Just as surely as war
destroys lives, abuse and sexual violence
destroys the lives of those who suffer
from it," she said. "What in our
community of faith has allowed it to go
unchallenged?" Krall and workshop
leaders identified several traditional
theological understandings that
contribute to domestic violence and
sexual abuse:
• a patriarchal interpretation of the
Creation story that subordinates women
to men and blames women for sin and
evil;
• a hierarchical understanding of
"headship" that implores a woman to
submit to her husband in all things as
she would to God, even to the extent of
enduring a husband's violence;
• an interpretation of forgiveness,
peace and reconciliation that decrees
that past hurts be quickly and quietly
forgotten ("I'm quickly moving in the
direction of seeing forgiveness in terms of
intent, a way of opening the issue rather
than closing it," said Isaac Block, a
pastor and counselor researching
domestic abuse among Mennonites in his
home city of Winnipeg. );
• a theology of self-abasement, or
"worm theology," that denigrates the
intrinsic value of each person as it exalts
Christ;
• assigning guilt to victims by
suggesting that they may have provoked
the abuse ("That's not to say there is no
fault," said Block, "but the starting point
must be that the abuser made the
decision to be violent.");
• a theology of submission that in
reality has become a theology of
dominance of parents over children and
husbands over wives (Block said that the
church needs to address the "sin of
entitlement," a pervasive mentality
among North American men that
relegates women to the value of property
to be used according to a man's desires.);
• a distorted view of Christian
suffering that has kept many women
silent in the face of abusive husbands.
"There is a theology of suffering in the
New Testament," said Carolyn
Holderread Heggen, a psychotherapist
from Albuquerque, N.M. "Jesus on the
cross dare not be held up as the example
for us — it is not a model for us to glorify
pain and abuse."
Silent suffering: Beyond re-examining
the theological assumptions that have
prevented the church from confronting
perpetrators of domestic violence, Krall
and workshop leaders implored churches
to do more to relieve the silent suffering
of survivors. Krall offered several ways
the church could help:
556 DECEMBER 25, 1990
Perpetrators of domestic
violence are often
survivors of abuse
themselves. They need
to be cared for even as
they are confronted.
******
• Learn to listen to and believe the
stories of friends, colleagues and others
who report abuse. "We're not going to
heal the survivors ourselves," Krall said.
"The survivor will heal herself or
himself. But they need us to love and
support them along the way."
• Enter into solidarity with the
survivor while he or she decides what to
do next. Krall said caregivers must fight
the urge to take over. Instead they
should return power to the individual
whose power has been violated. She
added that caregivers must never violate
the confidence of the survivor: "It's not
our story to tell without permission."
• Encourage congregations to learn
more about abuse and sexual violence.
Krall said that the church must teach
children and youth about human
sexuality and abuse, and pastors and
counselors need to enlighten
congregations about false interpretations
of Scripture. "Where are our theolo-
gians?" she asked. "They needed to be
here."
• Hold leaders accountable to act
responsibly with their own sexuality.
Krall called on church institutions to
develop specific guidelines of behavior
and to refuse to keep a leader in place
without an investigation amid charges of
impropriety.
• Individuals and congregations
should commit themselves to stop
domestic violence. That may include
becoming familiar with existing laws,
lobbying for new ones if necessary and
helping provide resources and shelters
for survivors.
• Think of the perpetrators of domestic
violence in new ways. "Let's not insist on
premature forgiveness and reconcilia-
tion," said Holderread. Perpetrators
often are survivors of abuse themselves
and need to be cared for even as they are
confronted.
• Bring theological and liturgical
practices of the church in line with the
needs of survivors. Krall promoted the
development of regular liturgies that
provide opportunities for confession and
healing.
• Recognize that we are all victims —
whether we are the actual victim of
abuse or not. "Our loss of innocence and
trust affects us all," Krall said.
More than head work: Despite the
wealth of information and resources,
planners were careful not to allow the
event to be only an academic exercise.
The inclusion of stories, such as Neffs
and Kratz's, plus the performance of a
brief but powerful drama, "Interior
Refurbishing," by June Mears,
communicated the humanity of the issue.
"Mennonites in particular have not
been good at addressing problems using
our whole body, all of our senses, all our
emotions, as well as our brains," said
Christine Wenger Nofsinger, a member
of the planning committee and director of
MCC Women's Concerns. "We can talk
about [domestic violence], but we also
have to feel it and experience it along
with the survivors."
The conference was not necessarily
intended for survivors, but many were
present, in part because those who are
able to work through their past often
become caregivers. "We knew a certain
number [of survivors] would be attracted
just because they needed to hear that the
church was acknowledging them,"
Nofsinger said.
But after acknowledgment, what next?
The MCC Domestic Violence Task Force
will be dissolved in a few months, leaving
the initiative for further action and
follow-up in the hands of the regional
MCC offices. At the close of the
conference, participants met in regional
groups to brainstorm "What next?"
One concrete step was taken during
the gathering. A confidential network of
survivors of violence and sexual abuse in
the family will be created for the sake of
information and mutual support.
Anyone who has been a victim of
domestic abuse may join the network by
writing to the MCC Domestic Violence
Task Force, Box 1291, Winkler, MB
R6W 4B3.
If silence is a form of darkness, then
the Upland event may have indeed
marked the dawning of a new thrust
against violence for Mennonites and
Brethren in Christ, a violence against
and within the family. Said Krall, "A
peace of silence is an unjust peace."
Don Ratzlaff, Hillsboro, Kan., editor of
The Christian Leader, the magazine of
the Mennonite Brethren in the United
States, wrote this article for
Meetinghouse.
THE MENNONITE 557
A prominent church leader leaves
his wife and moves to another city
to live with another woman.
A denominational leader feuds with
other church leaders and mistreats
church employees. He remains a
respected member of his congregation
and his denomination. He is re-elected
to office by those who know little of his
methods but are impressed that he has
"served" the church for many years.
A minister is found guilty of sexual
misconduct and is fired by the board of
his congregation. The board gives no
explanation to the congregation. He
moves to another congregation and
continues his ministry.
A congregation repeatedly mistreats
its pastors, driving several to resign after
staying only a short time.
A church member is arrested and
found guilty of a criminal offense.
Although the case is covered prominently
in the secular press, his denomination's
periodical observes a discreet silence.
A congregation prides itself on the
success of its ministry and builds an
elaborate new building. It fulfills few of
its financial obligations to the denomina-
tion yet remains a full member and is
vocal about how denominational funds
should be spent.
A disruptive, power-hungry pastor has
left a trail of troubled churches and
angry people but retains his ordination
and is free to move on to the pastorate of
other churches.
Silent: All of these events have taken
place in North America over the last 20
years. They have one thing in common:
the church press knew about these
stories but did not report them.
We church press editors agonize over
how to handle these kinds of stories.
When we come together, we discuss and
debate how and when we should report
scandal in the church. Usually, however,
at least until someone else reports these
stories we have chosen to remain silent.
^^^^W ^^^^^ Our usual arguments go like
^^^^^ I 1. Local problems cannot b(
/^i tne nati°nal level. Since notr
(OJ L I V-J done at the national level, the
• point in telling outsiders aboi
T Y~\ f\ 2. Gossip is a sin. In some
[l lv _J facts are not clear. The churc
church
press
James R. Coggins
this:
be solved at
the national level. Since nothing can be
done at the national level, there is no
point in telling outsiders about them.
2. Gossip is a sin. In some cases the
facts are not clear. The church press
lacks the money to do in-depth
investigation. The church press should
not be as irresponsible as the secular
press in reporting unsubstantiated
charges. Even if the facts are clear,
gossip is still a sin. If you can't say
something positive, don't say anything.
3. Great stigma is attached to some
sins, especially sexual ones. The church
is to be loving and forgiving. Reporting
such sins could inflict excessive and
intense pain on the guilty individual and
family. It could brand for life, drive
away friends and destroy the person's
ability to earn a living.
4. Publicizing sins in the church,
especially if the secular press has not
found out about them, will discredit the
church and make evangelism more
difficult.
Honesty: For the past six years I have
agreed with many decisions not to
publish such stories. But I am becoming
convinced that those decisions were
wrong. While every case must be decided
on its own merits and not every case
should be publicized, we should publicize
many more indiscretions in the church
than we do. I am also convinced that in
many cases we should name names.
Here are some reasons.
1. Publicizing indiscretions will warn
potential victims who would otherwise be
vulnerable to charlatans, hypocrites and
disturbed mentalities. Who should we be
most concerned about — the guilty party
or the victim? Should we save a pastor's
reputation at the cost of disrupting other
churches?
2. Publication of misconduct may
discourage other charlatans and
hypocrites from thinking that they can
prey upon the church with no fear of
being exposed or punished if they are
caught.
3. Publication of sins may make it
easier for us to offer compensation and
assistance to the victims. As things now
stand, we do not acknowledge that the
victims exist because we do not
acknowledge that the sin exists. If the
truth were known, there could be an
outpouring of compassion for the victims.
One congregation developed an interest
in ministry to victims of sexual abuse
after one of its members was convicted of
such a crime. At the very least, victims
need to know that the church does not
condone the abuse they have suffered.
4. Public sin should be dealt with
publicly. While local sin must be dealt
with locally (and it should be dealt with),
some sins are not local and should be
dealt with on a broader level. All those
who have been affected and disturbed by
the sin need to know that the sin is being
dealt with. A politician who plays on
Christian themes to get elected must
accordingly accept the discipline of the
church. If a sinner is disciplined and
expelled from the church, how can other
Christians observe the ban if they do not
know about it?
5. More open reporting enhances the
credibility of the church press and the
church. If the church press were to
regularly publicize the sins of its
members, these would cease to be news
in the secular press. Moreover, an open
church press would be a safeguard for
the reputations of church leaders who
are not guilty of impropriety. In trying
to protect the reputation of some
Christians, we discredit all Christians.
How much better off would we all be
today if Christianity Today or a
denominational magazine had
investigated and denounced the sins of
Jim Bakker before the secular press did.
Then the church would have been
perceived as exercising righteous
judgment on a fraud. Our silence has
558 DECEMBER 25, 1990
Because we do not publicize sin, we miss out
on an opportunity to publicize redemption.
implicated us in his sins, and rightly so.
The case of former InterVarsity
president Gordon MacDonald provides a
useful contrast. MacDonald publicly
confessed to sexual sin, resigned his
position, submitted to church discipline
and was later restored to church
ministry. The secular press carried little
of this story, perhaps because it had
already been reported in the church
press. Moreover, MacDonald developed a
ministry to broken people and may deal
compassionately with problems that he
might not otherwise have felt at liberty
to discuss.
6. Open reporting demonstrates our
commitment to truth and legitimizes our
claims about the truth of the gospel of
Jesus Christ. If we are not honest about
the actions of people, why will anyone
believe us when we tell about the actions
of God?
7. There is biblical warrant for dealing
publicly with public sin. Jesus did not
shy away from harsh realities (e.g.
Matthew 21:12-13, Matthew 24).
Neither did other biblical writers ( 1
Corinthians 1:1 Iff., 5:1-8, Galatians
2:llff., Philippians 4:2, 1 Timothy 1:18-
20, 2 Timothy 4:14-16, Proverbs 27:5-6).
8. Because we do not publicize sin, we
miss out on an opportunity to publicize
redemption. Where sin abounds, grace
much more abounds (Romans 5:20).
9. Publication of sin gives us an
opportunity to practice our theology of
sin, repentance, forgiveness and
redemption. Sin cannot be dealt with if
it remains hidden. If we are to save
sinners, we must confront sin and
encourage repentance.
10. Publication of sin helps us
remember who we are and increases our
humility. We think we are good,
respectable people. In fact, we are only
sinners saved by grace. We don't dare
reveal the sins of other Christians
because we don't want our own sins
similarly revealed.
11. Publication of our sins shows us
whether our belief in regeneration is
true, whether it makes any difference to
be a Christian.
12. Publication of our sins corrects an
overemphasis of regeneration in our
theology. Martin Luther knew
Christians were justified and sinners at
the same time. As Anabaptists and
evangelicals, we have overemphasized
the change that takes place at conversion
to the point that we think we have
become Christlike, incapable of sin. We
cease to struggle against sin and are all
the more vulnerable to temptation.
13. Regular publication of sins removes
the excessive stigma from sexual and
other "unthinkable" sins. A stigma is
attached to these sins precisely because
we refuse to discuss them. The
impression is created that they are
unthinkable, when in fact they are
common. If we were not so shocked we
would be less judgmental and more
capable of dealing with them
redemptively.
14. Perhaps the greatest benefit of all
is that the church may once again offer
salvation to sinners. The way things are,
sinners both within and outside the
church feel they cannot reveal their sins
because they have been fooled by the
sinless facade of other Christians. They
think that no one else is guilty of sins as
horrible as theirs. They remain tortured
by guilt, afraid to confess sin. Thus they
are deprived of the forgiveness and
salvation that only Jesus Christ offers.
Implementation? The handling of
scandal by the church press is complex
and difficult. I am aware that
publication of church scandals requires a
major change in our approach to church
work and that each case must be judged
on its own merits. Nevertheless, the
weight of the arguments is in favor of
much more open reporting than we have
practiced.
Several important questions remain
regarding implementation:
1. Will the denominational leaders who
control the church press allow it to
become more open about reporting sin in
the church? Can they stand the pressure
on the point of transition when shocked
constituents demand to know how so
much sin can suddenly occur in the
church and perhaps blame the new
problems on current leadership?
2. Can the church develop a consensus
to make such a major change in
direction? It will not work if the church
press reports only a few sins on a
haphazard basis or starts to report sin,
then stops. This leaves the few whose
sins are revealed open to the full
judgment of church opinion rather than
the redemptive process of a chastened
church.
3. Are we willing to take seriously the
practice of church discipline? In the
past, sin was openly revealed and dealt
with through the disciplinary processes
of the church, but churches rarely
practice such discipline now. This is
crucial because reporting sins without
dealing with them makes things worse,
not better. Is it possible to restore the
biblical practice of church discipline?
Have we been intimidated by the
mistakes and excesses of the past? Does
pluralism make church discipline
meaningless, where the excommunicated
simply move to another denomination?
Do we lack the courage to face up to
unpleasant realities?
Jim Coggins has been associate editor of
the Mennonite Brethren Herald for over
six years. This article represents a
personal conviction, not official Herald
policy.
Tell us what you think.
Does the church press report
"scandals" in the church
too much?
EZI not enough?
about right?
Do Mennonite publications report
"scandals"
□ too much?
n not enough?
about right?
How has your congregation handled sensitive situations?
Send your responses to
Muriel T. Stackley, editor
Box 347
Newton, KS 67114-0347
Name and address (optional):
THE MENNONITE 559
God at work among us
End-of-the-year area reports
by advisers to The Mennonite
Alberta
The Conference of Mennonites in Alberta
and its related organizations provides its
people with a wide range of experiences
and support. At Rosthern (Sask.) Junior
College 119 students (down 20 from last
year) have an enriched educational
experience in the residential setting.
Swift Current (Sask.) Bible Institute's 35
students likewise spend fall and winter
equipping themselves for life and service
in the churches.
Youth in our province experience
fellowship in five events covering sports,
leadership development and a songfest.
Their newsletter Gesundheit and the
provincial circular are further means of
sharing thought and experience.
Last summer 350 campers enrolled in
the July-August program at Camp
Valaqua. Sixty senior citizens had a
predominantly German retreat in
August. Pastors and deacons from the
General Conference Mennonite Church
and the Mennonite Church gathered at
Prairie Bible Institute. Women in
Mission had its retreat in September.
They support Commission on Overseas
Mission workers George E. and Martha
G. Janzen, are sending a volunteer on
the North American Learning Tour
sponsored by Women in Mission and
undergird five families in the Mennonite
Central Committee Family Support
Program.
Conference pastor David Braun and
the ministerial committee installed two
new pastors, Merlin Stauffer at Tofield
Church and Jake Froese at Trinity
Church in Calgary. The emerging
southeast Asian peoples' churches, the
Native group at Gliechen and the
program for growth through evangelism
are under the attention of our missions
and service committee. A Marriage
Encounter workshop and a Family Life
Ministry Retreat will foster better family
life and address specific moral issues.
Income for our conference has been at
an all-time low. The executive
committee has noted a general "less
conferency attitude" among our people.
A reunion of some of the conscientious
objectors of World War II from the three
prairie provinces and British Columbia
was held at a Nazarene youth camp west
of Olds, Alta., in September. The event
brought this observation to the fore:
Then as now, little teaching and mental
s:
• t m mm J%
NORTHERN
EASTERN
CANADA
WESTERN '
preparation is taking place should our
people be faced with the call to go to war.
The more-than-100 guests believed it
would be
appropriate to have
a 50th anniversary
in Canada to
commemorate and
draw attention to
Mennonites and
others who served
during that time.
Henry D. Goerzen
British Columbia
A time of change and a time of uncer-
tainty is how the Conference of Menno-
nites in British Columbia characterize
1990 and the coming year.
Chris Arney is our new conference
pastor as of Sept. 1, succeeding Peter
Kehler, who studied in Switzerland this
fall. Chris, his wife and four children
have recently moved here from Winkler,
Man., where he pastored six years.
Chris' youthful outlook and enthusiasm
for Jesus Christ are evident.
Another new face in our conference
CENTRAL
-EASTERN
office as of Nov. 1 is David Chiu, who has
been hired as coordinator of evangelism
and church development. Our missions
committee is hoping to develop new
congregations not only in the metro-
politan Vancouver area but also in the
interior, and a church planter will be
much welcome in these ventures.
The music committee has been asked
to broaden its scope to a "fine arts"
committee. The education committee
had looked forward to an Aid to
Christian Teaching weekend last May,
but this had to be canceled due to low
registration. They sponsored a family
life weekend in October with Clare
Schumm, secretary for family life
eduction for the Commission on
Education.
Our news is
generated by many
volunteers behind
the scenes who
serve willingly but
don't make
headlines. Amy
Dueckman
560 DECEMBER 25, 1990
Central District
The Living in Faithful Evangelism
program is being promoted by our
district and will be presented to
delegates at our conference next June.
We are thankful that the Chicago
Mennonite Learning Center reopened to
students in kindergarten through grade
six after being closed last year.
Our annual conference, held in March
in Bluffton, Ohio, was well attended. It
focused on the environment.
We continue to explore integration by
planning for a joint conference with the
Indiana-Michigan Conference in June
1991. Our conference minister, Mark
Weidner, together with Ruth Naylor,
conference president, and other officers
conducted "hearings" across the district
to listen to what our churches are saying
about our current district ministries and
Mennonite Church/General Conference
Mennonite Church integration.
We received 102 percent of our budget
this past year. Praise God for the
generosity of our people. We have begun
a scholarship program to encourage
district students to attend Bluffton
College. This year 31 students each
received $100 from the scholarship fund.
Camp Friedenswald continues to have
strong support from the constituency. A
new three-apartment residence is being
built. The camp purchased a 52-acre
tract of land to further develop expand-
ing camp programs around Shavehead
Lake. Doug Luginbill is the new execu-
tive director, succeeding Curt Bechler.
A number of new congregations are
beginning in the district. Madison (Wis. )
Mennonite Fellowship and Faith
Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind., are two
new and growing churches that our
evangelism and church development
committee is helping to plant. Christ
Community Mennonite Church,
Schaumburg, 111., joined our district this
year as the newest congregation coming
into membership. We give praise and
thanksgiving to our
loving Lord for joys,
opportunities and
growth this past
year. May we be
faithful in fulfilling
our responsibilities
to God and one
another in the
coming year. Lynn
Liechty
Eastern District
We now have central offices in a
Mennonite conference center with the
Franconia Conference and other
Mennonite entities. Four Mennonite men
formed a corporation, Menno Realty, to
purchase the Souderton (Pa.) Shopping
Center. With A Call to Kingdom
Commitments funds, their support has
made it economically feasible for our
conference to fill this need.
Another major project recently
completed is the construction of The
MeetingHouse by Mennonite Historians
of Eastern Pennsylvania. This structure
will house the Historical Library and
Archives, Mennonite heritage exhibits
and a Mennonite Life Center.
Our district has endorsed the LIFE
(Living in Faithful Evangelism) process
and is encouraging our congregations to
consider entering this process in July
1992. It is gratifying to see some
congregations already working at
evangelism and church growth.
All the pastorates in our churches are
filled, though there are several openings
developing for directors of youth and
Christian education. In these and other
ways we see the Lord at work in our
midst. David Hillegas, Eastern District's
conference minister (The appointment of
an adviser to The Mennonite is in
process.)
Eastern Canada
Our young conference, the Mennonite
Conference of Eastern Canada, reflects a
blending of traditions. Our elections
consisted of approving the names
brought forward by the nominating
committee; delegates did have the
opportunity to suggest candidates from
the floor, but none did. All of us share
the Resource Centre at the Mennonite
Central Committee office in Kitchener,
Ont.
The leadership committee presented
the "Ministerial Handbook," which will
help unify the calling of pastors in our
churches.
One of the benefits of starting anew is
that people take an active look at
structures and see who is responsible for
what. Our situation will be helped when
other North American conferences
integrate.
We need Bible teaching material in
French. We hope to work with the
Mennonite Brethren conference, which
has churches in Quebec, to translate
Anabaptist writings and Sunday school
material. We plan to have simultaneous
translation available at future
conferences.
We were shocked this summer by the
military confrontation between our
Native and white people at Oka, Quebec.
We realize that our complacent attitudes
toward Native people lie at the root of
this confrontation and that Christians
need to become much more involved in
the just settlement of Native affairs. A
few of our people went to Oka; others
wrote letters to our government leaders,
encouraging active and just land
settlements; most of us simply watched
the proceedings on television and hoped
that no more Okas would spring up in
other places.
The Persian Gulf crisis has again
raised the questions of conscientious
objection and how well we are training
our members to be peacemakers. A
conference employee has requested that
the conference not withhold his war
taxes. This issue will be brought to a
future conference session.
Our conference has much work to do,
but we are
convinced that
bringing together
our former three
conferences into one
working unit will
reflect God's love
more clearly to the
people around us.
Mar got Fieguth
Manitoba
Last January the Conference of
Mennonites in Manitoba moved into new
facilities, which included seven offices,
secretarial stations and a fully
operational recording studio.
Five commissions direct the work of
CMM. The camping commission worked
with a 807 children, an increase of 7
percent over last year, and served 500
campers one week from Mennonite
World Conference. The fact that 38
percent of the summer campers came
from non-church homes gave us an
opportunity to share the Good News with
our own and our neighbor's children.
The pastoral leadership commission
rewrote the job description for a full-time
conference minister and conducted a
ministers' conference on "Pastors
Ministering in Domestic Abuses."
The outreach commission participated
in a mortgage burning, helped the
Vietnamese church buy property for a
building and maintained a hospital
chaplaincy program of eight people.
The education commission planned a
Sunday school convention and a family
living workshop, provided a student
service program at the universities of
Winnipeg and Manitoba and conducted
leadership workshops for young people.
The faith and life communications
commission organized the Faith and Life
Male Choir for Mennonite World
Conference, outfitted the recording
studio, produced four weekly broadcasts,
to which both Mennonite and non-
Mennonite response is increasing, and
concluded eight recording projects.
Henry Loewen, executive secretary.
Conference of Mennonites in Manitoba
(The appointment of an adviser to The
Mennonite is in process.)
THE MENNONITE 561
Northern District
We are grateful for A Call to Kingdom
Commitments. Swan Lake Camp now
has more sleeping space for staff and
special groups. A new office, computer
and copier ease the burden of paperwork
necessary for a well-run camp. A storm
shelter was to be completed this fall.
After spending a harrowing night in a
tiny storage basement with a group of
frightened children, I am glad for this
addition.
CKC monies are also being used to
open a district office on the Freeman
(S.D.) Academy campus.
Victim Offender Reconciliation
Program has come to the Northern
District, beginning work in Sioux Falls,
S.D. Dave Waldowski, pastor at Good
Shepherd Church there, is acting
director.
Disciples Mennonite Fellowship,
Duluth, Minn., has a unique ministry
through its Mennonite Weavers' Guild.
Members design, weave and sell rugs.
They have purchased their fourth loom.
Pastor Vic Buller also heads a ministry
called Helping Hands, which brings
short-term jobs and workers together.
Our conference minister, Ernest
Neufeld, will complete nine years of
service next July. He recently shared
two interesting statistics ("well-kept
secrets," he calls them): (1) The
Northern District provides more
scholarships for seminary students than
any other district, and (2) during this
triennium there are
more members from
the Northern
District on the
General Board of
the General
Conference than
from any other
district. Winifred
Wall
Pacific District
I just returned from our quarterly
central-California pastor/spouse
gathering. The uniqueness and diversity
of this group reflects what is happening
throughout the Pacific District. In
central California, for instance, there are
three husband-wife pastoral teams.
There are two Chinese churches. A
Hmong church is beginning. An
established church has just hired a half-
time director of Hispanic ministries.
New churches are beginning. Peace
Mennonite Fellowship, Rancho Cuca-
monga, Calif, pastored by Jeff Wright,
held its covenanting service Sept. 16. On
Oct. 14, Hmong Community Church —
Mennonite in Fresno, Calif, pastored by
Shoua Moua, held its first service. San
Diego Mennonite Fellowship joined the
Pacific District this year and is working
toward planting a church.
Churches are purchasing or building
new facilities. Seattle Mennonite
Church has outgrown the church
building it was renting and has
purchased a theater to renovate. Peace
Community Church in Clovis, Calif, is in
the process of purchasing land to build a
day-care center, counseling center and
space for worship. Peace Mennonite
Church in Portland, Ore., is developing a
counseling center.
First Mennonite Church, Reedley,
Calif, began its Venture Club this fall
with 68 children on the first night. Last
year they began with 23. San Francisco's
First Mennonite Church has doubled its
attendance this fall. Camp Keola,
operated by California Mennonite
Fellowship, added a week of junior high
camp this year and involved many new
campers and counselors.
At our annual sessions in June we
decided to hire a part-time staff person to
work in family life education. We also
chose to enter the LIFE ( Living in
Faithful Evangelism) process.
We are thankful for God's faithfulness
to us and pray that
we will be faithful
so that God can
continue to use us to
*? fplPH help make God's
Hp f-M JW kingdom of shalom
visible to the world.
Clare Ann Ruth -
Heffelbower
Saskatchewan
New leadership in a number of our
churches has helped speed programs on
their way. Elsie and Delmer Epp, new
co-conference pastors, were installed
Sept. 16 at Cornerstone Church,
Saskatoon, where the new conference
office is also located. At Zion Church,
Swift Current, Sask., Dennis Masser
took over as youth pastor.
Mount Royal Church, Saskatoon,
recently ordained Henry Sawatzky as its
new pastor. He will also serve part time
at Dundurn. He is the fourth brother of
six that has been ordained to the
ministry. A sister, Elsie Neufeld, serves
as president of Women in Mission
(Canada).
Joint delegates from Alberta and
Saskatchewan met Sept. 29 to discuss
the present and future of Swift Current
Bible Institute. SCBI reported that it
has 35 students, direct donations of
$8,000 and a new trend — several new
students from Manitoba.
Though the financial situation in the
last few years has been tight, John
Peters,
Saskatchewan
conference
chairman, has
reviewed the
conference projects
one by one and finds
greater cooperation.
He remains
optimistic. Viola
Ediger
Western District
On July 1 William R. Zuercher began
serving as Western District Conference
administrator on a half-time basis; the
other half time he serves the South
Central Mennonite Conference in the
same capacity. His appointment is for
one year, during which time a conference
structure task force will evaluate the
district's administrative organization.
Michael and Marlene Bogard began
Sept. 1 as conference youth minister and
resource library director, respectively.
The Shalom Agenda is in its fifth year
of a six-year effort providing Bible study
programs to conference congregations.
As of Sept. 30, 11 congregations had
participated in a series of meetings to
more fully understand the meaning of
God's vision of shalom.
Western District and South Central
conferences are planting a church in
Johnson County, Kan., part of the
greater Kansas City metropolitan area.
The two conferences named David
Whitermore as church planter. David
and his wife, Debra, have moved to
Olathe, Kan. Bethel College Mennonite
Church, North Newton, Kan., is a
supporting partner congregation, and
Rainbow Mennonite Church, Kansas
City, Kan., a sister congregation. Each
church will also be represented on the
advisory council for this new church
plant. Olathe has been the fastest-
growing community in Kansas in the
1980s. Johnson County has a population
of over 350,000.
The evangelism committee has
appointed Adolf Neufeld area coordinator
for the Living in Faithful Evangelism
( LIFE ) plan for Western District
churches. South Central Conference
appointed Warren Miller. Neufeld and
Miller held two training meetings for
pastors and interpreters this fall.
Interpreter teams
will visit each
church in the two
conferences to
explain the LIFE
plan, how it works
and how they can
use it in a way that
fits best in their
situation. Leland
Harder
562 DECEMBER 25, 1990
Balthasar Hubmaier, ca. 1480-1528
Anabaptist
saints
with
feet
of clay
Last
in a
series
of six
Walter Klaassen
We meet Balthasar Hubmaier in
1518 in the city of Regensburg,
preaching inflammatory sermons against
the city's Jews. He was largely
responsible for the destruction of their
synagogue and for the building on the
site of a shrine to the Virgin Mary. True,
all of that happened long before he was
an Anabaptist, but it reveals him as a
church leader with clay feet.
Hubmaier was one of the few
Anabaptists who held a doctor's degree
from a major university and was a
university administrator. The simple,
clear style of his writings, now available
in a good English translation, is tribute
to the excellence of his academic
training.
In 1525 he became an Anabaptist and
persuaded the city of Waldshut, where
he had been preaching, to become
Anabaptist in church and government.
That autumn, while the city was under
Catholic siege, he fled for his life and
quietly entered Protestant Zurich.
Because he was an Anabaptist he was
arrested. Fearful that the Zurich
government would surrender him to the
Catholic Hapsburgs, who had just
captured Waldshut, he renounced his
Anabaptist convictions so that he would
be allowed to stay. But when he was
required to make his recantation in
public, he changed his mind. That led
immediately to harsh imprisonment and
torture to extract a new recantation.
After six months he submitted, then
repeated the recantation publicly three
times. The Zurich council had decreed
the death penalty for rebaptism. He was
given freedom to leave Zurich and never
to return. Later he admitted that he had
done it out of fear of suffering and death.
He traveled to Nicolsburg in Moravia,
where he became leader of an emerging
Anabaptist congregation. But when
another Anabaptist, Hans Hut, arrived
and disputed Hubmaier's view that
Christians could bear the sword, Hut
was arrested and threatened with being
turned over to King Ferdinand, the same
threat that had caused Hubmaier to
recant just over a year earlier. He
supported the action because he was
afraid that if he did not, the Nicolsburg
government would withdraw its support
from him.
But Hubmaier was arrested and
surrendered to his archenemy in July
1527. In prison he wrote a confession in
which he tried to show that he had not in
fact denied the faith of the Catholic
church. He promised to suspend the
baptizing of adult believers until a
church council decided on the truth or
error of his view of baptism. He
promised to submit to the decision of the
council. It was in vain. He was tried,
condemned and burned to death on
March 10, 1528.
When compared with so many other
Anabaptists of his time who remained
faithful unto death, this doctor of
theology appears cowardly. Perhaps he
was. Still, he wrote so eloquently and
persuasively about the baptism of
believing adults and about
congregational life characterized by
mutual aid and discipline of the
members for each other that what he
wrote bears reading until this day.
Clay feet are a common feature of
human life, and, much as we may
deplore it, it is always part of the church
as well. But if we refuse to accept people
with clay feet as sisters and brothers, we
will quickly find ourselves alone.
Walter Klaassen, Site
12A, C. 23, Route 7,
Vernon, BC V1T 7Z3,
is writing the history of
his home congregation,
Eigenheim Mennonite
Church, Rosthern,
Sask.
THE MENNONITE 563
"My people," said Filipina teacher Myrna
Arceo, "are learning that violence is not the
answer to our problems. We have
symbolic burnings and burials of toy guns.
Television carries advertisements about a
gunless society. Some soldiers refuse to
fight one another. They are becoming
aware that they are being used by people
in power. This is a beginning." Arceo
spoke in October at Bethel College, North
Newton, Kan. She expressed confidence
that the two huge U.S. military bases in the
Philippines (Clark and Subic Bay) will be
removed. "We want to make a shipyard,
for ship repair, out of Subic Bay," she said.
"Clark could be an industrial complex and
airport. This is a better investment."
The Menno H. Epp family has established
an endowment fund at Canadian
Mennonite Bible College, Winnipeg, in
memory of their wife and mother, Irma Epp.
Monies from this fund will be awarded to
CMBC students who are pursuing studies
in church music. Irma Epp, who died Sept.
28, devoted her life to furthering and
improving music in churches and schools of
the Conference of Mennonites in Canada.
She graduated from CMBC in 1956 in
church music. Since her death over
$10,000 has been donated to the
endowment fund at 600 Shaftesbury Blvd.,
Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4.
NEWS
How about a linked solution? asks CPT in Iraq
Nobody wants 'utter madness' in Persian Gulf
Waterloo, Ont. (Meeting-
house)— From Nov. 21 to Dec.
2 a 12-member Christian
Peacemaker Team listened to
voices in Iraq and the
surrounding area, many of
them angry at North American
foreign policy, fearful of war yet
ready to fight if pushed much
harder.
Through "informal diplomacy"
with government officials, the
largely Mennonite delegation
called for a peaceful resolution
to conflicts in the region.
Through other contacts the
12, with a combined total of 30
years of direct experience in
the Middle East, tussled with
the meaning of peacemaking
across geographical and
cultural barriers and religious
differences. (Three of the
members speak Arabic.) They
also delivered 12 boxes of
medicine and various gifts.
The way to Baghdad, across
seven time zones, included one
day in Amman, Jordan. There
Hanna Nazir, an exiled
Palestinian educator, called for
the "linked" solution: if the
international community wants
Iraq to pull out of Kuwait, then
Israel should pull out of its
occupied territories.
Leila Sharaf, a former
minister of information for King
Hussein, summarized Jordan's
delicate neutrality. "I wouldn't
want Saddam as my ruler," she
said, "but I share his anti-
imperialistic feelings against
the United States." Other
Jordanians and Palestinians
expressed these sentiments
with considerable passion.
In Baghdad the Organization
for Friendship, Peace and
Solidarity gave the CPT a warm
reception. Housing was in a
tourist/resort area along with
other international delegations,
from Europe, Britain, Australia,
Greece and the United States.
The Iraqi government paid
lodging and food costs as well
as the return flight from
Baghdad to Amman.
The host assigned to the
CPT negotiated daily
schedules and visits. At times
the North American need for
advance planning clashed with
a contrasting Arab style.
One set of contacts involved
government officials: Adnan
Daoud Salman, minister
without portfolio and chair of
Peace and Solidarity; Nazir
Hamdoon, deputy foreign
minister; Mahdi Salil, speaker
of the National Assembly, an
elected advisory body to the
Revolutionary Command
Council.
These officials first presented
their case: the Iraqi claim to
Kuwait, which was part of Iraq
prior to 1 91 2, the complaint
about foreign intervention in the
gulf, the questioning of U.S.
CPT delegation members deliver children's medicines to the Iraqi
Red Crescent. From left: Harry Huebner, Winnipeg; Fraouk Al-
Alousi, general secretary of the Iraqi Red Crescent, Julie Garber,
Elgin, III.; Elias George (kneeling), Landisville, Pa.; and Gene
Stoltzfus, CPT coordinator
motives for moving quickly into
Saudi Arabia.
Then the CPT was given
time to respond. Landrum
Boiling, a Quaker educator and
writer, was the CPT
spokesman. "We are not
political figures but speaking as
private citizens," he stressed.
He called for "confidence-
building" gestures to forestall
the "utter madness" of war and
to open the door to dialogue.
Iraq holding hostages, argued
Boiling, is the "single most
important sore point" and block
to the start of dialogue. He
urged Iraqi authorities to
release all hostages
immediately. [Release of all
hostages began, in fact, Dec.
6.] Boiling suggested that an
easing of the embargo against
Iraq could be a significant
gesture from the U.S. side.
Salil said he was open to
"any hint of desire for dialogue"
from the other side.
The CPT contacted the
Canadian and U.S. embassies
in Baghdad, and the Canadian
ambassador arranged for the
564 DECEMBER 25, 1990
The opEN wiftdow
This was not a good crop year for our community here in southeastern South
Dakota. Drought threatened from early spring on and there were more grasshop-
pers than we've seen in years. Yes, we harvested, but it was the kind of situation in
which one gives up the possibility of getting a new pickup truck or the pleasure of
replacing that faded living-room couch. A two- week vacation trip may have to be
cut to half that time this year.
And then in the midst of the harvest Jonathan Larson visited our congregation.
He told us that after experiencing seven unrelenting years of severe drought in
Botswana, the sight of our broad fruitful fields was almost unbearable. He
described African Christians with resources so meager that some of them suffer
malnutrition. Still, they continue to make the sacrifices necessary in order to
present themselves regularly for worship in what they consider fitting attire.
Here we expect to choose from several kinds of fuel to prepare our food and
warm our homes this winter. Yet for some women in Central America, finding
firewood looms as a daily anxiety.
In 2 Corinthians 8, the Apostle Paul makes an appeal to Christians who live in a
relatively prosperous geographic area for some measure of equality among believ-
ers. Is the isolation of today's North American any more justifiable than first-
century Corinth's from Jerusalem? Might we be asking the wrong questions as we
measure the harvest?
Anette Eisenbeis
COVER
Thanks be to God for forgiveness and renewal and for the light of God's uncondi-
tional love for all people.
CONTENTS
Water from a Rock 3
Prayer for Forgiveness and Renewal. 5
At Home with One Another 6
Widening the Circle Through Prayer
Review— Program 3 and 4 8
A Cup of Sharing 9
Window on the World 10
Looking In, Looking Out 11
COE Prisms 12
Sowing Seeds of Hope 13
Round Table 14
Contributors, Credits, Forecast. . . .15
Window Shopping 16
Published by Women in Mission of the Gen-
eral Conference Mennonite Church, Box
347, Newton, KS 67114.
Editor: Lois Deckert
Coordinator: Susan Jantzen
Office Secretary: Doris Schmidt
W-2 THE MENNONITE
Muriel Bechtel
Wearily I walked alone to my car as the
women's group dispersed into the
night. The evening's discussion had
been unsettling for me as a pastor.
It was the fourth time in recent weeks
that I had heard the complaint:
"Church no longer does anything for
me. I sometimes think I should just
give up and go somewhere else to get
my needs met." The lament had come
most often from women who felt that
somehow, when they needed "water in
the wilderness," the church had failed
them. They echoed the cartoon of the
little girl saying her prayers: "We went
to your house today, God, but we
couldn't find you."
I couldn't ignore their discontent be-
cause I remembered too well my own. I
am no stranger to the upheaval and tur-
moil women experience as they enter
the wilderness, the struggle to find a
balance between personal needs and
the needs of others, the search for a
faith that gives life and a church that
welcomes women's gifts and their
challenges.
Like Miriam and the women who
danced at the Red Sea, we celebrated
some early victories. We began to be-
lieve that if we worked together we
would be able to transform our world
(or at least our church).
Many of us have been shaped by that
most magical and invigorating of
times, the sixties. As Wendy Dennis
wrote in a recent issue of Toronto Life,
we were so sure that with our placards
and our voices raised together we
would be able to do what previous gen-
erations could not, make the world a
better place for all. We would get rid of
wars, do away with poverty and women
would be free.
DECEMBER 25, 1990 W-3
Nothing stopped our dreaming. We
grew up with more wealth and educa-
tion, more comforts and conveniences
than our grandparents could ever have
imagined.
But now gradually the grim reality is
sinking in. We have had it all, but it was
nothing. So we still wander, searching
for the spring that will wash away shat-
tered dreams and restore life.
After Israel crossed the Red Sea the
people were sure they had arrived. But
as their nostrils and pores became
clogged with desert dust the miracle of
their escape from Egypt fast faded to a
bittersweet memory. First the people's
disappointment turned to despair, and
then to anger. They were angry at God
and their leaders for bringing them to
this bleak place without any plans to
keep them from dying of thirst.
The 20th-century wilderness is just
as frightening. It feels like failure to
admit that we have not brought in a
golden age, not even in the church. So
escape maneuvers seem essential for us
to survive.
Some women have already left in
hope of finding fresh springs in other
places. Others no longer expect to get
refreshed, but decide to stay and settle
for the few meager trickles that occa-
sionally come their way. Some gaze at
mirages, unwilling to admit that they
are merely illusions. Others are hurt
and angry, blaming the church and its
leaders for not anticipating and plan-
ning for their needs. All of us have
found our own ways to cope with the
wasteland as we explore it for signs of
life.
Some voices from our own and our
mother's generation say, "You expect
too much." Others insist, "But we
have a right to expect that the church
will respond to our needs." Indeed
both are right. Sometimes we expect
too little, other times too much.
We expect too much when we hang
on to the image of a church that is
rather like a Super Store, with enough
variety on the shelves that we can select
whatever will suit our own personal
preferences. We expect too much when
we wait for someone else to get us to
the promised land quickly.
We expect too little when we deny
our need for water just because it
makes others uncomfortable. We ex-
pect too little when we relate to God as
a personal attendant, our own Super-
mom, rather than someone with whom
it is important, even necessary to
struggle.
We need to let go of unrealistic ex-
pectations, but at the same time we
dare not let go of our need for water.
When Israel cried out for water, God
said to Moses, "Gather the assembly
together. Speak to that rock before their
eyes and it will pour out its water . . .
for the community so they can drink"
(Numbers 20:8 NIV).
Sometimes it's a disturbing place to
be— caught between the cries of a
thirsty crowd and a God whose streams
seem hidden. But our common need
for water keeps bringing us together.
And I still have not given up hope that
hidden in the rock we call church is
water that wants to come out. And so,
as we meet at the rock we cry out. We
lend our power to each other and to
God. And the rock pours out its water.
There may not be a torrent that carries
us away to depths unknown, but there is
enough cool refreshing water to restore
the community with extra to share.
W-4 THE MENNONITE
Prayer for Forgiveness
and Renewal
O God, you are the source of living water. And yet you
know the thirst in our hearts, for you too have been
thirsty.
Forgive us when we become so absorbed in our own
thirst that we fail to see others who, like us, are search-
ing for the water that restores life. Open our eyes to see
and our hands to reach out to those who are waiting
there at the rock with us.
Forgive us when we ignore our own or others' deep
need and lives become parched and bitter. We pray that
our thirst will give us the courage to take risks and to
struggle, with each other and with you until we are all
reborn and washed clean.
Thank you for the sparkling water that nourishes the
seeds buried deep within us, that washes away the
grime and dust of disappointment and regrets, and that
gives us energy to make a fresh start.
Amen.
DECEMBER 25, 1990 W-5
At Home with One Another
New people, new places, new experiences comprise the 1991 "At Home with
One Another" Learning Tour. Cosponsored by Women in Mission and the Com-
mission on Home Ministries, the tour will go to five different North American
sites— Arizona, Chicago, Toronto, Washington, DC and Winnipeg.
Women will experience first hand CHM program involvements, including
exploring Hopi faith and culture; grappling with the inner and outer spiritual
journey in a biracial church community setting; visiting Hispanic churches;
learning philosophies of work in various urban service centers and travelling to
Native American fishing villages.
When they return from their travels each woman will be available as a speaker
for women's groups, Sunday services, Sunday school classes or retreats.
Earlene Clark lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a
member of the Second Mennonite Church in that city.
Earlene, a social worker interested in family life and issues
of concern to women, wants to integrate social work skills
into her ministry and work. She looks forward to gaining a
better understanding of other cultures and sharing ideas with
other Mennonite women from different districts. Earlene
will travel to Arizona.
Mary Lit wilier from Parnell, Iowa, joins the tour as a
Women's Missionary and Service Commission (WMSC)
representative. She will join Earlene in Arizona. "No
woman knows what it's like to walk in another woman's
shoes," she states. She hopes that in this experience she will
come closer to such an identification. She hopes to give a
feeling of genuine caring and interest and that she represents
a group who cares.
Holly Olfert, a homemaker and special care aide in a nurs-
ing home, lives in Kerrobert, Saskatchewan. Holly wants to
learn more about how other women live their faith. She
wants to gain insight and discover what missions are about as
she encounters situations which are different from those in
Kerrobert. She looks forward to sharing her insights and
someday, with her husband, becoming more involved in
missions. Holly's experience will be in Chicago, Illinois.
Jan Lisa Wilhelm comes from Edmonton, Alberta. She
works part time as an itinerant teacher for the hearing im-
paired. In Chicago, Illinois, she hopes to learn more about
the different ethnic groups in that city. As she gathers infor-
mation about missions she hopes to discover how she can
support other women and the church's work. She wants to
discover how Alberta women's groups and churches can
support other women as well as mission efforts.
W-6 THE MENNONITE
Norma Duerksen who will travel to Toronto, lives in rural
Goessel, Kansas. During her time on the learning tour she
hopes to deepen her spiritual life. Learning to know her tour
partner, establishing relationships with people in Toronto,
and recognizing God at work in the lives of Christian sisters
and brothers are important goals for Norma. She hopes
through this experience to give "joy to the heart of God" and
glory to God's name.
Evaleen Bertsche hopes to grow intellectually, emotionally
and socially as she learns about cultures other than her own,
feels the plight of people in need and interacts with her tour
partner. As she retreats from her busy world to get ac-
quainted with God's people far from her home in Chenoa,
Illinois, she hopes to grow spiritually. Evie joins Norma in
Toronto.
Martha Zimmerman, a secretary from Reedley, Califor-
nia, will travel to Washington, D.C. She is convinced that
"our immediate community is the mission field of the
church." Martha's personal goals are "to acquire knowl-
edge of inner-city life, their difficulties, their joys, their
understanding of scriptures and Jesus and how they relate
that ... to their life." She wants to learn about how people
worship and ways in which all people are similar.
Nettie Neufeld anticipates a true learning experience on this
tour as she joins Martha in Washington, D.C. Recently
retired, Nettie and her husband Abe, live in Steinbach,
Manitoba. She says, "I'm opening myself up to God to
receive whatever God might have in store for me. I want to
share the blessing. "
Shirley Ries lives in Freeman, South Dakota, where her
husband Dennis is a family practice physician. Her studies
recently have included books on Native American culture.
She hopes that her experience in Winnipeg will give her
firsthand contact with people. She wants to discover "what it
means for the Native American to live out her/his Christian
life and how does it fit in with the native traditions, some of
which may conflict with Christian traditions."
Evelyn Rempel from Chilliwack, British Columbia, joins
Shirley Reis in Winnipeg for the learning tour. Evelyn wants
to gain a better understanding of Native Americans, espe-
cially in light of recent events in Canada. She hopes to
witness to God's love as she has experienced it. As she
works at mutual understanding, she wants God's love to
shine through her. Evelyn is married and has four grown
children.
DECEMBER 25, 1990 W-7
Widening the
Circle Through Prayc
Review— Program 3 and 4
iat do we do when wfe is too much
for us? When we have problems at
home orpressure at work or tensions in
lurch? Ho/ do we/handle
stress?"
These are^}tfestions April Yamasaki
addre&ses in Hannah/ Our Souls
^oured Out, the third^devotional in the
1990-91 prograrnpacket.
For Hannah<a woman of ancient Is-
raej^aaswers come through an honest,
yet humble, outpouring of her troubles
to God in prayer.
Dramatically, in a litany for two
readers, Yamasaki helps us understand
the emotional pain of childlessness that
Hannah experienced.
During a time of sharing and guided
Bible study (1 Samuel 1:1-2:11), we
are led to identify distress in our own
lives and encouraged to pour out our
souls as Hannah did.
To help us begin imitating Hannah's
example of petition and thanksgiving,
the author suggests an unhurried pray-
ing together of Psalm 121 and 146.
For Hannah, prayer led to inner
peace and the child she longed for.
What has been our experience with the
results of prayer? Yamasaki has good
questions to guide that discussion.
She also probes deep with "When is
a personal petition selfish? When is it
unselfish?"
Psalms Anew, by Nancy Schreck and
Maureen Leach (Winona, Minnesota:
Saint Mary's Press, Christian Brothers
Publications, 1986) or The Psalms: A
New Translation for Prayer and Wor-
ship, translated by Gary Chamberlain
(Nashville, Tennessee: The Upper
Room, 1984) are listed as resources for
personal praying of the Psalms.
The fourth devotional is Mary: Re-
joicing in God our Savior.
Mary, mother of Jesus, learned to
know God through a lifetime of absorb-
ing scripture. When God acted directly
in her life, this store of scripture gave
her the words to tell about it. When she
entered the door of Elizabeth's house,
her contact with Elizabeth's kindred
spirit ignited her spiritual insight and
knowledge into a beautiful song of joy
to God.
The circumstances of Mary's life af-
ter she got pregnant were not easy. The
discussion question is asked, "Is there
a difference between being happy and
being joyful?" Similarly, how do we
rejoice in the God of history when so
much injustice remains?
Yamasaki suggests taking time dur-
ing the meeting to pray, either with an-
other person, following the model of
Mary and Elizabeth, who praised God
together, or individually, using scrip-
tures to guide the meditations.
A good way to increase our own ex-
posure to scripture is to follow the Bi-
ble readings from the ecumenical
lectionary, or from a devotional guide
such as Rejoice!
Suzanne Lawrence
W-8 THE MENNONITE
SHARING
Lois Decked
"Wrapped in our blanket of individualism, we plow
through days without noticing those around us. . . .
Our actions betray our knowledge that true life comes
from community not individuality. For these short-
comings and more we pray for forgiveness."
These words from Patrick Preheim's prayer one
Sunday not long ago caught my attention. Wait a min-
ute, Patrick, aren't we supposed to develop ourselves,
struggle to realize our own gifts, be individuals, follow
our own consciences? What did you mean when you
asked forgiveness for individualism and individuality?
Patrick's prayer made me think about my relation-
ship to my church community. His prayer caused me to
look again at the people surrounding me in the pews.
These people are my people. When I concentrate only
on myself I forget their importance in my life. When I
ignore their needs to satisfy only my own, I loosen my
connections, I become estranged and isolated.
A community of believers, sharing life's insights,
joys, sorrows, triumphs helps me grow spiritually, al-
lows my gifts to develop, helps me know the limits of
my conscience, and demonstrates the power of God's
love. Yes, forgive me and "Create in me a clean heart,
O God and put a new and right spirit within me."
(Ps. 51:10 NRSV).
DECEMBER 25, 1990 W-9
Window on
Marlene Daku
Dona Maria was only 14
years old when she ran away
and got married to escape
her miserable childhood.
The escape turned into a
nightmare.
Her husband drank heav-
ily but worked hard when he
was sober. He forced his wife and chil-
dren to work as hard as he did in the
fields. Those long hard years ruined
Dona Maria's health. The older ones
of her seven children never knew what
it was like to be free of responsibilities
too big for them. The second youngest
was our daughter Kristen's best friend.
Dona Maria's third youngest child
became irreversibly blind from a rag-
ing fever at age 10. The doctor said that
the hallucinating child had gone crazy;
there was nothing he could do for her.
But Dona Maria had become a Chris-
tian and knew she had hope and could
pray. Even though the fever took
Elma's eyesight, she praises the Lord
for sparing Elma's life.
Dona Maria's family moved to
Goiania, the city where we worked.
Times were tough. One by one the chil-
dren learned to know the Lord through
a Mennonite church planted by a Bra-
zilian pastor. When the father became
desperately ill, he promised that he
would serve God all his life if only God
would let him live. God, in mercy,
granted him life. He went to the church
service with help, but walked home on
his own, a healed man. But the story
the World
COM
did not end happily.
About three years ago
when Dona Maria was hem-
orrhaging in bed, her hus-
band came into the
bedroom, packed a suitcase
and walked out. She hasn't
heard from him since.
Again Dona Maria turned to the Lord
for her physical needs and she got well.
The family was evicted from their
home because the rent and other bills
hadn't been paid for months. They
built a hut out of plastic on a lot that her
oldest son had bought. They lived there
during the rainy season, until the chil-
dren who were working had saved
enough to buy bricks for a two-room
house.
I loved being with Dona Maria. Her
faith challenged me. Sometimes I won-
dered why another blow didn't knock
her down and keep her down. She has
learned a lesson that many of us still
struggle with and don't want to accept.
It isn't our right to enjoy perfect health
and the best of everything in this fallen
world. It isn't our right to escape hard
times. Dona Maria flashes a wonder-
ful, toothless smile when she talks
about how good God has been to her.
There is much she doesn't understand
about God but she trusts and knows
that God is with her, guiding, encour-
aging, ministering. She knows that
some day her battle will be over. One
day you will meet Dona Maria, be-
cause she is running the race to win!
W-10 THE MENNONITE
Carrie Harder
It's September and I'm back at my
desk in the Peace and Justice Center
unpiling mail that has accumulated
over the summer months.
Here's a communique from Menno-
nite Church of Eastern Canada
(MCEC) on poverty and the housing
crisis in Eastern Canada and an en-
dorsement of the "Innu Walk" to in-
clude Kitchener and some of our
Mennonite churches. From MCC, a
Peace Sunday packet. Also the Heisey/
Longacre report on missions: "Men-
nonite International Study Project."
The day unfolds for me, not quite as
planned. There are phone calls and vis-
its from members within the congrega-
tion and community, registering
concerns or just stopping by to chat.
It has been said that the church's
mission is to search for expressions of
Christ's call that will provide counter-
cultural avenues for witnessing to the
gospel and doing advocacy work for
marginalized people. Mennonites have
called for Christian grassroots groups
based within the congregations.
In part, such visions are rooted in
our story at Stirling. Many work crea-
tively at faith and justice issues in their
homes and places of work and in local
mission/service projects.
But in 1985 a group of people met to
discuss the effects on the poor of a
growing military industry in our area
and beyond. We wanted to address root
causes, but soon realized the need to
ground our work in biblical study and
lifestyle critique.
Our working group has met monthly
CHM
since those first meetings. Then, in
1987 our congregation accepted a pro-
posal to establish the Center in the
church. In the fall of 1988, I began
staffing the Center on a voluntary basis
as Peace and Missions Worker and am
now starting my second two-year term
as local voluntary service worker re-
sponsible to the Missions Ministry and
the Peace and Justice Working Group
(PJWG).
There is a kind of everydayness to a
vision. As I reflect beyond the stack of
mail on my desk, I know there will be a
meeting of the Christian Peacemaker
Team to address native concerns, espe-
cially in Ontario; downtown meetings
to address matters of growing poverty.
And there will be preparation work
with the Missions and the PJWG to
coordinate Children's Church and plan
a Sunday school option on mental
health.
(In reflecting on the agenda, I am
grateful for a time of meditation and
prayer that began my day with several
local church and MCC workers.)
Linking with people, churches and
the various agencies is a vital part of
peace and mission work. Sometimes it
is silent work, just as churches linking
between East and West in Europe
worked silently for many decades. But
Berlin Walls do come down and the
network created, inspired by the spirit
and life of Jesus, will relieve and even
break oppression within our communi-
ties and beyond.
And so I reflect with gratitude on
being part of this witness.
DECEMBER 25, 1990 W-11
COE
Prisms
Commission on Education
Ken Hawkley
"Let's just forgive and forget," we say.
This attitude is as helpful when talk-
ing to another person as it is in a prayer
of confession to God. Too often it
whitewashes the painful return to
wholeness after trust is broken through
conflict and sin. It denies the need for
confession that leads to repentance.
Confession is a leap of faith. We sur-
render control and simply trust. It is
the tuition to a deeper school of knowl-
edge. We become teachable and vul-
nerable. We give power to another and
find that it returns when the other lis-
tens without condemnation. This re-
gained power can be a catalyst to
realize our brokenness and need for re-
pentance to become whole again.
Repentance is not a diplomatic move
designed to show what a generous per-
son we are for accepting some of the
blame. Repentance is a nail through the
heart. It is the horrible realization that
we are less than what we project to
others. We realize our mask has
slipped. We could readjust it, pretend-
ing nothing happened (let's forgive and
forget). We can wallow in self-pity and
remorse (they won't forgive and forget)
or we could realize that who we are is
not who we will be and work toward
renewal. Renewal must acknowledge
our need for God and each other. But
help is a four-letter word when we have
to ask for it.
Receiving help through others is a
miracle moment when we discover we
are still lovable. The hope we experi-
ence is the shuttle with which to weave
a new cloth. The caring we receive is a
balm to our woundedness. Our despair
more easily gives way to exhilaration
and a new vigor for life in the body and
with God.
This is the place of thanksgiving to
the One who has always loved us.
Through thanksgiving God's guidance
in our life is revealed and we see more
deeply that we are God's creation.
To forgive and forget is the cheap
way out, a denial that we are human.
The path from repentance to renewal to
thanksgiving is long, hard and ex-
tremely rewarding. It is a chance for
people to touch each other under God's
guidance. It is our personal participa-
tion in the death and resurrection of
Christ. It is trust building and commu-
nity strengthening.
"Effective Christian education is the most powerful single influence
congregations have on maturity of faith" (Effective Christian Education:
A. National Study of Protestant Congregations).
W-12 THE MENNONITE
Sowing
Seeds of
Hope
Margaret Ediger
In the spring of 1988 the Western Dis-
trict Conference commissioned George
and Margaret Ediger to plant a church
in the Hispanic community east of the
Dallas, Texas, city center.
Their primary method of outreach
has been house-to-house visitation.
They offer home Bible studies and help
for specific needs of the families with
whom they relate.
From that ongoing ministry a con-
gregation of approximately 50 persons,
half of whom are children, has
emerged. They chose as their name
Comunidad de Esperanza (Community
of Hope) which expresses most ade-
quately what the church means to
them.
Included among the ministries is a
weekly meeting for women. The So-
ciedad de Damas meets Wednesday
mornings from 10:00 a.m. until noon
or later. Margaret has led this group
during two school seasons and they are
now in their third season. Since the
women bring all their children with
them it is not practical to continue
meeting during the summer months
when school-age children are at home.
This ministry to women serves two
important functions. Firstly, it has be-
come one of the doorways into the
church for some of the women. During
the time of singing, Bible teaching and
prayer, women learn to draw near to
God and find strength and hope. In an
atmosphere of loving support, suspi-
cions about evangelicals in general and
Mennonites in particular evaporate. At
least eight women initially reached
through the Sociedad de Damas are ac-
tively involved in the life of the church.
Two were baptized in June and several
others have indicated interest in prepar-
ing for baptism.
Secondly, the weekly meetings help
women in their daily lives, dispelling
loneliness through new friendships;
teaching new skills such as crocheting,
quilting and knitting. These skills, be-
sides providing them with something
interesting and creative to do at home,
have translated into a means of addi-
tional income for some of them. The
meetings provide classes in home-
building skills such as nutrition, new
recipes, child-raising and interpersonal
relationships.
Now in their third season the women
worked hard on a quilt to be auctioned
at Texas' first MCC relief sale on No-
vember 1 1 in Houston. They also made
ornamental dolls and place mats for the
sale.
The Edigers believe that this group
of women continues to fulfill a vital
role in the Community of Hope of East
Dallas.
DECEMBER 25, 1990 W-13
round
table
Susan Jantzen
I have always had my eyes peeled for
someone who was like me. But there
came a day I was forced to give up my
search.
Babies strapped to our backs,
Amkatir and I left the courtyard we had
shared for over a year. Under the Afri-
can sun we walked to church, stepping
over dry rivulets that remained from
tossing the morning wash water, strid-
ing past huts, mud houses and more
courtyards of squawking chickens and
women pounding grain. Without com-
mon language between us we ex-
changed only a few words, but Amkatir
was like a sister. I felt more similar to
her than to the European women in our
town, busy dawn to dusk with famine
relief. But even though I lived out in
this sparsely populated desert scrub, I
was not an African! I found myself un-
avoidably different.
My new awareness unsettled me.
Would I be able to choose my own
way? Could I be strong enough to be
unique?
My husband kept giving me my
morning just-relax hug, and my toddler
still tugged or smiled or wailed.
Nouress, Amkatir and Thamar pa-
tiently loved me. The dusty sunrises
came and the days ended.
In the end the stars helped me
through. We slept outside since the
nights were hot and dry. My thirsty
child woke often to drink and as he fell
back to sleep I came to know the im-
mense sky! Night after night after night
I watched the grand certainty of the
passing constellations. Two hundred
miles from the competition of electric-
ity, the stars filled the vast space, the
endless quiet of darkness. They were
sure of their place in God's creation.
Perhaps I could be too. Nurtured by the
desert heavens, nudged to new confi-
dence, I made peace with my unique-
ness.
My security comes from being a
blessed part of God's creation, rather
than from being like someone else.
Susan Jantzen,
coordinator for
Women in Mis-
sion, lives in
Newton, Kan-
sas. Her hus-
band Jim is a
teacher. They
have two sons,
Peter and Rob-
ert.
W-14
THE MENNONITE
contributors
David Ediger (cover) and his wife Shannon live in
Newton, Kansas. David works at Mennonite Press in
Newton and is a free-lance artist.
Anette Eisenbeis (The Open Window) chairs the WM
Publications Committee. She and her husband Larry are
farmers in South Dakota.
Muriel Bechtel (Water from A Rock, Prayer for For-
giveness and Renewal) is pastor of the Warden Woods
Mennonite Church in Scarborough, Ontario. Her inter-
est in pastoral ministry grew out of many years of volun-
teer work in her church and community. She and her
husband Dave have two teenage children.
Suzanne Lawrence (Review— Program 3 and 4), a
member of the WM Publications Committee, lives with
her husband and four children in rural Hillsboro, Kan-
sas. Suzanne is a poet and free-lance writer. The family
attends New Creation Fellowship in Newton, Kansas.
Lois Deckert (A Cup of Sharing) edits Window to Mis-
sion from the WM office at 722 Main Street, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114.
Marlene Daku (Window on the World) and her hus-
band Ron and two children are currently living in
Caronport, Saskatchewan. Ron is taking seminary
classes at Briercrest Bible College. "My time in Brazil
was invaluable to my personal growth and I believe that
God used us to build His kingdom in a small way. . . .
We look forward to continued church ministry after
Ron's studies," states Marlene.
Carrie Harder (Looking In, Looking Out) and husband
John live in Kitchener, Ontario. They have two grown
children. Carrie received a nursing degree from Goshen
College School of Nursing and has worked primarily in
hospital nursing and staff education. Currendy her local
voluntary service assignment is as Peace and Missions
worker at Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church in Kitch-
ener.
Ken Hawkley (COE Prisms) is secretary for Adult and
Young Adult Education for the Commission on Educa-
tion. He, his wife Louise and two children live in New-
ton, Kansas.
Margaret Ediger (Sowing Seeds of Hope) and husband
George spent time as missionaries in Colombia, S.A.
They now live in Dallas, Texas, where they work in
Comunidad de Esperanza (Community of Hope) as
Western District church planters.
Susan Jantzen (Round Table) coordinates WM from
the office at 722 Main Street, Box 347, Newton, KS
671 17. Susan, her husband Jim and two young sons live
in Newton.
credits
Art: Angie Miller, p. 8; David Ediger, p. 5, 13.
David Anette Muriel Suzanne
Ediger Eienbeis Bechtel Lawrence
Lois Marlene Carrie Ken Margaret
Deckert Daku Harder Hawkley Ediger
forecast
How do we care about the earth and all its peoples? Do we translate our
prayers for people into caring for their environment and ours? Learn
about city and farm ecology in the spring issue of Window to Mission.
DECEMBER 25, 1990 W-15
Window Shopping
The WM Executive and Literature Committee met in fall to assess the past and
work towards future possibilities. From the left back row: Helen Hildebrand
(Canadian Vice President), Lois Deckert (Editor) Window to Mission, Susan
Jantzen (Coordinator), Suzanne Lawrence (Literature Committee), Amy Dueck-
man (Literature Committee), Ruth Ramseyer (U. S. Vice President), Doris Schmidt
(Office Secretary); Front row: Jeanne Rempel (President), Lois Kaufman (Advisor
Chairperson), Helen Friesen (Secretary), Anette Eisenbeis (Literature Committee
Chairperson).
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER - MARCH 1, 1991
On the Journey Together is the theme
that unites Christian people worldwide
to participate in the 1991 World Day of
Prayer. The women of Kenya, who pre-
pared the material, invite you on this
journey as you pray for a spirit of
togetherness— harambee— a philoso-
phy of peace, love and unity. The
women of Kenya proclaim, with all
their Christian sisters and brothers,
that Jesus is the way and the life leading
us as we journey together. Participate
in a service near you or plan your own.
Write to Church Women United, 475
Riverside Drive, Room 812, New
York, NY 101 15 for more information.
W-16 THE MENNONITE
Last spring Mennonites in the United
States and Canada sent bandages,
blankets and homemade hospital gowns to
Afghanistan. International Assistance
Mission, an international voluntary service
mission made up of Christian workers
involved in medical, rehabilitation and
development projects in Kabul, distributed
the materials to government clinics and
hospitals where 1AM team members work.
1AM executive director Richard Penner said
the large container of bandages arrived in
record time and cleared customs in three
days instead of the usual two weeks.
First Mennonite Church of Oak Park (III.)
is to become Oak Park Mennonite Church
on Jan. 1, 1991. The 39-member
congregation is dually affiliated with Central
District Conference of the General
Conference Mennonite Church and Illinois
Conference of the Mennonite Church.
David Myers is the pastor at the church,
which recently celebrated its 10th
anniversary.
The steel container arrives on IAM property.
NEWS
three Canadian CPT members
to visit a number of the
Canadian hostages.
From several sources, CPT
members heard of shortages in
medical supplies. F.S. Al-
Alousi, secretary general of the
Red Crescent [Iraqi equivalent
to the Red Cross], received the
boxes of medicine brought by
CPT. He noted that under the
current embargo, petitions to
the United Nations Security
Council to allow certain
medicines to enter Iraq need to
come from pharmaceutical
companies or from other
governments.
Qasim M. Ismail, adminis-
trator of Saddam Central
Teaching Hospital for Children,
said that only emergency
surgery was being performed.
He also said that the hospital
urgently needs "exchange
transfusion sets."
The CPT group had hoped to
meet and pray with religious
leaders. They had only one
visit, with Bishop Matti Matoka
of the the Syrian Catholic
Church. He announced the
Dec. 3-5 Christian peace
convention in Baghdad.
With only a few days
remaining, the CPT decided to
hold a prayer service in
Babylon, about 90 kilometers
[56 miles] south of Baghdad.
Other groups did not respond
to the invitation. Neither the
Iraqi nor the international media
showed up to cover the event,
the latter staying close to major
hotels to report news of
hostage releases. Ron
Rempel, editor of Mennonite
Reporter, and member of this
CPT delegation
What is the
future
ministry
with young
adults?
Chicago — How can church be
made more relevant for young
adults? How can the
connection between a faith
journey and daily living be
communicated?
Some 60 church agency
representatives, conference/
district spokespeople and
congregational leaders from the
United States and Canada
grappled with these questions
and talked about the shape of
young adult ministry for the
'90s during a Nov. 2-4
consultation in Chicago. It was
sponsored by the General
Conference Mennonite Church
and the Mennonite Church.
Participants divided into
small groups to discuss their
experiences with and dreams
for young adult ministry. They
considered major issues facing
young adult ministry and
evaluated the current shape of
young adult ministry in local
churches.
One small group asked why
young adults are not given the
opportunity to help set congre-
gational direction though they
come well-equipped and well-
educated. The answers
included these: (1) Young
adult ministries seem most
effective if they are mobilized
by individual congregations
rather than mandated by the
denomination. (2) Congre-
gations cannot deal with the
vibrancy of youth if they are not
willing to grow and change
themselves. (3) Young adults
who stay in the church
frequently do so because of
relationships with people who
care about them.
One participant observed
that "the future of the
denomination is at stake if we
don't reach this generation."
Another noted that, in spite of
the fact that young adult
ministries must be locally
mobilized, "we need an impulse
from the top; we need to help
agencies think through the
issues" of why young adults are
leaving the church.
Tex Sample, a professor at
St. Paul's School of Theology
in Kansas City, Mo., and Norm
Kauffmann, dean of students at
Goshen (Ind.) College, offered
insights into young adult
ministry based on sociological
research and developmental
models, respectively.
Sample highlighted nine
lifestyles, noting minimal over-
lap among those categories
where present-day young
adults are most likely to fit and
those categories the church
tends to reach. Kauffmann
discussed young adult matura-
tion, development and change.
Citing needs to create an
environment to foster growth
and to shape a ministry of
mutuality, he said, "I'm a little
bothered that we aren't
listening more carefully to those
we're talking about."
Monica Schroeder, an
Eastern District representative
on the GC Young Adult
Reference Council, challenged
participants to look to Jesus as
the prime example of young
adult ministry. "Jesus was a
young adult and had a young
adult ministry. He needs to be
preached and his life modeled
to attract young adults," she
said.
Carol Weiser, a writer/editor
for the Northeastern Pennsyl-
vania Synod of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America,
observed that young adult
"...the future of the
denomination is at
stake..."
ministries are being phased out
in many denominations
because baby boomers are
moving out of the young adult
age group and "dragging the
interests of the church with
them." She said she is "glad
there is still concern" among
Mennonites.
Norma Johnson, executive
secretary of the Commission on
Education (GCMC), reiterated
her denomination's commit-
ment to working with the Men-
nonite Church and expressed a
willingness to be "patient" as
the latter works through internal
restructuring following budget
and personnel changes. The
changes leave the future of
Student and Young Adult
Services in doubt at Mennonite
Board of Missions (MC). The
restructuring caused the
departure last spring of SYAS
director Myrna Burkholder.
Jane Halteman. Wheaton, III.
THE MENNONITE 565
Patricia Shelly and Duane Friesen, Bible
professors at Bethel College, North
Newton, Kan., will lead a travel/study/
renewal seminar to the Middle East June 4-
25, 1 991 . A maximum of 35 participants
will go. Anyone interested should send a
$1 00 deposit with an application by Feb. 1 ,
1991 , to Ministerial Leadership Services,
General Conference Mennonite Church,
Box 347, Newton, KS 671 14-0347.
Seventy pairs of chopsticks went into
action recently as Turpin (Okla.) Mennonite
Church celebrated its annual Harvest
Mission Festival. Wearing Japanese
kimonos, Peter Voran, interim pastor, and
his wife, Lois, who are retired missionaries
to Japan, hosted a dinner. With tableware
they had brought from Japan they tried to
make it as authentic as they could to
introduce the congregation to Asian culture.
Diners left their shoes in the hall and chose
between sitting on cushions at low tables or
on chairs. Bruno and Wanda Derksen
Bergen, co-secretaries of personnel for the
Commission on Overseas Mission brought
talks, slides, songs, stories and answered
questions about missions.
Leland D. Harder, North Newton, Kan.,
associate director of the Church Member
Profile II, gave the major address at the
56th annual meeting of the Association of
Statisticians of American Religious Bodies.
In his presentation, "Mennonite
Demographics," Harder described the
recent church member survey of five
Mennonite bodies. The current project of
ASARB is the 1990 Church Membership
Study, which analyzes the population of the
United States according to each religious
body. The General Conference Mennonite
Church has agreed to take part in this
study.
NEWS
'Live for a sustainable
world,' says WDC
Goessel, Kan. (GCMC)—
Alexanderwohl Mennonite
Church, rural Goessel, Kan.,
was the site of opening
meetings as Western District
Conference convened here
Oct. 26-28. Speakers Del
Jacobsen and Dorothy Berry
addressed the theme "Living for
a Sustainable World."
"I think to have dominion and
to subdue all creation is a
perversion of what that biblical
message really is," said
Jacobsen.
Berry and Jacobsen
addressed poverty and greed,
rural and urban problems,
consumerism and the simple
lifestyle, and presented
possible models for the future.
"Who is better equipped at
laying out a vision of society
that God would approve of than
those of us in the church?"
asked Berry.
Two banners graced the
meetings. One proclaimed the
theme; the other quoted Isaiah
5:8, "Woe unto them that join
house to house, that lay field to
field, till there be no place."
Two resolutions dominated
the business session. The first,
a resolution on the Middle East
crisis, called for prayer by the
churches. The South Central
Mennonite Conference of the
Mennonite Church had adopted
the same resolution at its
August meeting.
The first delegate to rise in
opposition to the resolution
said, "In light of possible armed
conflict, is this all we're going to
say about war?"
Others offered two amend-
ments. Delegates favored one
that mandated the conference
moderator to write to George
Bush and congressional
members of Western District's
five states, urged all members
to pray and challenged church
members to actively witness for
peace through letter writing and
support of ongoing church and
conference initiatives.
Michael Yeakey, Salina
(Kan.) Church, supported the
amended resolution by saying,
"Brothers and sisters, the
troops did not materialize
overnight. They have been
building up for the past 1 0
years and they are our troops
because we pay for them.
Let's take this resolution as an
indictment. Actions speak
louder than all our words."
When the vote came, a rush
of hands raised in favor
prompted moderator James
Dunn to declare the vote
unanimous.
A controversial "covenant of
understanding" resolution
revived debate. (It had been
tabled at last year's sessions.)
It requires that churches
requesting financial assistance
for constructing a building sign
a contract with the Western
District or General Conference
Mennonite Church. The
"covenant" allows the Western
District or General Conference
to hold an interest in the
property, such as a mortgage.
It calls for local responsibility
During a Dragnet spoof, church-planting coordinator Floyd Bartel
(center) hands tools to church planter David Whitermore. Don
Troyer, in his role as police inspector, observes the transaction.
for upkeep and maintenance.
It gives Western District
ultimate right of ownership if a
congregation disbands or
withdraws from the district.
One amendment of several
offered earned the approval of
delegates. It changed the
wording of the resolution to say
that churches will be in
dialogue with the Western
District regarding the disposal
of buildings and land if the
congregation withdraws or
disbands. The original
proposal required churches to
include in their constitutions
wording that would commit the
property to the Western District.
With that amendment, the
"covenant of understanding"
passed with a ballot vote.
A third resolution, offered in
support of the Kansas Institute
for Peace and Conflict
Resolution at Bethel College.
North Newton, Kan., passed
unanimously after delegates
were told it did not involve a
financial commitment.
Western District proposed a
budget of $413,659, an
increase of $1 1 ,228 over last
year. Although the vote to
approve the budget was
declared unanimous, Dunn
said, "I didn't hear any 'nays,'
but those weren't enthusiastic
'ayes.'"
Maxine Fast, West Zion
Church, Moundridge, Kan.,
offered an invitation on behalf
of the Moundridge churches to
host Western District
Conference next year.
Dunn, pastor at First Church,
Newton, Kan., was re-elected
moderator for a one-year term.
Delegates accepted the
recommendation of the
Western District executive
committee to serve as hosts for
the 1 995 joint assembly of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church and the Mennonite
Church. The conference will be
held in Wichita, Kan. Beth
Hege, news service editor,
General Conference Mennonite
Church
566 DECEMBER 25, 1990
Nadenia Myron (left), a Hopi from Phoenix,
Ariz., talks with Myrtis Morris, a Choctaw
from Philadelphia, Miss.
"Sharing God's Grace" was the theme of
the fourth biennial assembly of Natives in
the Mennonite Church, hosted in July by
Morson (Ont.) Community Bible Fellowship,
an Ojibway congregation. About 140
people attended the gathering, including
Cree, Creek, Choctaw, Ojibway and Hopi
who are part of the United Native Ministries
Council. Nadenia Myron, a Hopi from
Phoenix, Ariz., who is on staff with
Mennonite Indian Leaders Council of the
General Conference Mennonite Church,
talked about "Sharing God's Grace with
Our Children." She gave a personal and
informative presentation about alcoholism
and drugs and the effects these have on
families, the co-dependents.
It is illegal in all 50 (U.S.) states and the
District of Columbia to drink alcoholic
beverages if you are under 21 . In spite of
that, reports Hope Healthletter, nearly two
of three high school students say they drink
alcohol regularly. Drunk-driving crashes
are the leading cause of death for those
between ages 1 6 and 24. (the Tool Kit)
NEWS
New listening
committee
addresses
same-sex
orientation
Newton, Kan.— Coming from
Illinois, Kansas, Manitoba,
Ontario, Pennsylvania and
Virginia, the eight members of
the new inter-Mennonite
listening committee on
homosexual concerns met here
Nov. 16. Clare Schumm,
secretary for family life
education (until Jan. 31, 1991)
for the Mennonite Church and
the General Conference
Mennonite Church, serves the
committee as staff person
through next summer. The
committee's task is to be a
sounding board for their
constituencies and a listening
post for interested families and
people involved in the subject
of homosexuality.
At this formative meeting
members planned their
participation at the Mennonite
Church biennial assembly,
Oregon '91 , July 30- Aug. 3 in
Eugene. They will be available
to listen to people's stories and
opinions on the subject of
same-sex orientation. They will
also offer perspectives on
recovery programs, biblical
interpretation, family and
congregational involvement.
The committee will also be at
the triennial sessions of the
General Conference Mennonite
Church in Sioux Falls, S.D., in
the summer of 1992.
Edward Stoltzfus of Eastern
Mennonite Seminary,
Harrisonburg, Va., reported on
the third convention of the
Brethren/Mennonite Council for
Lesbian and Gay Concerns
(BMC). "How do we listen?" he
said. "We need to place our-
selves where this subject is
being discussed. We should
try to understand feelings as
well as the discussions and
arguments about this subject."
Stoltzfus and Sue Goerzen,
Harrow, Ont., co-chair the
committee.
Two members of BMC, a
man and a woman, have been
invited to the committee's next
meeting. Both have the com-
mendation of their congrega-
tions. Muriel T. Stackley
Haida seminar
explores
Native issues
Eleven people participated in
the Mennonite Central
Committee Haida-Mennonite
seminar last August in British
Columbia's Queen Charlotte
Islands. John Williams, Haida
Hereditary Chief and ordained
United Church minister, led the
seminar, billed as "an oppor-
tunity to build understanding"
between Mennonites and the
Haida people.
Guides Ted Bellis and Ernie
Gladstone took the group on a
seven-day journey around
Gwaii Haanas, the "islands of
beauty" recently designated a
national park. Participants
learned about recent conflicts
concerning logging and tourism
and the ways Haida are
addressing these concerns.
For seminar organizer
Norman Klippenstein, deafness
to aboriginal justice is born out
of racism. And Mennonite
history is not immune to such
views. "We've come to see the
Natives as Mennonites in
Russia saw the peasantry in
that country," he said. One
way to change such attitudes is
to give up old ways of thinking
about aboriginal peoples, a
goal that can be achieved, said
Klippenstein, through personal
interaction with Native people.
FOR THE TOUR OF
YOUR LIFE...
Walk where Michael Sattler walked...
talk with brothers and sisters in other
cultures who share your faith story-
see the majestic beauty of God's
creation.
Call or write for more information
about our 1991 TourMagination tours.
mi
Jamaica 91 A
Jamaica 91 B
Europe 91 A
Europe 91 B
Eastern Canada 91
Europe 91 C
Europe 91 D
Jan. 18-25
Jan. 25-Feb. 1
June 10-30
July 1-19
July 12-25
July 20-Aug. 3
Aug. 29-Sept. 18
Jan Gleysteen
Wilmer Martin
Jan Gleysteen, Fern Yoder
Wilmer Martin, John Ruth
Hubert Schwartzentruber, Henry Landes
Arnold Cressman, J. Denny Weaver
Jan Gleysteen, Henry Landes
m.
TOUR
AGIN
1 210 Loucks Ave.
Scottdale, PA 1 5683
412-887-5440
412-887-9436
1 31 Erb St. West
Waterloo, ONT N2L 1T7
519-747-0517
519-745-7433
569 Yoder Road, P.O. Box 376
Harleysville, PA 19438
215-256-3011
215-723-8413 ffl
THE MENNONITE 567
The average funeral costs $1 ,000 more
than the average birth, according to
American Demographics. A government
survey showed that the average cost of a
traditional service with burial was $3,786.
Cemetery plot and grave marker can add
$1 ,000-$1 ,600 to that cost. Cremations (at
$1 ,505) average 40 percent the cost of a
traditional service, (the Tool Kit)
RECOltd
Mennonite and Brethren Marriage
Encounter is undergoing structural
changes. Rather than continue in a
nationally administered system, separate,
self-sustaining regions are forming. Since
the General Conference Mennonite Church
is no longer providing a financial base and
an administrative secretary, the viability of
each region depends on volunteers and
financial support from its constituents. The
Newton, Kan., region has planned a
Marriage Encounter for Feb. 1-3, 1 991 , at
McPherson, Kan. M&BME weekends are
scheduled by invitation. For more
information contact Mary Lou Bonham,
2526 N. Webb Road, Newton, KS 6711 4,
(316) 837-3365.
"The blood of God's children is by far
dearer than all the barrels of oil in the
world," reads a statement by Christian Arab
women in Jordan. Letha Froese, president
of Women's Missionary and Service
Commission, read the statement to the
general WMSC executive committee fall
meeting. Entitled "An Appeal for Peace,"
the statement calls upon Christian women
in Europe, the United States and Canada
"to join forces to stop destruction of our
area of the world." It continues, "Let us
bring sanity to a world where greed and
power are gods. Let us all pray for peace
in [Christ's] name."
caLencIar
WORliERS
Feb. 7-9, 1991— Council of
Boards, Conference of
Mennonites in Canada,
Winnipeg
Feb. 8-10— Aid to Christian
Teaching, Five Oaks Camp,
Paris, Ont.
Feb. 15-17 — Conference of
Mennonites in British Columbia,
Bethel Church, Aldergrove,
B.C.
Feb. 16-17 — Conference of
Mennonites in Alberta,
Rosemary Church
Feb. 22-23— Conference of
Mennonites in Manitoba,
Mennonite Collegiate Institute,
Gretna
Feb. 22-23— Conference of
Mennonites of Saskatchewan,
Rosetown
March 8-12— Council of
Commissions, Newton, Kan.
April 5-7 — Mennonite
Conference of Eastern
Canada, Kitchener, Ont.
May 2-4 — Eastern District
Conference, Souderton, Pa.
June 13-16— Northern
District Conference, First
Church, Mountain Lake, Minn.
June 20-23— Pacific District
Conference, Oregon
June 27-29— Central District
Conference, Indiana
July 6-10 — Conference of
Mennonites in Canada,
Saskatoon
MBM — Mennonite Board of Missions
MVS — Mennonite Voluntary Service
Karen Alderfer, Presbyterian
Church of Toms River, N.J.,
began a two-year MVS term
Sept. 14 in St. Paul, Minn., as
an assistant manager at
Jubilee Shop. Her parents are
Charlotte and Evan Alderfer of
Seaside Heights, N.J.
Sheila Casey, Oakbrook (III.)
Christian Center, began a two-
year MVS term July 21 in St.
Louis as a child-care worker at
Edgewood Children's Center.
Her parents are John and
Patricia Casey of LaGrange, III.
Marge Cooper, Old First
Reformed Church, Philadel-
phia, began a two-year MVS
term Oct. 1 in Seattle as an
information and referral
counselor for Downtown
Emergency Service Center.
Lily Derksen, Beppu (Japan)
Church, began a two-year MVS
term Sept. 5 in San Francisco
as a jail program coordinator
for Northern California Service
League. Her parents are Mary
and Peter Derksen of Fukuoka,
Japan.
James L. Derstine, formerly
MBM church relations director,
Elkhart, Ind., began a pastoral
position Oct. 31 at Germantown
Church, Philadelphia.
Kelly Dueck, Rosthern
(Sask.) Church, began a two-
year MVS term Nov. 1 in St.
Paul, Minn., as an
advertising specialist
for Minneapolis
American Indian
Center. His parents
Cooper
Derksen
Gardner
Goertz
Derstine
Dueck
are Agnes and Menno Dueck
of Rosthern.
Vicki Epp, Bethesda Church,
Henderson, Neb., began a two-
year MVS term Nov. 26 in
Seattle as a mediator/program
assistant for Victim Offender
Reconciliation Program. Her
mother is Pamela Epp of
Newton, Kan.
Bret Ewert, Community
Mennonite Church, Markham,
III., began a one-year MVS
term Aug. 19 in Denver as a
food and clothing bank worker
for Interfaith Task Force. His
parents are David and Karen
Ewert of Markham.
Betsy Gardner, Nativity of
Our Lord Church, St. Paul,
Minn., began a one-year MVS
term in Denver as a volunteer
coordinator for Interfaith Task
Force. Her parents are Judy
and Patrick Gardner of St.
Paul.
Naomi Goertz, Tabor
Church, Newton, Kan., began a
two-year MVS term Oct. 8 in
Cincinnati as an assistant
homework-room coordinator for
Peaslee Neighborhood Center.
Her parents are Elma and
Ernest Goertz of Peabody,
Kan.
Scott Graber, Burgess
Memorial Baptist Church, Crow
Agency, Mont., began a two-
year MVS term Sept. 12 in
Fresno, Calif., as an English-
568 DECEMBER 25, 1990
The Deaf Christian Leadership Program.
which was to begin this fall, will delay
opening its doors until next fall in order to
increase recruiting efforts. Nancy Marshall,
director of the program, said that over 35
deaf individuals have expressed interest in
the program, but only five were interested
in starting this fall. "In order for the
program to be cost efficient, we must have
eight full-time students or quite a few more
part-time students.'' Marshall said. While
increasing publicity and recruiting efforts.
Marshall will teach deaf children full time in
Lancaster. Pa., public schools.
Aid to Christian Teaching (ACT)
Weekend is a hands-on experience for
Sunday school teachers, superintendents,
pastors and Christian education members.
It seeks to deepen individual commitment
through worship, to learn about how to lead
our children in faith, to understand
Anabaptist theology and how to share its
relevance with our students, to develop
skills with existing Sunday school
curriculum using Foundation Series and the
Uniform Series as examples. The next
ACT Weekend will be held Feb. 8-10.
1 991 . at Five Oaks Camp near Paris. Ont.
For information or to apply contact Diane
Shantz. 60 New Dundee Road. Kitchener.
ON N2G 3W5. (519) 748-2162.
The Mennonite Voluntary Service unit
sponsored by First Mennonite Church.
Reedley. Calif., closed in July. Volunteers
had worked for Community Care Service,
providing senior services such as minor
home repair, yard work and other duties.
The unit was established in 1 983.
RECORcl
Graber
Harris
L. Janzen
Klassen
Loftsgard
Loree
T. Peters Sawatzky
Hofer
G. Janzen
as-a Second-Language teacher
and a community service
worker for Mennonite
Community Church. His
parents are Bonnie and David
Graber of Hardin. Mont.
Gwen and Les Gustafson-
Zook. formerly of Arvada
(Colo.) Church, began Sept. 3
as household leaders in
Albany. Ore., for five MBM
Service Adventure volunteers.
Kimberly Harris. First
Presbyterian Church. Centralia.
Wash, began a two-year MVS
term Nov. 10 in Saskatoon as a
case worker for Big Brothers
Association. Her parents are
Kay and William Harris of
Centralia.
Stan Hofer. Hutterthal
Church. Freeman. S.D.. began
a one-year MVS term Nov. 1 in
Denver as a construction
worker for Habitat for
Humanity. His parents are
Leroy and Sarah Hofer of
Dolton. S.D.
Greg Janzen. Teifengrund
Rosenort Church. Laird. Sask..
began a one-year MVS term
Oct. 16 in Oklahoma City as a
home repair worker for
Mennonite Home Repair. His
parents are Elain and John
Janzen of Laird.
Lilli Janzen. Steinbach
(Man.) Church, began a 1-1 2-
year MVS term Sept. 5 in
Seattle as an assistant teacher
for Our Place Day Care Center.
Her parents are Helen and
Victor Janzen of Steinbach.
Peter H. Janzen. Kitchener.
Ont.. will begin as lead pastor
at Winkler (Man.) Bergthaler
Church next summer.
Carolyn Klassen. Coaldale
(Alta.) Church, began a one-
year MVS term Oct. 29 in
Beatrice. Neb., as a child-care
worker at Beatrice Day Care
Center. Her parents are Gerald
and Linda Klassen of Coaldale.
Tia Loftsgard. St. James
United Church. Regina. Sask..
began a one-year MVS term
Nov. 4 in Hutchinson. Kan., as
an activity aide for Mennonite
Friendship Manor. Her parents
are Darlene and Paul Loftsgard
of Regina.
Kelly Loree. Ottawa Church,
began a two-year MVS term
Sept. 10 in Winnipeg as
volunteer coordinator for
Neufeldt
J. Peters
Schroeder
Sproule
Manitoba Interfaith Immigration
Council. Her father is James
Loree of Ottawa.
Donna Minterhss begun as
one-fourth-time retreat program
director for California Menno-
nite Fellowship.
Ernest Neufeld. Northern
District Conference minister,
has resigned effective July
1 991 . He continues as pastor
at Fargo Moorhead Faith
Church. Fargo. N.D.
Sheri Neufeldt. Coaldale
(Alta.) Church, began a one-
year MVS term in St. Catha-
rines. Ont.. Sept. 5 as a senior
visitor worker for Friendly
Visitor Service. Her parents
are Eleanor and Isaac Neufeldt
of Coaldale.
Janet Peters. Superb (Sask.)
Church, began a two-year MVS
term Sept. 4 in Hamilton. Ont..
as a community service worker
for Welcome Inn. Her parents
are Anne and Oscar Peters of
Kerrobert. Sask.
Theresa Peters. Nutana Park
Church. Saskatoon, began a
one-year MVS term Nov. 1 1 in
Markham. III., as a child-care
worker for Community
Mennonite Day Care Center.
Her father is Ronald Peters of
Aberdeen. Sask.
Brenda Sawatzky. Grace
Church. Brandon. Man., began
a one-year MVS term Sept. 25
in Hutchinson. Kan., as a child-
care worker for Friendship Day
Care Center. Her parents are
Arthur and Renetta Sawatzky
of Brandon.
Glenn Schroeder. Altona
(Man.) Church, began a two-
year MVS term Oct. 26 in
Kykotsmovi. Ariz., as a physical
education Christian education
teacher at Hopi Mission School.
His parents are Helen and
Wilhelm Schroeder of
Winnipeg.
Sharon Sproule. Charles-
wood Church. Winnipeg, began
continued on next page ^
THE MENNONITE 569
The Lion and Lamb Peace Arts Center at
Bluffton (Ohio) College has received
$60,000 in royalties from the sale of a
children's book, The Big Book for Peace
(Dutton, $15.95), edited by Marilyn Sachs
and Ann Durrell. The collaborative effort by
32 award-winning children's authors and
illustrators encourages children to examine
peace in a variety of settings. The colorful
book includes stories, poems and pictures
about peace among neighbors, races and
nations.
RECOltd
In what they described as a "historic"
gathering, Romanian Eastern Orthodox,
Reformed and Lutheran representatives
met Oct. 16 in Sibiu, Romania, to carry
forward plans for a national ecumenical
council open to "all Christian movements
that basically accept the ecumenical
movement." (Eastern Orthodoxy is the
main Christian tradition in the country;
Reformed and Lutherans are among the
major minority traditions.) The meeting
also agreed to set up a Bible society and
considered a proposal for an ecumenical
translation of the Bible into Romanian.
The Romanian church leaders also met
representatives of the World Council of
Churches, the Conference of European
Churches and other
agencies to discuss
medium- and long-
term ecumenical aid.
Non-governmental agencies working on
children's rights estimate that nearly 1
million children under 15 in Asia are
regularly and forcibly abused sexually,
entrapped in a merciless net of modern
slavery. Some 800,000 of these child
prostitutes are in Thailand. Inequalities in
social and economic systems on both the
local and international levels, widespread
consumerism, sexism and a rampant and
uncurbed sex tourism industry have
combined to produce this situation. The
Ecumenical Coalition on Third World
Tourism brought together social workers
from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Thailand,
Japan, India, Taiwan, Papua New
Guinea, West Germany, France and the
United States recently to assess the
problem. (Windows East and West)
S. Unruh
V. Unruh
Vanderhaar
Wilson
a two-year MVS term in Dallas,
Texas, as a receptionist for the
Pastoral Counseling and
Education Center. Her parents
are Lori Sproule of Winnipeg
and Ralph Sproule of Calgary.
Sandra Unruh, First Church,
Halstead, Kan., began a one-
year MBM term as a mission
intern at the Gama Mennonite
Church near Brasilia, Brazil.
Verney Unruh began Dec. 1
as associate pastor at First
Church, Newton, Kan., a three-
year term.
Anne Vanderhaar, St.
Williams Peace Community
Church, Louisville, Ky., began
a one-year MVS term Oct. 1 5
as a child-care worker for
Interval House in Saskatoon.
Her parents are James and
Mary Vanderhaar of Louisville.
Doret Wilson, Missionary
Church, Cambridge, Ont.,
began a one-year MVS term in
Markham, III., as a counselor
for Hope Community Services.
Her parents are Ira and
Raymond Wilson of
Cambridge.
— compiled by Sharon Sommer
Bluffton College seeks faculty for
full-time tenure track positions in
the departments of mathematics,
music and psychology starting
fall 1991. Bluffton welcomes
applications from all academically
qualified faculty who respect the
peace church tradition and wholly
endorse Christian higher education
in a liberal arts environment.
Women and minority applicants
are especially welcome. For full
consideration applications must
reach the college by Jan. 15, 1991.
For detailed position descriptions
or to apply contact William Hawk,
Dean of Academic Affairs, Bluffton
College, Bluffton, OH 45817, or
call (419) 358-8015, ext. 317.
Food service manager is needed
at Laurelville Mennonite Church
Center. This is a salaried position
with benefits. Previous cooking
and management experience
preferred. Person must be
committed to the ministry aspect of
the retreat center also.
Please contact Dana L. Sommers,
Route 5, Box 145, Mount Pleasant,
PA 15666, (412) 423-2056.
Housekeeping supervisor
needed at Laurelville Mennonite
Church Center by Feb. 1 , 1 991 .
Position requires person to
supervise 1-3 others in the
cleaning of a 300-bed camp-retreat
center. This is a salaried position.
Please contact Dana L. Sommers,
Route 5, Box 145, Mount Pleasant,
PA 15666.
Columbia Bible College invites
applications for missions faculty
position. Qualifications include
• commitment to Christ, the church,
evangelism/missions
• commitment to Anabaptist/
Mennonite theology
• missionary experience
• gifted in administration
• relational strength with
undergraduate students
• ability to motivate students for
evangelism/missions
• doctoral degree desirable.
Position effective Aug. 16. 1992.
Resumes accepted until Feb. 28,
1991 . Send to Academic Dean,
Columbia Bible College, 2940
Clearbrook Road. Clearbrook. BC
V2T 2Z8.
Position Opening:
Commission on Overseas Mission
Canadian coordinator
3/4-time position
Starting date: Sept. 1, 1991
Applications accepted until
Jan. 15, 1991.
Function: Represent COM to
Canadian General Conference
Mennonite churches, institutions
and missionaries with an office in
Winnipeg.
Qualifications and desired skills:
Understanding of missiology,
desire to communicate missions in
congregations, relational and
administrative skills, availability for
travel, overseas experience
desirable.
To apply write to Bill Block, COM
Chairperson, 600 Shaftesbury
Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4, or
Erwin Rempel, COM Executive
Secretary, Box 347, Newton, KS
67114
Staff position available in
Commission on Education.
Secretary for family life
education
Half-time position. Will consider
location other than Newton, Kan.
Application deadline: Jan. 21.
1991
For more information call or write
Norma J. Johnson, Executive
Secretary, COE, Box 347, Newton,
KS 67114, (316) 283-5100.
Immediate position opening for
director of member services,
Mennonite Health Services,
Akron, Pa., starting date
negotiable. Provide direction
and administrative services to
health and welfare institutions;
develop and execute
programs of administrative
consultation and contracted
management services for
member institutions.
Executive experience and
master's degree in healthcare
administration preferred.
Strong leadership skills and
Mennonite, Brethren in Christ
or Church of the Brethren
affiliation are essential.
Detailed job description
provided on request.
Contact Carl L. Good,
executive director, Mennonite
Health Services, Box 500,
Akron, PA 17501-0500, (717)
859-1151.
570 DECEMBER 25, 1990
"Mutual Aid? You Mean,
like Barn Raising?"
A.
actually, yes. Not so long ago
when a family's barn burned to the ground, the
community rallied together to build a new one.
That act of helping people— of friends, relatives
and neighbors helping another in need— is the
essence of mutual aid.
In its day, barn raising was a nice model for
mutual aid as an act of Christian compassion. As
Christ taught, mutual aid is "others-centered," not
"self-centered." That's why MMA seeks to provide
plans and services that are "others-centered"—
that allow members to help other
members.
The trouble is barn raising isn't a
very common expression of mutual
aid anymore. I suppose that's be-
cause so few of us live on farms. Yet
people still face crises as devastating
as a burned barn.
As manager of Member Services at MMA, I
frequently work with people in crisis. Like the
family facing a $35,000 medical expense. Or the
retired person needing to understand what is and
isn't covered by Medicare. Or the young couple
trying to prepare for future education costs of
$100,000 for their two children. Or the widow
wanting to protect the savings she and her hus-
band worked so manyyears to create. These situa-
tions are all examples of modern "burned barns."
Mutual aid today is a lot like it always has
been— people giving to those in
need whether they receive a tangible
return or not. When you participate
in an MMA life, health, auto or retire-
ment plan, you help "rebuild barns."
That's a difference that can change
the world.
Roger Najziger
Member Services manager
We're more than just insurance.
For a free copy of our new booklet, Take a Closer Look, call 1 -800-348-7468.
fa
Mennonite
Mutual Aid
Letters
Turn from sinful practices
My purpose is to encourage gays and
lesbians to filter their world through
Scripture, not filter Scripture through
their world. It is only in the former that
we may have life through Jesus Christ.
John Linscheid (Letters, June 26
issue) makes the statement that "sexual
orientation is virtually unchangeable."
J. Bancroft in Deviant Sexual Behavior:
Modifications and Assessment
(Clarendon Press, 1974), states, "If in
fact we had evidence that either a homo-
or heterosexual identity was an
immutable and fundamental aspect of an
individual's nature, then any attempt to
modify such an identity would be
inappropriate and unjustifiable. But
there is no such evidence. And we know
that many individuals pass through a
phase of homosexuality or bisexuality
into a stable heterosexual role."
E.M. Pattison and M.L. Pattison
{American Journal of Psychiatry, 1980)
reported that eight of 11 subjects had
changed from exclusively homosexual
orientation to exclusively heterosexual
orientation through a process of religious
fellowship.
The Scriptures (1 Corinthians 6:11)
clearly indicate that sexual orientation of
any kind is changeable through a new
life in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately our
culture has decided that people are not
responsible for the choices they make.
Homosexual behavior patterns can be
stopped.
Hope is found in Paul's phrase "and
such were some of you." It means that
chronic offenders can and should be
stopped. Taking a strong stand against
homosexual behavior is not a detriment
to ministry; it enhances and enables it.
Christians who tolerate sinful behavior
are never the ones to help people out of
it.
John Linscheid made the statement,
"Under the influence of a modern
'circumcision party' the [Mennonite]
conference has virtually made
heterosexuality a fundamental of the
faith." God has made heterosexuality a
fundamental of the faith, not the
conference. In Romans 1:27 God calls
homosexuality a perversion, a sin. In
Leviticus 18:22 God calls homosexual
relations detestable. In Leviticus 20:13
the punishment for homosexual sin was
death. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 God
proclaims homosexual offenders will not
inherit a place in his kingdom. In
Revelation 22:15 our Lord excludes the
sexually immoral from his kingdom.
Throughout the Bible God makes it clear
that any deviation from a married, man-
woman sexual relationship is sin. In
every biblical reference, homosexuality is
considered an irresponsible way of life,
not genetic factors or social conditioning.
The terms "gay and lesbian
Christians" by scriptural definition are
mutually exclusive. One can be either
gay or lesbian or one can be a Christian.
Unless one accepts the clear biblical
teaching about turning from sin
(repentance) one cannot be a Christian.
In Galatians 5, Paul speaks about the
"fruit of the Spirit" or the characteristics
of one indwelt by the Holy Spirit. He
includes sexual immorality as a non-
Christian characteristic.
Finally, 1 John 3:9-10 is clear on this
point: "No one who is born of God will
continue to sin, because God's seed
remains in him; he cannot go on sinning
because he has been born of God. This is
how we know who the children of God
are and who the children of the devil are:
Anyone who does not do right is not a
child of God; nor is anyone who does not
love his brothers."
As long as homosexuals continue in
their present beliefs that sexual orien-
tation is unchangeable, there is no hope
for them. It is tragic to observe them
trying to circumvent clear scriptural data
dealing with the sin of homosexuality.
The good news is that once one
recognizes homosexual activity for what
it really is — sin — one immediately
becomes infused with hope. Jesus Christ
died for all sins and helps us overcome
sinful practices.
To become a Christian one does not
demand that God "take me as I am
because I cannot change." That attitude
shows no evidence of a repentant heart.
Rather, one recognizes and admits one's
sinfulness before God, begs his
forgiveness and (with God's help) turns
from those past sinful practices.
I can assure you that homosexuality
may be eliminated by learning to live by
God's prescribed patterns. All areas of
life need to be restructured. The Bible
tells us plainly that if we walk in the
Spirit we will not carry out the desires of
the flesh.
Mr. Linscheid's comparison of
circumcision to present-day attitudes of
Christians regarding homosexuality is
invalid in the context in which he tried to
use it. The problem of circumcision or
non-circumcision in the first-century
church was one of legalism, not sin.
God's people were to be circumcised to
set them apart from non-believers
according to Jewish law. Christ
abolished the law, and from then on
believers were recognized by the fact that
the Spirit of God lived in them and by
the fruits of that spiritual indwelling.
Paul explains this in detail (Romans
2:17-29), culminating in a discussion of
circumcision of the heart versus
circumcision of the flesh.
The General Conference Mennonite
Church is biblically correct in the
position it has taken. However, God,
even though he hates sin, loves all
sinners in spite of their sinful condition.
We Mennonites and all Christian
brothers and sisters should have the
same attitude as God does. All that is
necessary is for the sinner to recognize
his chosen sinful lifestyle for what it is,
turn away from it and God will accept
him as his child, and we will accept them
as brothers and sisters. The alternative
is to refuse to accept God's clear teaching
and find a place to worship where the
gospel is watered down. There one could
be accepted yet face the possibility of
rejection by God and eternity in hell
(Matthew 25:31-46). Larry E. Wellings,
Box 192, Upper Black Eddy, PA 18972
Editor's note: A forum on
homosexuality will be published in The
Mennonite early in 1991.
New Lao Mennonite churches
We have nine Lao Mennonite churches in
North America. (We call ourselves Lao
Mennonite Fellowships in North
America. ) We are beginning the
publication of a quarterly newsletter.
Each Lao church is asked to contribute
its local church news: testimonies,
prayer requests. Tong Chitchalerntham,
Box 210, Kidron, OH 44636
Shine up the light
"Hast du any idea woat dei heea presente
velleT the grandmotherly woman on the
other side of the potatoes and Jell-0
salads was asking the woman beside her,
both members of the church's missions
committee. That, I reasoned,
concentrating on buttering my kringle
while my ears perked up to catch the
reply, is a pertinent question for the
Commission on Overseas Missions' 90th
anniversary tour. Do we have a good
idea of what COM is all about? What
should COM workers be involved in
overseas? What kind of lamp do we hold
in our Mennonite hands as we seek to "go
and make disciples"?
572 DECEMBER 25, 1990
Letters
Jeannie Zehr (representing COM staff),
Tim Sprunger (missionary to Hong
Kong), Jonathan Larson (missionary to
Botswana) and I (a former missionary to
Bolivia) traveled to churches in South
Dakota, Minnesota and Saskatchewan.
(Jeannie, Tim and Jonathan along with
Ellie Loewen, a former missionary to
Brazil, continued on into Alberta and
British Columbia.) In a campfire/
caravan format we shared COM stories:
of a white missionary being ministered to
by black brothers; of 81-year-old Mrs.
Yesuda faithfully riding her bicycle to
church; of a young man finding his call
when he experiences forgiveness from an
elderly brother in the church; of a young
woman finding hope in the midst of one
of China's darkest days; of well-
intentioned missionaries saved from
their mistakes by the prayers of an
African bishop; of a Chinese gambler
receiving forgiveness; of two women
experiencing the joys of reconciliation.
That question also became a troubled
one as gray-haired folks looked around
and said, Where are the young people?
Where is the church of tomorrow while
we celebrate our relationship with the
overseas church, past and present?
Our well-ordered communities, drying
cornfields, the borscht and pie suppers
and the solid, padded churches speak of
rootedness, of leaning back, satisfied.
Yes, perhaps God has been able to use
our limited efforts. But other stories are
waiting to be told, and people need to tell
them. We are still a pilgrim people in
search of a city, a city not made with
hands, a city where war will cease, where
gardens grow and where Christ is all.
Let's shine up that Anabaptist lantern
we have and hold it high. Let's spread
the light of Christ's love for all to see so
that the city of hope and peace may
indeed reign not only around our small
campfires but for all people. Helen
Baergen, 800 King St. E, Kitchener, ON
N2G 2M6
What we are able to do
Thank you for your thoughtful editorial
(Sept. 25 issue). If we General
Conference members really knew what
the General Conference is doing and if
we could all recover the sense that this is
what we are doing for the Lord, there
would be a great outpouring of resources
that would tell us all that we General
Conference people are committed to what
God has called us to do.
God speaks to us through God's Word
read and interpreted in the fellowship of
God's people, not in slick advertising
gimmicks whose authenticity remains
untested.
This year marked the 10th
anniversary of the first baptisms in our
Hiroshima church. As part of that
celebration Pastor Ishiya suggested that
we have a three-day retreat in May and
invite our members who have moved
away to come back for that. The retreat
was exceptionally well-planned, and we
had a refreshing and productive time
together as we reflected on the past and
shared our vision for the future.
Our vision for sharing the Good News
here in Hiroshima continues to give a
major role to Bible study groups in
people's homes. It was especially
encouraging to us this fall to be able to
begin two new meetings on a regular
basis. It was fun at our last meeting
with one of these new groups to watch
people wrestling with the Scriptures and
then hear them say about some of their
friends, "I think we should invite so-and-
so. She would get a lot out of this."
Please pray with us that people in these
groups will move beyond the quest for
new knowledge to commitment to
walking with Jesus.
With the many important concerns
which North American churches have,
support for mission beyond the local area
seems to have fallen in the priorities of
some Christians. This is now reflected
in what the Commission on Overseas
Mission is able to do. Please pray for the
commission as it struggles with how to
cope with shrinking budgets. Please
pray, too, that we and you and all of us
will know and do God's will in our giving.
Alice Ruth and Robert Ramseyer, 6-35-7-
3 Funairi minami, 1-chome, Naka-ku,
Hiroshima-shi, Japan 730
Thanks for airmail
Thanks for your good work in keeping us
informed of issues and happenings in our
Mennonite family through The
Mennonite [while we were in Lesotho,
working for the Commission on Overseas
Mission]. We are glad that it came via
airmail (thanks to Bethel Church,
Mountain Lake, Minn.) so that it arrived
fairly promptly. In southern Africa one
feels somewhat remote from one's home
base. Harris and Christine Waltner,
7509 Goddard #202, Shawnee, KS 66214
Editor's note: For more information on
sending The Mennonite overseas by
airmail contact Doris Yoder, Box 347,
Newton, KS 67114-0347, (316) 283-5100.
Heavy burdens
John Linscheid's reference to those who
"bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and
lay them on people's shoulders; but they
themselves will not move them with
their finger" (June 26 issue) may be an
apt description of General Conference
Mennonite Church attitudes toward
homosexuality. If readers of The
Mennonite knew how this subject touches
so many in their churches, attitudes
might change.
I recently walked into a local gay
meetingplace and was surprised to see a
seasoned GC pastor. Thinking he might
be there on ministerial work, perhaps
studying homosexuality, I initiated a
conversation. After introducing myself
and explaining how I knew him, to my
amazement he solicited me. My heart
goes out to him and his wife, as I know
the hell they must be experiencing.
Ironically, some I know of in the gay
community come out of more evangelical
Mennonite settings, which are so
preoccupied with saving souls, criticizing
GC tolerance of homosexuals, etc., that
there is probably little awareness of how
close to home this issue strikes. A
considerable percentage of these
individuals that I know of were probably
open to becoming "ex-gays," at least in
the past. However, if my experience is
typical, their pastors were generally so
uncomfortable relating to them that they
were encouraged to take one or both of
the following steps:
1. Visit a Mennonite mental health
center, where professionals openly
indicate in counseling their disagreement
with official church positions on this
matter.
2. Join an exodus-affiliated "ex-gay"
support group, most of which espouse a
charismatic evangelicalism we have
usually been taught to shun heretofore.
This hypocrisy invites embarrassing
publicity, such as has been evident at
Normal, 111., and Winnipeg, and confirms
the observations of Stanley Bohn (Aug.
28 issue) and Harold Burkholder (Sept.
11 issue) that this matter needs further
attention in our churches. If Menno-
nites, including our pastors, find it so
difficult to interact with gay and lesbian
people, they might at least consider ( 1 )
articulating a consistent theological basis
for assuming charismatics can "heal"
homosexuality but no other malady, (2)
dialogue with their own mental health
professionals.
People open to a Mennonite mental
health center psychiatrist's perspective
on "ex-gay" ministries, as well as
accounts of sexual abuse or attempted
exorcism associated with these groups,
may request copies of the April 1990
issue of Dialogue from the Brethren/
Mennonite Council of Gay and Lesbian
Concerns, Box 65724, Washington, DC
20035. Na?ne withheld by request
THE MENNONITE 573
REVIEWS
Tilivis
Turning the tables
Dances With Wolves, written by
Michael Blake, produced and directed by
Kevin Costner
Reviewed by Gordon Houser, assistant
editor
The tables are turned, for once, in this
three-hour epic, Kevin Costner's pet
project. Countering a century of
historical bias in the movies, Dances
their own foibles. While the Sioux come
off looking a bit too good and the whites
almost totally bad, one doesn't mind
much, given the overwhelming
impression to the contrary that
Hollywood has put out over the years.
And not all Natives are treated kindly.
The Pawnees have few redeeming traits
in the film.
Besides its moments of sentimentality,
Dances allows a 20th-century sensibility
to intrude. The hero seems a little too
modern, and some of the romance is
Hollywoodesque, not Sioux-like. At the
same time, the film is essentially an
From the Natives' perspective: Costner with his Sioux friends views the vanishing buffalo.
With Wolves offers the 19th-century
American frontier from the Native
American perspective.
Lieutenant John Dunbar (Costner)
becomes a hero in the Civil War when a
suicidal ride in front of enemy troops
spurs his side to victory. As a reward he
chooses duty at remote Fort Sedgewick
in the Dakotas. He finds the fort
deserted but settles in.
Eventually he encounters members of
a Sioux village not far away. Through
several humorous, believably human
circumstances, Dunbar befriends the
tribe, including the wise holy man,
Kicking Bird (Graham Greene), and the
skeptical warrior, Wind in His Hair
(Rodney A. Grant).
The Sioux people are played by Native
Americans and speak in the Lakota
language (English subtitles are used).
This alone gives the film a radically
authentic feel. But even more, the
characters are fleshed out, noble yet with
entertainment, not a documentary.
Despite its length, Dances is paced
well. Costner's blend of humor, romance
and violence and his camera's broad
sweep of the prairie landscapes capture
the audience. As a first-time director,
however, he tends to overuse the closeup
shot. But some scenes, like a buffalo
hunt, are stunning. Overall he has
produced a grand, entertaining film with
strong moral content.
* I looks
Encouraging guides
The Communion of Saints: Prayers
of the Famous edited by Horton Davies
(Eerdmans, 1990, 154 pages)
Reviewed by Arthur P. Boers, 477 Lincoln
Road, Windsor, ON N8Y 2G6
This collection of prayers caught my
eye as a possible twofold resource. I am
always looking for books that may enrich
personal devotions or enable preparation
of worship services. This volume does
both. While I first read it through in
order to review it, I now plan to read it
slowly and meditatively during prayer
times and use it in writing worship
services.
This is an edited collection of prayers
written through the centuries. Davies
uses "communion of saints" to refer to
"the vast family of Christians united in
their devotion to Christ." Authors
include John Donne, Mother Theresa,
John Wesley, Blaise Pascal, C.S. Lewis,
Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther King
Jr., Malcolm Muggeridge, Augustine.
Most prayers are brief. They are usually
eloquent in their rendering and profound
in their intent. More than once, I found
myself moved by these prayers. Some
even showed bright humor. Theresa of
Avila prayed, "From silly devotions and
from sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver
us."
The prayers are grouped into six
categories: gratitude and dedication,
confession and penitence, petition,
intercession, marking times (morning,
evening, marriage,
illness, funeral )
and the Christian
The COM MUN ION
of SAINTS
Sited by HORTON DWIES
year.
Davies, rightly I
think, notes in his
introduction that it
is more and more
difficult for people
to pray: "Over-
whelmed as we
almost are by such
things as spiritual
doubts and
impoverishment and the fear of nuclear
holocaust, it is not easy to pray with
confidence in the late 20th century."
These prayers are encouraging guides for
us in that all-important opportunity to
pray.
I have one quibble with the book; the
subtitle, "Prayers of the Famous," deters
me. It smacks too much of "Lifestyles of
the Rich and Famous." Davies wants to
show that many important people were
people of prayer. Thus some pray-ers
include Ludwig van Beethoven, George
Washington, Francis Drake, Oliver
Cromwell, Alfred the Great. There are
even a few prayers for military victory.
While Davies has no qualms about such
inclusions, I can overlook them in favor
of the wealth that is found elsewhere in
the book.
574 DECEMBER 25, 1990
The Mennonite on cassette gives readers options
From the sewing closet to tape recorders
Carol Duerksen
A peek inside the closet-turned-
recording studio between
recording sessions revealed the
facts. Three beach towels and two
pieced-and-waiting-to-be-quilted
comforters were draped over open
shelves. A mattress pad covered a closed
sewing machine. On the sewing machine
table was a microphone.
The microphone's cord trailed out of
the closet door and was attached to a
cassette recorder setting on a chair
outside the door. Seated in another chair
facing the recorder and monitoring the
recording sessions was the producer/
coordinator/towel-hanger/equipment
manager, Martha Friesen Graber.
Twice each month Graber and her
crew record The Mennonite on cassette.
"We appreciate the Bethel College
Church making this facility available,"
she says. "We use the conference's
microphone and tape recorder, and it
works out quite well."
In her role as producer of the audio
tapes, Martha first reads through the
current issue of The Mennonite, divides it
into sections, delivers those sections to
the readers, edits news items as needed,
prepares the studio (hangs the towels for
better acoustics), runs the recorder. The
Limitations: Jacob T. Friesen reads an article onto a
cassette tape.
Mennonite staff later make the copies
that go out to 24 subscribers. Martha
has missed few issues since the service
began four years ago. Her dedication is
matched by a group of volunteer
readers — people whom she depends on to
make The Mennonite come alive with
their voices.
Helping people participate in the dialogue:
Martha F. Graber is at the controls, while
Hilda Krahn reads in the background.
"I need dependable people who read
with fluency and expression," she says.
"I've appreciated the people
who are willing to come on a
regular basis, as well as those
who help out when the
'regulars' can't."
Martha Graber's current core
of readers includes Elma
Buller, Jacob T. Friesen, Loris
Habegger, Mary Ann Jost,
'\ Louise Koehn, Ruth Koontz,
Hilda Krahn, Martha Stucky
and until recently Erwin
Goering. For them, reading
The Mennonite is a way to
serve people they may never
meet but who stay in touch
with the General Conference
Mennonite Church through the
volunteers' voices.
"It is important for people who can't
read to be able to participate in the
dialogue that goes on in our General
Conference," explains Loris Habegger, a
retired pastor. "I know The Mennonite
has helped me grow, and that's why I
want to read it for others."
Jake Friesen agrees: "The thought of
people who have been reading The
Mennonite not being able to do so
anymore due to failing eyesight is a
motivator for me. I think it must be like
having your driver's license taken
away — emotionally it is an important
thing. I have had to deal with a hearing
handicap, which has made me more
aware of other people's limitations."
(Jake is a retired pastor and director of
ministerial leadership. He directs the
Great Plains Seminary Program. )
Occasionally the readers experience
limitations of their own. Martha Stucky,
a retired librarian, admits she sometimes
seeks advice on how to pronounce words
in other languages that appear in the
articles she reads.
"I'm always afraid one of the listeners
will have lived in that country or know
the language, and realize how badly I
butchered the word," she laughs.
She may joke about her pronunciation
but is as conscientious and dedicated to
the program as anyone. She enjoys
reading the poetry and feels it is
important to read it well. On occasions
when Martha Graber was out of town,
she assumed the role of producer.
A relative newcomer to the program,
Hilda Krahn says she reads "because I
want to be of service, and I don't want to
live just for myself." (Hilda is a retired
public school teacher. )
"I think General Conference
Mennonites should consider it an
obligation to read The Mennonite," she
says. "How else do we get an overall
picture of where the church is going? By
putting the magazine on tape I am also
helping those who can no longer read."
Carol Duerksen, Tabor Mennonite
Church, Newton, Kan., is a free-lance
writer and an editor of With magazine
for Mennonite teenagers.
Editor's note: Because of the commit-
ment of these volunteers we were able to
slash in half the subscription price of The
Mennonite on cassette. It is $30 (U.S. or
Canadian) for 24, 90-minute tapes.
THE MENNONITE 575
MFWo i 031 340
NtWb
ASSOC MENN BIBLICAL SEM
3003 BENHAM AVE
ELKHART IN 46517
EdiTOMAl
If you're thankful, say so
I have some prizes to give. May it prompt you to ex-
press appreciation in every corner of our conference.
Think of the person or situation that makes you thank-
ful, then say so.
Sounding board: First, I thank the advisers to this
magazine (see pages 560-562). Amy Dueckman, Viola
Ediger, Margot Fieguth, Henry and Erna Goerzen,
Leland Harder, Lynn Liechty, Clare Ann Ruth-Heffel-
bower and Winifred Wall comprise a sounding board for
me as well as for you. They represent our conference
from coast to coast. They personify the two-country
composition of our conference.
Once in a lifetime: Many of us think of John Dyck
and his crew in Winnipeg when we consider prizes
deserved in 1990. Largely because of them, Assembly
12 of Mennonite World Conference last July was an
experience of a lifetime. I will never forget my first
impressions on opening night in the arena. My hosts,
Abe and Anita Froese, and I found seats near one of the
entrances. The friendly, jostling stream of my Menno-
nite brothers and sisters pouring into the arena seemed
endless. How had they all come? Where would they all
stay these days? Where would they eat? Would they
get lost in Winnipeg? How would we manage worship
together? How would we communicate? Those ques-
tions were apparently all anticipated and, for the most
part, answered. Thank you, John and company, for
serving the Mennonite community so well.
The language of blankets: At Assembly 12, Re-
becca "Bek" Linsenmeyer, Elkhart, Ind., handed the
66th peace comforter to people from the Soviet Union.
She says, "It was so good to do this in the midst of the
congregation." This quilt, she adds, "may have been the
last one," and it was fitting to present it in the context of
Mennonite World Conference. People visiting the Soviet
Union carried the other 65 quilts, one by one, over the
last several years. Each quilt embodies peace on earth
and goodwill to all (Luke 2:14). Thank you, Bek, for the
good idea of translating children's artwork into warm
blankets. Thank you for this part of helping to end the
cold war between the United States and the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics.
Family reunion: A congregational prize goes to
Emmanuel Mennonite Church, Clearbrook, B.C., espe-
cially the group within it that said yes to a need. They
consented to underwrite the open-ended medical ex-
penses of a young woman named Trang from Vietnam.
Trang (and her mother and two sisters) had been denied
entry to Canada for seven years because Trang had tu-
berculosis. After the Emmanuel group guaranteed pay-
ment of all medical costs, British Columbia's minister of
health and the Canadian embassy in Bangkok agreed to
do another health check for Trang. The health check
revealed only scar tissue on her lungs. On Nov. 11
Trang and her mother and sisters finally arrived in
Clearbrook, joining Ngo Nguyen, their husband and
father, who had been sponsored by Emmanuel Church
seven years before. The family was finally reunited
after a 15-year separation. "This is truly Christmas,"
Ngo told Mary Anne Boschman, coordinator of Mennon-
ite Central Committee-B.C.'s Refugee Assistance Pro-
gram. "This is the best gift God could ever give me."
Maps in Pennsylvania: My next prize goes to Erwin
and Margaret Miller of Quakertown, Pa. They hosted
Adelaide and Jake Fransen, Smithville, Ont., who
traveled as conference-visitors-at-large in the Eastern
District Conference April 18-May 6, listening and
learning. Erwin made many detailed maps showing
directions to EDC churches. "He helped us be efficient,"
say Jake and Adelaide.
Unsung heroes: My last prizes go to the circulation
secretaries in our 368 congregations. From central
offices here in Newton, Kan., and from the offices of the
Conference of Mennonites in Canada at 600 Shaftesbury
in Winnipeg, these folks receive computer printouts of
subscribers to our church periodicals. They communi-
cate with their church members, explain the various
ways to subscribe, revise the subscription lists, update
the addresses, often encourage people to subscribe, and
in some situations gather the dollars from subscribers.
They return all this to Winnipeg for Canada and New-
ton for the United States. These circulation secretaries
are truly the dispersed staff, the unsung heroes, of our
church periodicals in general and The Mennonite in
particular. I thank them for their willingness and
faithfulness. Muriel T. Stackley
Index 1990
AUTHORS
Ahlgrim, Ryan, The dilemma of infant baptism, 220
Amstutz, Jim Stutzman, Is it still Easter?, 164
Anonymous, This child belongs to God, 200
Bachman, Elda, God, one step ahead, 465;
Tornado!, 164
Baecher, Claude, May we share the 'fellowship of
Christ's sufferings,' 311
Baergen Helen, Black Kansas soil, grey Bolivian
cement, 508
Balzer, Susan Miller, Christian Peacemaker Teams
listen to Innu crisis, 158; From Mennoland to
Minuteman, 377; Mennonites welcome Native
MP, 376; Labrador: Innu homeland or NATO
wasteland?, 148; 'You can't afford to be quiet,'
Franz tells seminar, 204
Barkman, Frieda, Lisa at six, 534
Barkman, Paul F., Man-hands, 537
Barrett, Lois, Biblical Faith and Fathering: Why
We Call God 'Father,' 262
Bartel, Bob, A glimmer of hope in the tomb at
Goose Bay, 147
Basinger, Rebekah Burch, Something better than
survival, 176
Bauman, Michael, A Life for a Life?: The Death
Penalty on Trial, 454; Why I work against the
death penalty, 87
Bauman, Nancy Brubaker, Women gather to 'go and
tell,' 229
Belser, Julius, Carlos, up there in front with God, 27
Bender, John, AMBS boards move to merge, 205;
AMBS graduates 41 people, 326; Mennonites will
learn about themselves in new survey, 82; Prepare
to take care of you own, 509
Bergen, Abe, Have you thought of mentoring?, 393
Bergen, Bruno and Wanda Derksen, Capture the
baby boomer, 484
Bergen, Carol, God did a new thing in Phillip and
me, 483
Boers, Arthur P., Answering God: The Psalms as
Tools for Prayer, 140; Binding the Strong Man: A
Political Reading of Mark's Story of Jesus, 478;
Changing Lenses: A New Focus for Crime and
Justice, 334; Outcast But Not Forsaken: True
Stories from a Paraguayan Leper Colony, 93;
Resident Aliens, 163; The Communion of Saints:
Prayers of the Famous, 574; The Parables of
Judgment, 358
Borkholder, Phil, Led by a cloud of dust and pillar
of fire, Salvadoran refugees go home at last, 230
Boyer, Claude, Prayer to the Peace Keeper, 320
Brown, Helena M., Without a pastor, 273
Brown, Hubert L., A vision for mission, 435
Brubacher, Ray, African educators tell MCC to stay,
84
Brun, Washington, My 10-day preaching tour in
Cuba, 283
Buller, Vic, A cross of love, 167
Burkhardt, Diane, Make a mustard-seed difference
in the environment, 359
Chappell, Bill and Jeanne, Sadako's cranes of hope,
315
Chen, Vincent, I know that my Redeemer lives, 489
Claassen, Carol and Olin, Farmers are using talents,
332
Classen, Susan, Fight to live, be willing to die, 99
Coggins, James R., Anna, 534; Scandal and the
church press, 558; What's ahead for Mennonite
World Confernce?, 370
Derksen, Mary, Kyushu Island has first congress on
evangelism, 491; Mennonites in Japan face the
1990s, 157
Derksen, Wilma, Manitoba Mennonites to imple-
ment reorganization, 179
Detweiler, Lowell, MDS sends 25 per month
(people, that is) to St. Croix, 83
Dick, Helene W., What I need to tell you, Lord, 524
Dick, Susan, My call to mission, 272
Driedger, Florence, God breaks into the darkness,
531
Dueck, Abe, None But Saints: The Transformation
of Mennonite Life in Russia, 1789-1889, 358
Dueck, Louise, Two water poems, 342
Duerksen, Carol, From the sewing closet to tape
recorders, 575
THE MENNONITE 577
Duerksen, Norma Peters, Our faces change, 80
Dyck Elfrieda, After 64 years I went home to the
Soviet Union, 296
Dyck, Cornelius, J., This is who Mennonites are
today, 291
Egli, Jim, How do you know you've passed?, 219
Enns, Jake, Margaret's story, 55
Ens, Alvin G., Jon, 23
Epp, Ray, How much land is enough?, 246
Epp, Robert O., Hold our governments accountable,
413
Estes, Sue, Troubled couples can recover hope, 195
Ewert, Clair, MCC workers in the Philippines
confront crisis, 10
Ewert, Jeannie, Sonnet, 126
Fast, Darrell, Into your hands we commit our spirits,
527
Fast, Debbie, Torches Rekindled: The Bruderhof s
Struggle for Renewal, 163
Fitzgerald, Neil C, Faith, 177
Franz, Delton, Saddam Hussein and King
Nebuchadnezzar: Do we have constructive
words?, 399; The Russians aren't coming; U.S.
should revise priorities, 111
Franz, Margaret, CMC celebrates new building,
financial health, 106; July sessions of CMC bound
for Edmonton, 252
Fretz, J. Herbert, Jim McKee: my refreshment and
rebuke, 224
Frey, Raymond, Money Wise Meditations, 46
Friesen Arlene K., Prussian plates, 477
Friesen, Helen, Abortion: a personal response, 199;
Savor Christmas right through the alphabet, 536;
You can get past fear, 455
Friesen, Helen Lepp, Under the Still Standing Sun,
334
Friesen, Matt, I inquired into the ministry, 391
Friesen, Philip E., Mary's diary, 551
Froese, Edna, A little boy touched the hem of her
garment, 8
Froese, Rudy, Walk with the Lord, 239
Funk, John and Vera, Dreams for Native Ministries,
20
Geiser, Ron, Bluffton College completes $6 million
campaign, 518
Gingerich, Jim, Integration exploration update, 407;
God at work among us, 560
Goering, Ardie S., CKC: Assets outweigh liabili-
ties, 394
Goering, Greg, W., Peace Section endorses bill to
curb racial bias in capital sentencing, 347
Goering, Preston D., The volunteers helped us recall
our goals, 81
Goering, Susan Ortman, Move beyond the facts;
face the faces, 76
Good, Howard, MCC sponsors Zaire development
seminar, 350
Graber, Martha F., If You Do Love Old Men, 550
Groves, Esther Bonn, 'Land Runs' and the rest of
the story, 20
Giiete, Marco, Leaders strain for Hispanic churches,
439
Gundy, Kate, Make friends, say the children, 35
Hall, Eddy, Do the poor feel welcome in your
church?, 30; Presence and Power: Releasing the
Holy Spirit in Your Life and Church, 45
Halteman, Jane, 650 children hold an assembly of
their own, 379; Hymnal Project leaders test selec-
tions at local hymn sing, 397; What is the future
ministry with young adults?, 565
Harder, Gladys E., Let's start more guest houses like
IGH, 33
Harder, Leland, The shifting political behavior of
Mennonites and Brethren in Christ, 512
Harder, Lois, Prayer of fatigue.. .and joy in the U.S.
capitol, 215
Harder, Ron, MVS definition, 79
Harms, Jake, Renew our vision for mission, 503
Hartshorn, Leo, The politics of the Holy Spirit, 533
Hawkley, Ken, Dirk's Exodus, 478; Ministry to
students is high priority for Mennonite leaders,
180
Hege, Beth, 37 years of surgery for God, 511; Call it
a Holy Spirit breakthrough, 355; COE asks, What
about New Age?, 495; COM meeting discusses,
COM-CHM cooperation, 443; Hong Kong Men-
nonites face impending takeover, 418; Kenneth
Bauman Memorial to provide scholarships in
India, 395; Larson advises Botswana government
on health matters, 396; Les Tolbert works to
counter racism, 517; 'Live for a sustainable
world,' says WDC, 566; MC/GC General Boards
578 DECEMBER 1990
tell Bush to cease buildup, 538; MILC seeks
renewal after loss, asks for prayer, 514; MVS
opens new units in Winnipeg and Chicago, 422;
Navigate around sandbars, 441; Quilts connect us,
464; Who is an MVSer?, 440
Heinrichs, Tobi, My 'tick-tock' oma, 201
Heppner, Fran, I, too, had to leave 'Ur,' 71
Herr, Judy Zimmerman, People in southern Africa
respond to de Klerk's call for open parliament,
109
Hershberger, Anne, Christian Faith, Health, and
Medical Practice, 238
Hertzler, Daniel, Mennonite scholars discuss Menno
Simons, 351
Hertzler, Laurel Schmidt, Ministry goes forth from a
$1 building, 4
Hiebert, Greta, Light in fall, 533
Hildebrand, Dale, Shots: bullets or vaccinations in
the Philippines?, 14
Hildebrand, Ernie, Ernie Hildebrand responds to
Katie Funk Wiebe, 127
Hilty, Peter, Jesus, lover of my soul, 119
Hobday, Jose, Spilled milk: the day my mother
taught me about bitterness, 3
Hofer, Joy, Church is persecuted in the Philippines,
14
Houser, Gordon, A global family gathering, 363;
Avalon, 526; Born on the Fourth of July, 70;
Dances With Wolves, 574; Driving Miss Daisy,
93; EDC worships in song, hears pain of AIDS,
251; Enemies, a Love Story, 141; Ephrem the
Syrian: Hymns, 286; Glory, 141; Henry V, 238;
Iemand Als Job (Someone Like Job), 381; Jesus of
Montreal, 526; 'Mennonite Christian' is redun-
dant, 264; Music Box, Roger & Me, 1 18; My Left
Foot, 141; Pillars of Flame: Power, Priesthood
and Spiritual Maturity, 70; Revelation, 381
Houser, Gordon, and Margaret Loewen Reimer,
Mennonites and art: alive and well at MWC, 380
Huebner, Harry, Freedom and Discipleship: Libera-
tion Theology in Anabaptist Perspective, 286
Hull, Robert, Turn the Gulf crisis into an opportu-
nity, 470; Who will win the peace?, 105
Hurst, Brenda Martin, Let's love one another (1
John 4:7-12), 479
Isaac, Ruth, Agnes Poettcker: a lifetime of every-
day ministry, 270
Jantz, Hugo, Eastern Europe missions: old and new
possibilities, 63
Janzen, David, Jesus is the Word of God, 462
Janzen, Hilda Neufeldt, Paraphrase, 142
Jiminez, Rodolfo (Roy), Represent God; listen
mercifully, 129
Jones, Glyn, Side By Side: Mentoring Guide for
Congregational Youth Ministry, 92
Juhnke, James C, Toward an alternative history,
228
Kaufman, Joan Harder, God cares, thus we can care,
56
Keidel, Levi, Does prayer make any difference?, 94
Kemp, Else, Baptism and communion, 220
Kennel, Pauline, The church of three books, 9
Klaassen, Glendon, CLARA is Latin America's new
Anabaptist resource center, 35; Colombian Men-
nonite churches approve purpose statement, 254; ;
Mennonite seminary starts in Colombia, 23 1
Klaassen, Walter, Anna Jansz of Briel, 1510-1539,
249; Balthasar Hubmaier, ca. 1480-1528, 563;
Conrad Grebel, ca. 1498-1526, 57; Hans Ritter,
just a needlemaker, 166; Jacob Hutter (ca. 1506-
1536), 345; Sabina Bader, a survivor, 417; Tho-
mas Muntzer: A Tragedy of Errors, 310
Klassen, James, A wooden bridge, 165
Klassen, L.M., Hiroshima, 317
Klassen, Sandee, "I'll See You Again!", 454
Klemm, Ulli, This Chicago gang reminds me of
church, 190
Koontz, Ted, Where is the alternative to armed
struggle?, 327
Krahn, Hilda W., When Alzheimer's invades, 54
Kraybill, Ron, A mediator's view of the abortion
storm, 198,
Kurowski, Lois Landis, Historians examine civil
religion, 228
Lawrence, Suzanne, Secondhand, 508
Lederach, John and Naomi, What about the chil-
dren?, 196
Lee, Todd, Mac took his faith to work, 143
Lehman Thomas, How will we make electricity?,
248
Lehman, Donna, A ton of tuna, 430
Lehman, Keith, Mythology, 78
THE MENNONITE 579
Lepp, J. Randy, The 23rd anew, 527
Liechty, Dan, Christian Theology: An Eschatologi-
cal Approach, 426; The Problem of Social Re-
sponsibility from the Perspective of the Mennonite
Church, 46
Linscheid, Dave, Business professionals give and
receive assistance, 203; Integration, family high-
light PDC, 346; Theme, schedule set for Sioux
Falls '92, 466
Linscheid, Dave, and Beth Hege, Budget builders
will need to live in economic reality, 515
Linscheid, John, Dirt, Greed, and Sex: Sexual
Ethics in the New Testament and Their Implica-
tions, 22
Linsenmeyer, Bek, These comforters reached from
the United States to the Soviet Union, 318
Lobe, A.C., Epiphany on Armistice Day, 461
Longhurst, John, The quilt that is Mennonites in
Canada, 302; True evangelical faith, 459
Manzanares, Cesar Vidal, Recover the Anabaptist
vision, 294
Marchand, Ann, A Cry for Justice, 118
Martin, Ann, China Educational Exchange continues
after setback, 253
Martin, Gary, E., The Logic of Evangelism, 286
Matterssome, Tim, A deconstruction of the MWC
theme, 369
McFadden, Wendy Chamberlain, New hymnal
publishers will produce handbook, large-print
edition, 155
McKee, Wilma, Because we need to remember and
celebrate, 403
Metzler, Edgar, Nobel laureates and hard questions,
44
Miller, Marilyn, How to practice peace church
evangelism, 321; Look forward to LIFE, 437
Minter, Ann, Lord, save us from cynicism, 244
Morrow, David, Wise as a serpent, innocent as a
dove, 431
Morton, Craig, Render taxes to whom?, 222
Morton, Karla C, Who's Calling the Shots? How to
Respond Effectively to Children's Fascination
with War Play and War Toys, 406
Musselman, Steve, My call to ministry, 272
Myers, Nancy J., I draw a line between 'dear' and
'sacred,' 309
Naylor, Ruth, I wonder, 55 1
Neufeld, Elsie K., Autumnal grace and hope, 463
Neufeld, Walter, Who is this guy?, 535
Nolt, Leonard, Journey With Justice, 406
Orr, David, An Illinois congregation faces the
fac(t)es, 78
Osborne, Phil, One Small Plot of Heaven: Reflec-
tions on Family Life by a Quaker Sociologist, 214
Pauls, Janice Reusser, Keeping the Sabbath
Wholly — Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting,
140; Prayers for Everyday, 502
Pauls, Steve, Half a world, 318
Peachey, J. Lome, Confession of Faith Committee's
work is now half done, 492
Peachey, Linda, Taxes for peace, 104; Why I ago-
nize over paying war taxes, 104
Peachey, Urbane, To become global,we went Dutch,
297 '
Penner, Carol, A Disciple's Christology: Appraisals
of Kraus's Jesus Christ Our Lord, 310; Trackless
Wastes and Stars to Steer By, 502
Penner, Faith Hershberger, (Almost) seven good
years in Bolivia, 28
Peterson, Kenneth, Discipleship: The goal of the
church, 47
Peterson, Neville, The Son of Man, 165
Phemister, Marilyn Black, Faith and doubt, 177
Preheim, Lois Janzen, NDC asks, What is recy-
clable?, 322
Quintela, Alberto, Reflections of an Hispanic Men-
nonite, 262
Quintela, Helen Wells, To Daniel, on the shore of
Lake Superior, 343
Ratzlaff, Don, Domestic violence in our midst, 555;
Mennonite writers conference set for fall, 182
Regehr, Valerie, Mennonites with disabilities sing
the same language, 373
Regier, Mark, A., You're a marketing manager
where?, 392
Regier, Robert W., This seed grew in Katie's
Woods, 263
Regier, Rosella Wiens, and Karen Unruh Ediger,
Caught in the act, 387
Reichenbach, Doug, The birth of a clown for Christ,
430
Reiff, A.E., The branch, 165
580 DECEMBER 1990
Reimer, Carla, Alberta Mennonites decide not to
withdraw from SCBI, 135; ; Does a possible
engagement mean marriage?, 58; Fresno church
reaches out to the Hmong, 321; John and Tina
Bohn relish rural life in Lesotho, 85; Mennonite
Church of Zaire seeks partnership with AIMM,
86; Mennonite New Life Centre shortens refugees'
road, 38; Rempel coordinates groups that once
'adopted' her, 181; Saskatchewan Mennonites
struggle with budgets, discuss camps, 156; Taiwan
Mennonites put down roots in Argentina, 227;
'This Bible study answered my prayer,' 287;
Venture Clubs catching on in Mennonite churches,
110; ; Venture Clubs program at Alberta church
doubles in size, 110
Reimer, Margaret Loewen, MCC signs agreement
with Vietnam government, 539
Reimer, Richard, Manage those financial resources,
103
Rempel, Erwin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society,
310
Rempel, Ron, MCCC invites youth to help, 181;
Nobody wants 'utter madness' in Persian Gulf,
564; Something new for MWC: a statement of
faith, 371
Rempel, Ron and Margot Fieguth, MCEC seeks to
speed up lagging fund drive, 202
Rich, Elaine Sommers, Called to be Peacemakers,
191
Richard, Phil, Eight churches in Ontario begin
LIFE, 493; Refugees knock at our doors, 39;
SYAS ministries continue; November consultation
open, 275
Richert, George, Examine our theology of baptism,
221
Richert, Linda, 'All things' can include hearing loss,
55
Rinner, James, Wings of Hope, 525
Roth, Dwight E., Mennonite Society, 214
Ruth, Fern Pankratz, Post-Easter, 167
Sawatsky, Walter, Council of USSR Ministries
agrees on response to Mennonite emigration fever,
62
Schellenberg, James, Mennonites continue exodus
to West Germany, 1 1
Schellenberg, Laurie, MCI hits the century mark,
243
Schirmer, Will, MAMA links Pennsylvanians and
Hondurans, 101
Schmidt, Dwayne, Farming is a business, but..., 332
Schmidt, Laura, Brazilian Mennonites dedicate new
offices, 323
Schmidt, Orlando, Introducing a New Hymnal:
How to Improve Congregational Singing, 191
Schrag, J.O., When one foot doesn't do anything, 55
Schrag, James, A large catch of fish, 102
Schrag, Paul, CPT struggles for acceptance from
members, 541; Mennonite farmers voice many
questions, few answers, 36; Peace revival ad-
dresses 'drowsy' church, 540
Schrag, Wendy Funk, Heart of the Mind, 427
Schreiner, Sally, Mennos fourth largest group at
SCUPE, 226
Schroeder, Elfrieda Neufeld, My neighbor, my
friend, 197
Schultz, Harold, Who needs Mennonite higher
education?, 390
Schumm, Clare, Parenting for the '90s, 22
Shantz, Kathy, Why do women get abortions?, 208
Shelly Patricia, Mennonites speak up for Middle
East peace, 325
Shelly, David, Church leaders bid farewell to Kray-
bill, 422
Shelly, Linda, Miracle at 'Saint Mark' in Honduras,
411
Shelly, Maynard, The New Revised Standard Ver-
sion, 426
Shenk, Steve, 1992 hymnal nears completion, 543
Shisler, Barbara Esch, Everyone, everyone has
(diverse) gifts, 51
Shutt, Joyce M., How to keep peace in your congre-
gation, 331
Sippel, Peter D., Acts 1-12: God Has No Favorites,
140
Smith, Anita Speer, No thought imposes, 245
Smith, Maria, MCC workers in Brazil learn what
floods are like, 469
Snyder, Lorraine, Notes from an Ontario jail, 320
Sommer, Sally Weaver, Farm unions: a delimma
for churches, 255; Nicaragua: It is now a war of
ideas, 423
Stackley, Muriel T., A good word from an unpeace-
THE MENNONITE 581
ful place, 552; After the fax, 48; Answers and
empires, 192; Are you still a Mennonite?, 240;
Broken bread helps us meet, 168; Can the 'activ-
ists' and 'conservatives' be friends?, 336; Central
District discusses environment, 178; CMC gives
delegate status to Native Ministries reps, declines
membership in national religious groups, 348;
CMinBC analyzes inreach, seeks outreach, 107;
Coming together in Winnipeg, 344; De-emphasize
the 49th parallel, 384; Dual-conference committee
probes reasons for integration, 444; From the
greenhouse to the garden, 288; Grief, hope and the
press, 72; If you're thankful, say so, 576; Is the
world going to war?, 456; Keep true evangelical
faith awake, 480; MWC: Who needs it?, 312;
New listening committee addresses same-sex
orientation, 567; 'Oh, for a [winsome] faith that
will not shrink,' 408; Sing to the Lord a new song
or three, 360; Taxes and free-will offerings, 504;
Tell the truth: Are we becoming one people?, 24;
The Nicaraguan election should bring us to our
knees, 144; To your good health, 528; Today's
Menno Dow Jones report, 120; Where did CKC
take us?, 432; Wisdom in the inmost place, 216
Stackley, Muriel T. and Paul Schrag, Ethiopian
Mennonites emerge alive and well, 250
Stauffer, Ardell, MCC continues work with evacu-
ees in Jordan, 468; MCC executive states four
priorities, responds to crises, 468; MCC men stand
in the gap created by war, 442; MCC sends
$10,000 to Jordan for refugees from Iraq, 419;
Palestinian Christians reject violence, 34
Steelberg, Donald R., Finally Comes the Poet:
Daring Speech for Proclamation, 550; It's time for
new structures, 236
Stoltzfus, Gene, Non- Violence: The Invincible
Weapon?, 502
Stoltzfus, Regina Shands, Loosen up the member-
ship process, 9
Stoner, Andre Gingerich, Look deep into each
other's eyes, 7
Stoner, John K., Listen to Jonah and Jesus, 335
Sutter, David, Pastorate Project 'consultant-leaders'
meet for workshop, 324
Thelin, Nelda R., Mennonites work for reconcili-
ation in a divided South Africa, 445
Thomas, Tom, Ease the Pain, 454
Tiessen, John, Fuzzy thinking, 332
Umble, Jeni Hiett, Jeni Hiett Umble's response to
Katie Funk Wiebe, 153
Unrau, Ruth, Name calling, 263
Unruh, Clarence C, Compelled, 273
Valencia, Mary Becker, To you is born... a babe, 532
Waddell, Michael, Delivered from the lion's mouth
to declare the Good News, 128
Waldo wski, Dave, 7 reasons South Dakota should
not kill James Smith, 171
Walter, Ted, Refugees start 'hope' in Calgary, 61
Weaver, Deborah R., 1,000 youth make a difference
in Winnipeg, 378
Weaver, J. Denny, Choices, the pledge and the
Nicolaitans, 308
Wellings, Larry E., How about pleasing our God?,
213
Wenger, Andrea Schrock, A Bolivian 'mother' for
MCC workers away from home, 416; Crisis raises
CO questions, 443; Everyone wins with media-
tion, 172
Wenger, Ann, Between life and death, 507
Wenger, Elizabeth, Now grace is everywhere, 339
Wiebe, Bernie, Bioethics and the Beginning of Life,
525
Wiebe, Katie Funk, Can the church survive the
preaching of a carbonated gospel?, 151; Can the
church survive the professionalization of its
leadership?, 124; Yes, the church will survive, 174
Wiebe, Menno, I was in prison and you visited me,
188; Susan's faith, 100
Wiebe, Tim, Cost of discipleship, 534; Early
evangel, 149
Wiens, Katherine Burkey, And Who Is My Neigh-
bor?, 550; Preventing Child Sexual Abuse — Age
9-12,427
Winslow, Mark, 15 reasons I invite people to join
our church, 123
Witmer, Dennis, Don't Be Afraid, Gringo: A
Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart, The
Story of Elvia Alvarado, 406
Wong, Ezekiel, God has attended our journey, 267
Yoder, Allan, LA may be a new Mennonite center,
300
Zacharias, Marlace Berg, In or out of the hospital,
582 DECEMBER 1990
510
Zehr, Paul D., My created worlds, 342
SUBJECT
Abortion
Friesen, Helen, Abortion: a personal response, 199
Kraybill, Ron, A mediator's view of the abortion
storm, 198
Letters, 164, 261, 285
Shantz, Kathy, Why do women get abortions?, 208
Adoration
Dick, Helene W., What I need to tell you, Lord, 524
Dueck, Louise, Two water poems, 342
Hiebert, Greta, Light in fall, 533
Neufeld, Elsie K., Autumnal grace and hope, 463
Unrau, Ruth, Name calling, 263
Unruh, Clarence C, Compelled, 273
Zehr, Paul D., My created worlds, 342
Africa
Brubacher, Ray, African educators tell MCC to stay,
84
Burkina Faso takes daring step with young offend-
ers, 182
Reimer, Carla, John and Tina Bohn relish rural life
in Lesotho, 85
Stackley, Muriel T. and Paul Schrag, Ethiopian
Mennonites emerge alive and well, 250
Tanzanian Mennonites develop themselves, 298
Aging
Bender, John, Prepare to take care of your own, 509
Lehman, Keith, Mythology, 78
Anabaptism
Hertzler, Daniel, Mennonite scholars discuss Menno
Simons, 351
Klaassen, Walter, Anna Jansz of Briel, 1510-1539,
249; Balthasar Hubmaier, ca. 1480-1528, 563;
Conrad Grebel, ca. 1498-1526, 57; Hans Ritter,
just a needlemaker, 166; Jacob Hutter (ca. 1506-
1536), 345; Sabina Bader, a survivor,. 4 1 7
Letters, 117, 237
Longhurst, John, True evangelical faith, 459
Manzanares, Cesar Vidal, Recover the Anabaptist
vision, 294
Arts
Letters, 428, 429
Wenger, Elizabeth, Now grace is everywhere, 339
Asia
Hege, Beth, Hong Kong Mennonites face impending
takeover, 418
Letters, 212
Baptism
Ahlgrim, Ryan, The dilemma of infant baptism, 220
From the proposed statement of faith, 221
Kemp, Else, Baptism and communion, 220
Letters, 306, 357, 382
Richert, George, Examine our theology of baptism,
221
Bible
Burkhardt, Diane, Make a mustard-seed difference
in the environment, 359
Ens, Alvin G., Jon, 23
Fast, Darrell, Into your hands we commit our spirits,
527
Friesen Helen, You can get past fear, 455
Hurst, Brenda Martin, Let's love one another (1
John 4:7-12), 479
Keidel, Levi, Does prayer make any difference?, 94
Lepp, J. Randy, The 23rd anew, 527
Letters, 164
Morrow, David, Wise as a serpent, innocent as a
dove, 431
Peterson, Kenneth, Discipleship: the goal of the
church, 47
Stoner, John K., Listen to Jonah and Jesus, 335
THE MENNONITE 583
Camps
Christian Life
Camping leaders mark 30 years of ministry, 207
Letters, 164
Central America
Borkholder, Phil, Led by a cloud of dust and pillar
of fire, Salvadoran refugees go home at last, 230
Brun, Washington, My 10-day preaching tour in
Cuba, 283
Classen, Susan, Fight to live, be willing to die, 99
Epp, Robert O., Hold our governments accountable,
413
Letters, 188, 237, 476, 548
Nicaraguan churches ask for aid, dialogue and
prayer, 414
Repression of church work eases in El Salvador, 108
Shelly, Linda, Miracle at 'Saint Mark' in Honduras,
411
Sommer, Sally Weaver, Nicaragua: It is now a war
of ideas, 423
Children
CMLC set to open again, 274
Gundy, Kate, Make friends, say the children, 35
Quintela, Helen Wells, To Daniel, on the shore of
Lake Superior, 343
China
Letters, 452
Martin, Ann, China Educational Exchange continues
after setback, 253
Christian Education
Foundation Series writers named, 491
Regier, Rosella Wiens, and Karen Unruh Ediger,
Caught in the act, 387
Reimer, Carla, Venture Clubs catching on in Men-
nonite churches, 110; Venture Clubs program at
Alberta church doubles in size, 110
Heppner, Fran, I, too, had to leave 'Ur,' 71
Lawrence, Suzanne, Secondhand, 508
Letters, 524
Regier, Robert W., This seed grew in Katie's
Woods, 263
Christmas
Barkman, Frieda, Lisa at six, 534
Barkman, Paul F., Man-hands, 537
Coggins, James R., Anna, 534
Driedger, Florence, God breaks into the darkness,
531
Friesen, Helen, Savor Christmas right through the
alphabet, 536
Friesen, Philip E., Mary's diary, 551
Letters, 92
Naylor, Ruth, I wonder, 55 1
Neufeld, Walter, Who is this guy?, 535
Valencia, Mary Becker, To you is born.. .a babe, 532
Wiebe, Tim, Cost of discipleship, 534
Church
Basinger, Rebekah Burch, Something better than
survival, 176
Hall, Eddy, Do the poor feel welcome in your
church?, 30
Hertzler, Laurel Schmidt, Ministry goes forth from a
$1 building, 4
Kennel, Pauline, The church of three books, 9
Klemm, Ulli, This Chicago gang reminds me of
church, 190
Letters, 261, 306, 548
Peachey, Urbane, To become global,we went Dutch,
297 '
Shutt, Joyce M., How to keep peace in your congre-
gation, 331
Silverwood accommodates growth, 347
Stoltzfus, Regina Shands, Loosen up the member-
ship process, 9
Upper Milford Church celebrates 250th year, 109
Wiebe, Katie Funk, Yes, the church will survive,
584 DECEMBER 1990
174
Winslow, Mark, 15 reasons I invite people to join
our church, 123
Church and State
Harder, Leland, The shifting political behavior of
Mennonites and Brethren in Christ, 512
Juhnke, James C, Toward an alternative history,
228
Kurowski, Lois Landis, Historians examine civil
religion, 228
' Letters, 382, 404, 405, 453
Myers, Nancy J., I draw a line between 'dear' and
'sacred,' 309
Stackley, Muriel T., Answers and empires, 192
Weaver, J. Denny, Choices, the pledge and the
Nicolaitans, 308
Church Growth
Australia now has two (going on three) Mennonite
churches, 60
GC African-American leaders told to 'go home,'
299
Letters, 452, 572
Mennonites zero in on Detroit, 207
New congregation worships in Madison, Wis., 35
Yoder, Allan, LA may be a new Mennonite center,
300
Church Unity
Brazilians connect with young African church, 297
Gingerich, Jim, Integration exploration update, 407
Letters, 142, 306, 356, 452, 548
Reimer, Carla, Does a possible engagement mean
marriage?, 58
Stackley, Muriel T., Dual- conference committee
probes reasons for integration, 444; Tell the truth:
Are we becoming one people?, 24
City
Schreiner, Sally, Mennos fourth largest group at
SCUPE, 226
Colombia
Huge bomb in Colombia rattles missionaries, 10
Klaassen, Glendon, Colombian Mennonite churches
approve purpose statement, 254; Mennonite
seminary starts in Colombia, 23 1
Mennonites begin new church in Armenia, Colom-
bia, 494
Young Colombian church grows and changes locale,
12
Communication
Coggins, James R., Scandal and the church press,
558
Duerksen, Carol, From the sewing closet to tape
recorders, 575
Duerksen, Hall, Linscheid to edit With and
YouthGuide, 467
Janzen, Hilda Neufeldt, Paraphrase, 142
Letters, 21, 69, 92,188, 261, 285, 382, 429, 501,
524, 549, 573
Publishers want Rejoice! to grow, 325
Ratzlaff, Don, Mennonite writers conference set for
fall, 182
Regier, Mark, A., You're a marketing manager
where?, 392
Stackley, Muriel T., Grief, hope and the press, 72
Conferences
Derksen, Wilma, Manitoba Mennonites to imple-
ment reorganization, 179
Franz, Margaret, July sessions of CMC bound for
Edmonton, 252
Hege, Beth, 'Live for a sustainable world,' says
WDC, 566
Houser, Gordon, EDC worships in song, hears pain
of AIDS, 251
Linscheid, Dave, Integration, family highlight PDC,
346
Preheim, Lois Janzen, NDC asks, What is recy-
clable?, 322
Reimer, Carla, Alberta Mennonites decide not to
withdraw from SCBI, 135; Saskatchewan Men-
nonites struggle with budgets, discuss camps, 156
THE MENNONITE 585
Rempel, Ron and Margot Fieguth, MCEC seeks to
speed up lagging fund drive, 202
Stackley, Muriel T., Central District discusses
environment, 178; CMC gives delegate status to
Native Ministries reps, declines membership in
national religious groups, 348; CMinBC analyzes
inreach, seeks outreach, 107
Conscription
Letters, 306, 525
U.S. conference marks 50 years of conscientious
witness against war, 42 1
Wenger, Andrea Schrock, Crisis raises CO ques-
tions, 443
Death
Baergen Helen, Black Kansas soil, grey Bolivian
cement, 508
Belser, Julius, Carlos, up there in front with God, 27
Wenger, Ann, Between life and death, 507
Disabilities
Enns, Jake, Margaret's story, 55
Kaufman, Joan Harder, God cares, thus we can care,
56
Krahn, Hilda W., When Alzheimer's invades, 54
Letters, 117, 212
People with disabilities hold international retreat,
325
Regehr, Valerie, Mennonites with disabilities sing
the same language, 373
Ri chert, Linda, 'AH things' can include hearing loss,
55
Schrag, J.O., When one foot doesn't do anything, 55
She spoke to many, 54
Shisler, Barbara Esch, Everyone, everyone has
(diverse) gifts, 51
Disarmament
Balzer, Susan Miller, Labrador: Innu homeland or
NATO wasteland?, 148
Klassen, L.M., Hiroshima, 317
Stackley, Muriel T., De-emphasize the 49th parallel,
384
Discipleship
Buller, Vic, A cross of love, 167
Froese, Rudy, Walk with the Lord, 239
Harder, Lois, Prayer of fatigue.. .and joy in the U.S.
capitol, 215
Jiminez, Rodolfo (Roy), Represent God; listen
mercifully, 129
Schroeder, Elfrieda Neufeld, My neighbor, my
friend, 197
Stackley, Muriel T., 'Oh, for a [winsome] faith that
will not shrink,' 408; Keep true evangelical faith
awake, 480
Easter
Amstutz, Jim Stutzman, Is it still Easter?, 164
Klassen, James, A wooden bridge, 165
Peterson, Neville, The Son of Man, 165
Reiff, A.E., The branch, 165
Ruth, Fern Pankratz, Post-Easter, 167
Wiebe, Tim, Early evangel, 149
Evangelism
Chen, Vincent, I know that my Redeemer lives, 489
Harder, Gladys E., Let's start more guest houses like
IGH, 33
Lee, Todd, Mac took his faith to work, 143
Letters, 548
Miller, Marilyn, How to practice peace church
evangelism, 321; Look forward to LIFE, 437
Reimer, Carla, Fresno church reaches out to the
Hmong, 321
Richard, Phil, Eight churches in Ontario begin
LIFE, 493
Umble, Jeni Hiett, Jeni Hiett Umble's response to
Katie Funk Wiebe, 153
Wiebe, Katie Funk, Can the church survive the
preaching of a carbonated gospel?, 151
Faith
Ewert, Jeannie, Sonnet, 126
586 DECEMBER 1990
Fitzgerald, Neil C, Faith, 177
Hilty, Peter, Jesus, lover of my soul, 119
Peachey, J. Lome, Confession of Faith Committee's
work is now half done, 492
Phemister, Marilyn Black, Faith and doubt, 177
Smith, Anita Speer, No thought imposes, 245
Family
Anonymous, This child belongs to God, 200
Heinrichs, Tobi, My 'tick-tock' oma, 201
Ratzlaff, Don, Domestic violence in our midst, 555
Stackley, Muriel T., Wisdom in the inmost place,
216
Farm Issues
Claassen, Carol and Olin, Farmers are using talents,
332
Epp, Ray, How much land is enough?, 246
Letters, 212, 356, 404, 429
Schmidt, Dwayne, Farming is a business, but..., 332
Schrag, Paul, Mennonite farmers voice many ques-
tions, few answers, 36
Sommer, Sally Weaver, Farm unions: a delimma
for churches, 255
Three responses to 'How Much Land Is Enough?'
by Ray Epp (June 12 issue), 332
Tiessen, John, Fuzzy thinking, 332
General Conference
A Call to Kingdom Commitments funds MVS
positions, 83
Burkholder concludes as SYAS director, 275
COM staff, missionaries visit churches in north,
west, 446
Franz, Margaret, CMC celebrates new building,
financial health, 106,
God at work among us, 560
Goering, Ardie S., CKC: Assets outweigh liabili-
ties, 394
Hege, Beth, COE asks, What about New Age?, 495;
COM meeting discusses, COM-CHM cooperation,
443; Kenneth Bauman Memorial to provide
scholarships in India, 395; MC/GC General
Boards tell Bush to cease buildup, 538
Letters, 164
Linscheid, Dave, and Beth Hege, Budget builders
will need to live in economic reality, 515
Linscheid, Dave, Theme, schedule set for Sioux
Falls '92, 466
Shelly completing 23 years of service to General
Conference, 61
Stackley, Muriel T., Where did CKC take us?, 432
Vision bumps into reality; no budget increase, 130
Germany
Friesens: a listening post for refugees in Munich,
301
Letters, 69
Government
Balzer, Susan Miller, 'You can't afford to be quiet,'
Franz tells seminar, 204
Franz, Delton, The Russians aren't coming; U.S.
should revise priorities, 111
Stackley, Muriel T., The Nicaraguan election should
bring us to our knees, 144
Health
Letters, 117, 237, 382
Stackley, Muriel T., To your good health, 528
Steelberg, Donald R., It's time for new structures,
236
Zacharias, Marlace Berg, In or out of the hospital,
510
Higher Education
Geiser, Ron, Bluffton College completes $6 million
campaign, 518
Letters, 261
Minter, Ann, Lord, save us from cynicism, 244
Schellenberg, Laurie, MCI hits the century mark,
243
Schultz, Harold, Who needs Mennonite higher
education?, 390
THE MENNONITE 587
Holy Spirit
Marriage
Hartshorn, Leo, The politics of the Holy Spirit, 533
Home Ministries
Brown, Hubert L., A vision for mission, 435
Giiete, Marco, Leaders strain for Hispanic churches,
439
Homosexuality
Eight named to listening committee on homosexual
concerns, 467
Letters, 284, 382, 405, 548, 572, 573
Stackley, Muriel T., New listening committee
addresses same-sex orientation, 567
Humor
Letters, 45, 382
Matterssome, Tim, A deconstruction of the MWC
theme, 369
Japan
Chappell, Bill and Jeanne, Sadako's cranes of hope,
315
Derksen, Mary, Kyushu Island has first congress on
evangelism, 491; Mennonites in Japan face the
1990s, 157
Letters, 212, 452
Latin America
Bolivian Mennonite congregation builds new meet-
ingplace, 12
Klaassen, Glendon, CLARA is Latin America's new
Anabaptist resource center, 35
Letters, 306
Schmidt, Laura, Brazilian Mennonites dedicate new
offices, 323
Smith, Maria, MCC workers in Brazil learn what
floods are like, 469
Stop violence against Brazil's street children, says
community, 323
Estes, Sue, Troubled couples can recover hope, 195
Lederach, John and Naomi, What about the chil-
dren?, 196
Mennonite Central Committee
Goering, Greg, W., Peace Section endorses bill to
curb racial bias in capital sentencing, 347
Stauffer, Ardell, MCC executive states four priori-
ties, responds to crises, 468
Mennonite World Conference
Baecher, Claude, May we share the 'fellowship of
Christ's sufferings,' 311
Coggins, Jim, What's ahead for Mennonite World
Conference?, 370
Halteman, Jane, 650 children hold an assembly of
their own, 379
Houser, Gordon, A global family gathering, 363
Houser, Gordon, and Margaret Loewen Reimer,
Mennonites and art: alive and well at MWC, 380
Letters, 477
Life centers offer a myriad of workshops, 368
Mennonite World Conference quiz, 295
Nine speakers will address Assembly 12, 179
Out witness to Christ in today's world, 383
Rempel, Ron, Something new for MWC: a state-
ment of faith, 371
Shelly, David, Church leaders bid farewell to Kray-
bill, 422
Stackley, Muriel T., Coming together in Winnipeg,
344; MWC: Who needs it?, 312; Sing to the Lord
a new song or three, 360
Weaver, Deborah R., 1,000 youth make a difference
in Winnipeg, 378
Worship planned at missile site during Assembly
12,278
Mennonites
Bachman, Elda, God, one step ahead, 465
Bender, John, Mennonites will learn about them-
selves in new survey, 82
588 DECEMBER 1990
Dick, Susan, My call to mission, 272
Dyck Elfrieda, After 64 years I went home to the
Soviet Union, 296
Dyck, Cornelius, J., This is who Mennonites are
today, 29 1
Fretz, J. Herbert, Jim McKee: my refreshment and
rebuke, 224
Friesen Arlene K., Prussian plates, 477
Froese, Edna, A little boy touched the hem of her
garment, 8
Hege, Beth, 37 years of surgery for God, 511; Quilts
connect us, 464
Houser, Gordon, 'Mennonite Christian' is redun-
dant, 264
Isaac, Ruth, Agnes Poettcker: a lifetime of every-
day ministry, 270
Letters, 21, 117, 284, 285, 306, 307, 333, 382, 428,
453
Longhurst, John, The quilt that is Mennonites in
Canada, 302
McKee, Wilma, Because we need to remember and
celebrate, 403
Musselman, Steve, My call to ministry, 272
Reichenbach, Doug, The birth of a clown for Christ,
430
Stackley, Muriel T., Are you still a Mennonite?,
240; If you're thankful, say so, 576
Waddell, Michael, Delivered from the lion's mouth
to declare the Good News, 128
Wenger, Andrea Schrock, A Bolivian 'mother' for
MCC workers away from home, 416
Wiebe, Menno, Susan's faith, 100
Wong, Ezekiel, God has attended our journey, 267
Middle East
Shelly Patricia, Mennonites speak up for Middle
East peace, 325
Stauffer, Ardelle E., Palestinian Christians reject
violence, 34
Ministry
Brown, Helena M., Without a pastor, 273
College and seminary students testing pastoral
ministry skills, 276
Dual-conference committee seeks consensus on
ordination, calling, ministry, 516
Friesen, Matt, I inquired into the ministry, 391
Hildebrand, Ernie, Ernie Hildebrand responds to
Katie Funk Wiebe, 127
Letters, 188, 189, 212, 261, 429, 501
Ministers' salaries surveyed, 277
Sutter, David, Pastorate Project 'consultant-leaders'
meet for workshop, 324
Wiebe, Katie Funk, Can the church survive the
professionalization of its leadership?, 124
Missions
About 500 Winnipeggers celebrate 90 years of
mission, 206
Bergen, Bruno and Wanda Derksen, Capture the
baby boomer, 484
Bergen, Carol, God did a new thing in Phillip and
me, 483
COM staff, missionaries on the road, 278
Harms, Jake, Renew our vision for mission, 503
Hege, Beth, Larson advises Botswana government
on health matters, 396
Letters, 92, 307, 524, 572, 573
Penner, Faith Hershberger, (Almost) seven good
years in Bolivia, 28
See the new thing God is doing, 486
Music
Halteman, Jane, Hymnal Project leaders test selec-
tions at local hymn sing, 397
McFadden, Wendy Chamberlain, New hymnal
publishers will produce handbook, large-print
edition, 155
Shenk, Steve, 1992 hymnal nears completion, 543
Young adults from Zaire and North America sing
and share, 61
Native Peoples
Balzer, Susan Miller, Mennonites welcome Native
MP, 376
Funk, John and Vera, Dreams for Native Ministries,
20
THE MENNONITE 589
Groves, Esther Bohn, 'Land Runs' and the rest of
the story, 20
Haida seminar explores Native issues, 567
Hege, Beth, MELC seeks renewal after loss, asks for
prayer, 514
Reimer, Carla, 'This Bible study answered my
prayer,' 287
Peace
Balzer, Susan Miller, Christian Peacemaker Teams
listen to Innu crisis, 158; From Mennoland to
Minuteman, 377
Bartel, Bob, A glimmer of hope in the tomb at
Goose Bay, 147
Boyer, Claude, Prayer to the Peace Keeper, 320
CPT hopes to send peace team to Iraq, 490
Franz, Delton, Saddam Hussein and King
Nebuchadnezzar: Do we have constructive
words?, 399
Hildebrand, Dale, Shots: bullets or vaccinations in
the Philippines?, 14
Hofer, Joy, Church is persecuted in the Philippines,
14
Hull, Robert, Turn the Gulf crisis into an opportu-
nity, 470; Who will win the peace?, 105
Koontz, Ted, Where is the alternative to armed
struggle?, 327
Letters, 45, 142, 237, 306, 333, 429, 452, 453, 477,
524, 548,
Linsenmeyer, Bek, These comforters reached from
the United States to the Soviet Union, 318
Lobe, A.C., Epiphany on Armistice Day, 461
Metzler, Edgar, Nobel laureates and hard questions,
44
Pauls, Steve, Half a world, 318
Rempel, Ron, Nobody wants 'utter madness' in
Persian Gulf, 564
Schrag, Paul, CPT struggles for acceptance from
members, 541
Schrag, Paul, Peace revival addresses 'drowsy'
church, 540
Snyder, Lorraine, Notes from an Ontario jail, 320
Stackley, Muriel T., A good word from an unpeace-
ful place, 552; After the fax, 48; Can the 'activ-
ists' and 'conservatives' be friends?, 336; Is the
world going to war?, 456
Stoner, Andre Gingerich, Look deep into each
other's eyes, 7
Wenger, Andrea Schrock, Everyone wins with
mediation, 172
Prayer
Letters, 45, 501
Prison
Letters, 212
Wiebe, Menno, I was in prison and you visited me,
188
Racism
Hege, Beth, Les Tolbert works to counter racism,
517
Hobday, Jose, Spilled milk: the day my mother
taught me about bitterness, 3
Letters, 92
Refugees
'Resettling ones' overwhelm assistance programs
Refugees simply ask to go home, 13
Reimer, Carla, Mennonite New Life Centre shortens
refugees' road, 38
Richard, Phil, Refugees knock at our doors, 39
Schellenberg, James, Mennonites continue exodus
to West Germany, 1 1
Stauffer, Ardell, MCC continues work with evacu-
ees in Jordan, 468
Relief
Bachman, El da, Tornado!, 164
Brazilian farmers tangle with deforestation laws,
420
Detweiler, Lowell, MDS sends 25 per month
(people, that is) to St. Croix, 83
Ewert, Clair, MCC workers in the Philippines
confront crisis, 10
Jantz, Hugo, Eastern Europe missions: old and new
590 DECEMBER 1990
possibilities, 63
Lehman, Donna, A ton of tuna, 430
Letters, 69, 284
MCC sends aid to earthquake victims in Iran and
Philippines, 398
MCC helps Brazilian farmers purchase land, 37
Reimer, Margaret Loewen, MCC signs agreement
with Vietnam government, 539
Stauffer, Ardell, MCC men stand in the gap created
by war, 442; MCC sends $10,000 to Jordan for
refugees from Iraq, 419
Sudan needs help; MCC responds, 60
Walter, Ted, Refugees start 'hope' in Calgary, 61
Which coffee huller is better?, 419
Reviews
Barrett, Lois, Biblical Faith and Fathering: Why
We Call God 'Father', 262
Bauman, Michael, A Life for a Life?: The Death
Penalty on Trial, 454
Boers, Arthur P., Answering God: The Psalms as
Tools for Prayer, 140; Binding the Strong Man: A
Political Reading of Mark's Story of Jesus, 478;
Changing Lenses: A New Focus for Crime and
Justice, 334; Outcast But Not Forsaken: True
Stories from a Paraguayan Leper Colony, 93;
Resident Aliens, 163; The Communion of Saints:
Prayers of the Famous, 574; The Parables of
Judgment, 358
Dueck, Abe, None But Saints: The Transformation
of Mennonite Life in Russia, 1789-1889, 358
Fast, Debbie, Torches Rekindled: The Bruderhof s
Struggle for Renewal, 163
Frey, Raymond, Money Wise Meditations, 46
Friesen, Helen Lepp, Under the Still Standing Sun,
334
Graber, Martha F., If You Do Love Old Men, 550
Hall, Eddy, Presence and Power: Releasing the
Holy Spirit in Your Life and Church, 45
Hawkley, Ken, Dirk's Exodus, 478
Hershberger, Anne, Christian Faith, Health, and
Medical Practice, 238
Houser, Gordon, Avalon, 526; Born on the Fourth of
July, 70; Dances With Wolves, 574; Driving Miss
Daisy, 93; Enemies, a Love Story, 141; Ephrem
the Syrian: Hymns, 286; Glory, 141; Henry V,
238; Iemand Als Job (Someone Like Job), 381;
Jesus of Montreal, 526; Music Box, Roger & Me,
118; My Left Foot, 141; Pillars of Flame: Power,
Priesthood and Spiritual Maturity, 70; Revelation,
381
Huebner, Harry, Freedom and Discipleship: Libera-
tion Theology in Anabaptist Perspective, 286
Jones, Glyn, Side By Side: Mentoring Guide for
Congregational Youth Ministry, 92
Klaassen, Walter, Thomas Miintzer: A Tragedy of
Errors, 310
Klassen, Sandee, "I'll See You Again!", 454
Letters, 476
Liechty, Daniel, Christian Theology: An Eschato-
logical Approach, 426; The Problem of Social Re-
sponsibility from the Perspective of the Mennonite
Church, 46
Linscheid, John, Dirt, Greed, and Sex: Sexual
Ethics in the New Testament and Their Implica-
tions, 22
Marchand, Ann, A Cry for Justice, 118
Martin, Gary, E., The Logic of Evangelism, 286
Morton, Karla C, Who's Calling the Shots? How to
Respond Effectively to Children's Fascination
with War Play and War Toys, 406
Nolt, Leonard, Journey With Justice, 406
Osborne, Phil, One Small Plot of Heaven: Reflec-
tions on Family Life by a Quaker Sociologist, 214
Pauls, Janice Reusser, Keeping the Sabbath
Wholly — Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting,
140; Prayers for Everyday, 502
Penner, Carol, A Disciple's Christology: Appraisals
of Kraus's Jesus Christ Our Lord, 310; Trackless
Wastes and Stars to Steer By, 502
Quintela, Alberto, Reflections of an Hispanic Men-
nonite, 262
Rempel, Erwin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society,
310
Rich, Elaine Sommers, Called to be Peacemakers,
191
Rinner, James, Wings of Hope, 525
Roth, Dwight E., Mennonite Society, 214
Schmidt, Orlando, Introducing a New Hymnal:
How to Improve Congregational Singing, 191
Schrag, Wendy Funk, Heart of the Mind, 427
THE MENNONITE 591
Schumm, Clare, Parenting for the '90s, 22
Shelly, Maynard, The New Revised Standard Ver-
sion, 426
Sippel, Peter D., Acts 1-12: God Has No Favorites,
140
Steelberg, Donald R., Finally Comes the Poet:
Daring Speech for Proclamation, 550
Stoltzfus, Gene, Non-Violence: the Invincible
Weapon?, 502
Thomas, Tom, Ease the Pain, 454
Wiebe, Bernie, Bioethics and the Beginning of Life,
525
Wiens, Katherine Burkey, And Who Is My Neigh-
bor?, 550; Preventing Child Sexual Abuse — Age
9-12,427
Witmer, Dennis, Don't Be Afraid, Gringo: A
Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart, The
Story of Elvia Alvarado, 406
Salvation
Egli, Jim, How do you know you've passed?, 219
Letters, 69
Seminary
Bender, John, AMBS boards move to merge, 205;
AMBS graduates 41 people, 326
Letters, 92
Roses for the president, 397
Stackley, Muriel T., From the greenhouse to the
garden, 288
Service
Letters, 164
Stackley, Muriel T., Broken bread helps us meet,
168
Sexuality
Wellings, Larry E., How about pleasing our God?,
213
Social Concerns
Bauman, Michael, Why I work against the death
penalty, 87
Face-to-Face brings offenders, victims together, 183
Serve victims of crime, says VOM survey, 183
Stackley, Muriel T., Today's Menno Dow Jones
report, 120
Waldowski, Dave, 7 reasons South Dakota should
not kill James Smith, 1 7 1
South Africa
Letters, 548
Thelin, Nelda R., Mennonites work for reconcili-
ation in a divided South Africa, 445
Herr, Judy Zimmerman, People in southern Africa
respond to de Klerk's call for open parliament,
109
Soviet Union
Letters, 237
Perestroika hits Soviet Baptists, 154
Sawatsky, Walter, Council of USSR Ministries
agrees on response to Mennonite emigration fever,
62
Second of seven clinics emerges in Soviet Armenia,
11
Stewardship
Lehman, Thomas, How will we make electricity?,
248
Letters, 21, 284, 306, 333, 382, 428, 501,
Linscheid, Dave, Business professionals give and
receive assistance, 203
Reimer, Richard, Manage those financial resources,
103
Schrag, James, A large catch of fish, 102
Stackley, Muriel T., Taxes and free-will offerings,
504
Taiwan
Reimer, Carla, Taiwan Mennonites put down roots
in Argentina, 227
592 DECEMBER 1990
Theology
Janzen, David, Jesus is the Word of God, 462
Voluntary Service
Be prepared; know the facts, 75
Duerksen, Norma Peters, Our faces change, 80
Goering, Preston D., The volunteers helped us recall
our goals, 81
Goering, Susan Ortman, Move beyond the facts;
face the faces, 76
Harder, Ron, MVS definition, 79
Hege, Beth, MVS opens new units in Winnipeg and
Chicago, 422; Navigate around sandbars, 441;
Who is an MVSer?, 440
More than generosity, 96
MVS seeks to attract greater variety of people, 254
Orr, David, An Illinois congregation faces the
fac(t)es, 78
War Taxes
Letters, 189
Morton, Craig, Render taxes to whom?, 222
Peachey, Linda, Taxes for peace, 104; Why I ago-
nize over paying war taxes, 104
Women
Bauman, Nancy Brubaker, Women gather to 'go and
tell,' 229
Jantzen named WM coordinator, 231
Letters, 404, 428
Regier resigns from WM post, 107
Reimer, Carla, Rempel coordinates groups that once
'adopted' her, 181
Schirmer, Will, MAMA links Pennsylvanians and
Hondurans, 101
Women to focus on Canadian/U.S. ministries, 274
Youth
Bergen, Abe, Have you thought of mentoring?, 393
Halteman, Jane, What is the future ministry with
young adults?, 565
Hawkley, Ken, Ministry to students is high priority
for Mennonite leaders, 180
Hege, Beth, Call it a Holy Spirit breakthrough, 355
Letters, 405
Rempel, Ron, MCCC invites youth to help, 181
Richard, Phil, SYAS ministries continue; November
consultation open, 275
Youth discover Central America, 299
Zaire
Good, Howard, MCC sponsors Zaire development
seminar, 350
Reimer, Carla, Mennonite Church of Zaire seeks
partnership with AJJV1M, 86
THE MENNONITE 593
HECKMAN
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